Wes & Walker- Campus Corner

In this edition of the Campus Corner, the guys tell you what they think of Penn State after another top ten loss under James Franklin, talk about App State's blowout loss to Boise State and look at whether or not Duke found the missing piece in their backfield.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time to go to the camps comet on a Tuesday.
All right, all of the critics are out on James
Franklin after they lost to Oregon, and they were talking
about his big game winning percentage, and it is not
good because Penn State has won at least ten games

(00:22):
and six of James Franklin's twelve seasons with just one
season under five hundred. That was twenty twenty six bowl games,
college football playoffs.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
You already know that.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
But against AP top ten teams, he is four and
twenty six for his career. That includes Vanderbilt and Penn State.
That includes a one in eighteen record against top five teams,
and he is seventeen and thirty six overall against AP
top twenty five ranked teams in general. James Franklin had
a lot to say after the game, and he did

(00:53):
take a lot of accountability. Let's hear some of what
he had to say at the podium.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Oh, I guess we're not gonna hear it. No, my bad.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
All right, Well, Franklin got up there and he was
very much taking accountability and he said, how he you know,
he accepts the fact of what he hasn't done in
the big games and that they have to start winning
those games. But the question is was Saturday's result surprising
or is it time to completely dismiss this program in
big games under James frank It's been time.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
We've never believed in James Franklin or Penn State anytime
that they want to go play in a big game.
I thought maybe they had a chance to overcome this
narrative in the College Football Playoff last year, except there
was that little thing in the back of your mind.
It was against Boise State, and Boise State isn't exactly
a pe a truth.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
It's not Noo significure wins, it's not Bama's not.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, I'm sorry for throwing shade broncos it is what
it is. And then what did Penn State do after
they moved on from Boise State? They laid an egg
and Drew Aller became the quarterback that you don't trust,
specifically you Wes Bryant and everybody else. So, no, what
is State done outside of the win against Boise State
to show you that they're team that you can trust?
Because that's an answer I just don't have for it.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, I think that man, Penn State's got to start
looking at some of their options, especially depending on how
this season finishes, because it keeps being the same story
over and over again, and people consider I know, yeah,
one of their colors is Navy blue, but also Penn
State is a blue blood of the sport and they
want to be up there with the Michigans, and they
want to be up there with the Ohio States, who

(02:27):
they still have trouble beating as well when you look
at their schedule down the stretch. That loss definitely hurt them,
but they've got some more opportunities to make up for it.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
But at this point, how much confidence do.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
You have because I feel like at Ohio State November first,
that's a nail. I don't see them getting that one
done now. Indiana, they're playing excellent football right now, but
that seems like the type of team that Penn State
picks on, a new kind of Johnny Come Lately, top
twenty five team from the Big Ten or somewhere else
that they play, and they will dominate them. But as

(02:59):
far as the teams that are as pedigreed as they are,
they don't get the job done. So yeah, I think
that James Franklin and Penn State. They're gonna have to
look at some options because it's just not working out
for them to get to the point that they want
to get to because Penn State fans, let me know,
how much confidence do you have? And then when they
get to the playoffs if they can't beat some of

(03:19):
the big dogs. Also speaking about teams that are struggling,
App State they lose forty seven to fourteen to Boise State.
They failed a two and two overall, zero and two
in road games this season, and app is oh and
two all time against Boise State with both games occurring
in Boise and app State. They just can't stop turning
the football over. They lost the turnover battle for the

(03:42):
third straight game four turnovers they had to zero for
Boise State.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
So when we look at this team.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
Now, I think that I'm gonna consider it a bump
in the road just because this is dal Logins's first season.
But right now app State is not on a good trajectory.
Too many turnovers, just too much nonsense, and most of all,
too many ales.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
This would be something if app State would have a
couple of years in a row where they just could
not have monster winning records, and that would be now
starting to lose your reputation a little bit. Here's their
records each of the last four years, six and six,
nine and five, five and six, two and two. Do
you expect a five hundred record for app State Mountaineers fans,

(04:27):
they're not patient. They're going to move on, and it's
not going to take all that much for them to
move on. I remember when Scott Saderfield was struggling at
the very beginning of his tenure and they were ready
to get him fired immediately. Luckily for them, they held
on to him and he was able to salvage a
pretty nice tenure with the Mountaineers. But I just Dow Loggins,
he's not going to get fired at the end of
the season. They won't do that in year one. But

