08/31 @ Youngstown State

[VUSWIM08-12]

TOUCHDOWN VALPO !! Big time 2 minute drill drive !! Down 10–17 going into half !!

[valpofb16]

If there is any NIL money in the program it should got to Mikey Appels tuition. That man would annihilate any Valpo records with 5 years here.


Fox has built the program defensively. Let's talk extension.

And what a first half for the Valpo OL and Coach Symmes

[rogerwilco]

Ring the Moral Victory Bell! Valpo to get the ball to start the second half.

[vu72]

As long as it's not 86-7 or whatever from a decade+ ago I'm good , still gonna get ugly IMO. If we score 2+ touchdowns that's a "moral victory"
54-3 YSU

Good thing your were a swimmer and not a football talent analyst!

Observations:

We are one busted play from a tie at half.  YSU is suppose to be one of the best in the Football Valle

Mickey Appel will not finish his career at Valpo.

A fregging exciting game--SO FAR!!  Go Beacons!!

Pretty solid performance.  We'll know more when the Penquins play the Bucleyes next week!

[valpofb16]

Rogerwilco. Youngstown State has 85 scholarships and returns the vast majority of the roster from a 7 win MVC team.

Valpo has 0 scholarships and 40 new players.

Hell yeah we're gonna ring it

[VUSWIM08-12]

Haha VU72, at least I made a prediction , glad I'm wrong so far , you thought the OL guy at 195 wasn't a typo. Funny.

[rogerwilco]

Let's see if we can tie it up or cut into the lead. Valpo is softening up the Penguins for Ohio State in week two.

[valpofb16]

Here comes human nature

[VUSWIM08-12]

Ughhhhh, we ran out of gas !

[valpofb16]

Throwing in a blowout and letting your starting QB get tee'd off on. Haven't seen this since Dale


Last Rant: disregarding garbage time Valpo was 75-25 Pass-Run. The two leading RBs averaged 4 & 4.5 ypc. Completely abandoned it in the second half

[rogerwilco]

USC4Valpo was the most accurate per his score prediction of 49-10.

[usc4valpo]

Well, there were positive waves for the flashlights but it turned the way we thought at the end.

Fox is doing a very good job at Valpo. That being said, the extension talk should cease until we see above average results. I also wonder if Fox would want it, I would presume he will want to find bigger challenges at other schools.

The extension talks scare me after Valpo gave Lottich one based on better than expected result in the MVC tourney. slow down and think these things through.

[soapyjeans]

Well stats say Valpo ran 26 times to gain 40 yrds...  Appel did look good but he seems to stay rigidly with the play instead of taking advantage of whose open (i know he only has 3 seconds or so).  Can't count how many times Vircher/Jernegan were wide open further down the field, yet Apple threw to WR who Pen covered.  Thought 1st half was amazing, then halftime....   What the heck happened?  It felt like our guys were invaded by body snatchers, lol.  I hope Valpo coaches took notes on some of the pens plays, saw them line up 3 WR on right then passed successfully left to their TE I think it was.  Lots to dissect on that game film.  All in all it felt like New Mexico all over again.  Looking forward to next game.  Oh and #8 is a baller, he never gave up.   

[valpofb16]

Sacked five times for -31. Actually had about 70 rushing. Two lead RBs went for 45 in first half

The third quarter happened due to a blocked punt, and a fumbled kick off. Then instead of putting drives together Valpo dropped back 3 straight times , took no time off clock, and resulted in 2 sack fumbles. Game very easily could have been 31-10, 38-10

I thought drive before half was Appels best of his career. He's coming along. Still only 12 games under belt (split time first 5-6 LY)

[vu72]

Yes, I was overly exited based on a very strong first half.  Guilty as charged!  Having said that, if you take out a few, obvious miscues and look at the game play overall, I would take off a couple of TD's for them (busted 60 yard TD in the first quarter and the blocked punt (should probably include the muffed kick return as well) and you get YSU back to, say, 38, while we add one score for us being on the 1/2 line and getting nothing, so a final looking more like 38-17, as an indication of the overall performances of the two teams.

