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Sparduzzi?
STOCK UP
Amin Vanover, Daequan Hardy, and Coziah Izzard...Maybe?
The Nittany Lions have been without Amin Vanover, Daequan Hardy, and Coziah Izzard for the first two games of the season for one reason or another. But it appears good news could be on that front: all three players were spotted at practice for Wednesday night’s media availability. After practice, James Franklin was of course asked about the potential return all of three players, and said, “We’ll see how it plays out.”
DE Amin Vanover, DT Coziah Izzard and CB Daequan Hardy were all practicing in full today. Haven’t played this season, and there’s no concrete updates on them for this weekend.
— Max Ralph (@maxralph_) September 13, 2023
“We’ll see how it all plays out” pic.twitter.com/9gOAa1Tb4N
Franklin did expand on Izzard, saying that the 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive tackle has been battling “bumps and bruises,” but he didn’t give any reason for why Hardy and Vanover have been missing. But, you know, you can probably deduce that if it isn’t an injury, it’s something off the field.
Regardless of the “why,” it’s a positive sign that all three players were accounted for while the media was there. Izzard and Vanover, in particular, would be big returns given the expected game plan for the Illini under Bret Bielema: run the ball, run the ball, run the ball.
Kyle McCord
After two games without an official starter, Ryan Day finally made the jumper earlier this week, naming Kyle McCord the full-time starting quarterback at Ohio State. The move came after McCord’s outing against Youngstown State, when he went 14-of-20 for 258 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
It’s interesting times in Columbus, because despite the fact McCord looked better against the Penguins, it doesn’t change the fact his 20-of-33 for 239 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception stat line against Indiana didn’t resemble that of former Ohio State quarterbacks in their debut starts.
- Dwayne Haskins (2018 against Oregon State): 22-of-30 for 313 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT
- Justin Fields (2019 against FAU): 18-of-25 for 234 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs
- CJ Stroud (2021 against Minnesota): 13-of-22 for 294 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Fortunately or unfortunately for the Buckeyes, they won’t have to wait long to find out just what McCord will be for them — they head to South Bend for a primetime kickoff with Notre Dame on September 23.
Sparduzzi
Mel Tucker has been suspended by Michigan State due to sexual harassment claims, and regardless of how the case turns out, it seems safe to say that Tucker won’t be coaching Michigan State again. With that outcome set to become reality at some point in the next few weeks, it means the potential return of the prodigal son — Pat Narduzzi — to East Lansing.
Prior to becoming the head coach at Pitt, Narduzzi was the defensive coordinator for the Spartans under Mark Dantonio* for eight seasons. What better coach to take over the program than someone who was there for the glory years of Sparty football? Personally, I couldn’t think of a better hire than bring Narduzzi home to lead the Spartans.
*By the way, Dantonio is returning to Michigan State’s staff as an associate head coach. He’ll be wearing a headset, either on the sidelines or up in the booth. Although the game is at Ford Field, I wouldn’t mind seeing Franklin run up the score on Dantonio for old time’s sake.
STOCK DOWN
The SEC
It’s been a rough start to the season for the ol’ SEC. South Carolina lost to North Carolina. Florida looked pathetic against Utah. Texas A&M got torched by Miami. LSU got blown out in the second half by Florida State. And even vaunted Alabama faltered, losing at home to Texas.
Make no mistake about it: an SEC team is still going to go to the College Football Playoff. It doesn’t matter what happens, the SEC won’t get left out of the final four. But the out-of-conference struggles are going to make it really difficult for the conference to get two programs into the CFP. The strength of schedule just flat out won’t be in there for conference games.
Week 3 Games
Every college football weekend is special to me. We only get so many of them a year that every single one should be appreciated. But that being said, wowza, does this Saturday’s slate of games stiiiiiiiiiiiink. Pittsburgh at West Virginia is the 8:00 ABC game, Tennessee at Florida is the 7:00 ESPN game, and South Carolina at Georgia is the 3:30 CBS game. 4:00 on FOX? Western Kentucky at Ohio State. Yuck.
The week looks even worse when you compare it to next week’s immaculate schedule: UCLA at Utah, Florida State at Clemson, Ole Miss at Alabama, Colorado at Oregon, Ohio State at Notre Dame, and of course Iowa at Penn State for the White Out. Just a tremendously strong weekend, and folks, will we need it after the stinker that is week 3.
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By: Patrick Koerbler
Title: Stock Up, Stock Down: 9.14.23
Sourced From: www.blackshoediaries.com/2023/9/14/23871311/stock-up-stock-down-9-14-23-penn-state-football-kyle-mccord-pat-narduzzi-bsd
Published Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2023 14:09:00 +0000