(04:48):
just from a reputation standpoint, App State, depending on what
no matter what level they were playing, they were considered
a juggernut, and now app State I don't know if
you view them with that same type of reverence, going
only above five hundred in a meaningful way once in
maybe the last four years after this year is concluded.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, And so for app State they're gonna have to
try and find some manches, but again he's got a
little bit of time. So moving on the Duke Blue Devils,
they absolutely crushed Syracuse on the road thirty eight to three.
Now Syracuse was without Steven Jelly, and we've talked about
how the Duke Blue Devils have been struggling to find
a running game.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Nate Sheppard though he could be the answer.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
He got a career high one hundred and sixty eight
rushing yards, the fourth most by Duke freshman in program history.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
He had two touchdowns as well.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
He ended the game the team did with a eleven
point two yards per rush, or excuse me, he did
ended the game with eleven point two yards per rush,
the most by Duke freshman in a single game on
a minimum of fifteen rush attempts. And he also ended
the game with two hundred and one all purpose yards.
So have the Blue Devils now found the missing piece

(06:01):
in their running game in Nate Shepherd? I say yes,
this young man ran with authority. I checked that game
out and he has the speed, the authority, the playmaking ability.
Now I would like to see how this Duke offense
cooks with him in the mix.

Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yeah, Nate Shepherd, one hundred and sixty eight yards will
do it. Within eleven point two yards per carrie. That'll
be just fine, especially with some of the stuff that
he was showing at the beginning of the year. Also,
like there's not really yards per carrey that he had
that was all that under five four point eight against Illinois,
four point four against NC State. So that's the worst
one on decent volume. But this is the guy for me.

(06:38):
And now you're talking about a backfield that is dangerous
with Mensa and Shepherd in the backfield for the Blue Devils.
It's why they're a little fifty to fifty. With some
of the struggles they had early on, I think it.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
Could have gone either way.

Speaker 3 (06:50):
Either you felt like careless turnovers was what they were
going to do by nature, or they were going to
immediately fix it because that's just what it was. They
were careless. This time, they're not careless anymore. They've really
fixed that issue. I'm not sure if you can say
they've one hundred percent fixed it, but it doesn't seem
to be as bad as it was early on. And
now if you can get rid of the turnovers with

(07:11):
some dynamicism at quarterback and at running back, it's why
they're going to be a team that has yet another
good season under Many Diaz taken over from Michael.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
Darian Mensa was dazzling once again, two hundred and sixty
eight yards, two touchdowns.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
He was twenty two of twenty eight on the game, and.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
Do also played turnover free for the second consecutive game.
Darian Mensa is number three in the NCAA and passing
yards and he's got thirteen touchdown passes to just two interceptions.

Speaker 2 (07:39):
I know we talk about quarterback power poll to man
some power poles.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
I've been contemplating, is Darien Mensa the best quarterback in
the ACC?

Speaker 2 (07:49):
Stats might tell you that CJ. Bailey had a loss.

Speaker 3 (07:52):
He's also had some key turnovers in each of the
last two losses. So my guys stock certainly not up.
I would be buying it, but that because the stock
has gone down and it's a little cheaper. Even if
I still would be buying the CJ. Bailey stock, I
think Darien Mensa probably is that guy. If Angelly is
gone with some of the crazy numbers that he was throwing,
I don't know if you could put Angelly there. I

(08:13):
don't know if you'll put Carson Beck because of some
of the less gaudy numbers despite being with an awesome
team down in Miami. I know what Chandler Morris did
was great with Virginia, but also he's turning the ball
over a decent amount that might come to bite them
against one of these teams that they're going to be
a favorite against. Mensa, to me, after this pass game,
I think probably would be the top quarterback.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, Carson Beck has been playing really good football.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
The game against Florida, he wasn't great, and that's one
of those games raining muggy, just playing up against a
Florida defense that's way ahead of their offense, and so
it was just one of those ugly rivalry games. We'll
see tomorrow how the quarterback power pole comes out. But
Darien Mensa is playing spectacular football.