The Monday following the shocking lost to Temple in Philadelphia, the Penn State Nittany Lion football team captains decided to bury the game tape, literally. Although the weather did not present the best playing conditions, the captains’ actions seemed to be just what was needed from its leaders to regenerate one word: belief. Not only belief in the team, but belief in the system as a whole. Although burying the tape is not a strong enough action, alone, to miraculously become a national championship team, it was enough to start the process of getting closer to one certain goal: being better than last year.
Penn State Football: Bury the Tape and Move On
It takes true leadership to admit the performance, and the captains did just that. They recognized that their performance against Temple was not at all acceptable and thus took responsibility to allow the team to move forward, as a unit. Collectively, they adopted just the attitude that Julius from “Remember The Titans” so poignantly and succinctly conveyed to Gerry Bertier that is needed to be a leader when he said that “attitude reflects leadership, Captain.”
The attitudes of the captains had an effect on the new members of the team. Most notably, we saw it in the performance of true freshmen Saquon Barkley (115 rushing yards and a touchdown) and Brandon Polk (45 yards on three carries and a touchdown as a result of scrambling for 22 yards) who solidified their belief in the offensive system while simultaneously making their presence known.
Although not a perfect performance (some of the fans even booed several decisions of Coach Franklin including the decision to punt on a 4th and 2), the team seemed to have moved on from the embarrassing loss. The offensive line that did not reflect a 100% preparation level that is expected from a highly skilled team a week earlier did not allow a single sack against the Buffalo defense on Saturday’s rainy afternoon. The leadership on the defensive side of the ball must also be commended as it totaled six sacks and one interception, by defensive end Carl Nassib. The Nittany Lion defense also held Buffalo’s offense to just 274 yards (69 rushing and 205 passing). This defense, although without the presence of junior linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White, looks like it could be something special.
As with anything that is worth achieving, success is a process and a journey; but Nittany Lion football fans are hoping that this process to success is not slower than the processes of opposing Big Ten teams or even the teams from outside the conference.
Main Photo:
