September 08, 2015
The Penn State football team definitely didn’t enjoy their Saturday stay in Philadelphia, as they fell to Temple for the first time since Joe Paterno was 14 years old (or 1941, for you sticklers out there). More than simply losing 27-10, the Nittany Lions kinda, sorta got embarrassed, as the Owls sacked quarterback Christian Hackenberg a total of 10 times.
After such a surprising loss, how did Penn State respond?
Jordan Lucas says that they physically dug up the ground in front of the practice field and literally buried the tape from the Temple game
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) September 8, 2015
Yes, you read that correctly. Here was the team’s thinking, via ESPN’s Josh Moyer:
Quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who was sacked 10 times Saturday, brought the idea to Lucas. So, after practice Sunday, the team gathered around and players took turns digging a small hole for the game DVD. Some players -- like offensive guard Brian Gaia and wideout Saeed Blacknall -- stomped on the hole afterward.
"We just wanted to let the guys know that, 'OK, look, we’re not going to look into the past,'" Lucas said. "We lost the game, it’s our fault, and we’re going to bury this. This is not the end of our season; it’s the first game. We have 11 more opportunities, trying to get 12 more opportunities.”
The move is similar to the one attempted last year by Oakland Raiders interim head coach Tony Sparano, who buried a football after the team started 0-4:
Under Sparano’s guidance, the Raiders went 3-9 the rest of the season. If James Franklin can’t sort out his offensive line struggles, a similar fate could be in store for Penn State.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