Lots of guys who had never played a college snap did very solid jobs. I expect a win v. Indiana Wesleyan

[soapyjeans]

I was overly excited over first half too, lol.   Then someone popped my dang balloon.  I mean Y made so many penalties and lost their best player CB due to targeting Solomon in first half.  So to come out in 2nd half looking like a different team was disappointing.   If Valpos O line can't block for QB long enough for Solomon to go long, then they need to find ways to go for first downs.  Running game against a larger opponent doesn't seem to work.  Its crazy how Valpo wasn't able to take advantage of Y penalties & losing their CB.  Considering how Valpo got within 7 in first half shows they have what it take!

Its good to have football back!

[JD24]

Appel looked really solid and vs. teams with the same level of talent I think it bodes well for the team as the defense is likely pretty good. 3 fumbles and a blocked punt in the second half really cut down on the chances for offensive goodness. If you want to say run the ball so the QB doesn't get killed I get it but there was no chance they were going to run the ball effectively vs. YSU as they'd just wear down Valpo's OL.

[valpofb16]

12 Carries for 49 yards isn't exactly in effective from the top 2 backs

[JD24]

12 Carries for 49 yards isn't exactly in effective from the top 2 backs

The play distribution in the second half wasn't all that bad now that I looked at it. There was a run the play prior to Appels first fumble and multiple runs prior to his second. The drive that they threw the ball exclusively didn't amount to much but there were no disasters there.

[David81]

As I say to my students, there are no dumb questions. But I may have one!

Is it necessary for Valpo to include a ranked, full-scholarship team in its non-conference schedule? Is it a financial thing to be someone else's tune-up cannon fodder?

Because otherwise, it seems like an exercise in not getting completely stomped. It also puts pressure on the team to win the next game, for if you lose, doubts can start to creep in and a season can start to spiral quickly.

[valpofb16]

David by no means is it necessary. Several PFL teams have opened up with NAIA and D2 non conferences.

However going back through the schedule the "pay game" has been something Valpo has accepted since at least 2000 and scheduled to do so until 2028.

In my era we had two pay games twice
Youngstown State - Duquesne
Eastern Kentucky - Sacred Heart

With Valpos current state of financials. And long term investment in PFL football. This is not something I see changing.

[vu72]

The players want to try against these teams as well.  Sure, on the surface one might think--Why would you want to get your butt kicked--but then there is the first half where guys start to think that they "belong".  And coaches would add that the players need to know that if we win the PFL that these type of teams are who we will be facing.

The more obvious reason is a LOT of money.  Particularly last year with the New Mexico State bonus game which brought is what? $400,000?  These funds don't go strictly back into football but rather support the entire athletic department.

[JD24]

David by no means is it necessary. Several PFL teams have opened up with NAIA and D2 non conferences. However going back through the schedule the "pay game" has been something Valpo has accepted since at least 2000 and scheduled to do so until 2028. In my era we had two pay games twice Youngstown State - Duquesne Eastern Kentucky - Sacred Heart With Valpos current state of financials. And long term investment in PFL football. This is not something I see changing.

Seems like all "lower division" schools play a game vs. a school a division or two higher even if it is not the first game. The "pay game". We see Portland State play Oregon. Portland State would crush any PFL squad yet lost to Oregon...which played at least down to the 3's....81-7 or something like that.

The football and athletic program(s) have to be funded somehow.

[David81]

Thank you, valpofb16, vu72, and JD24 for these responses to my question.

I had a feeling that money was the main thing, and I also understand that our players might want to see how the team compares against the next level programs.

It is a shame that we have to approach these games by speculating on how badly the team will lose. But if scheduling these schools brings needed cash into the athletics dept. coffers and serves as an incentive to play at VU, then maybe it's necessary to put us on a path towards competing for the conference title.

[historyman]

Yes, I was overly exited based on a very strong first half. 

Not sure it's possible to be overly exited by this Valpo football team. You only live once and there are only so many Valpo teams to cheer for.