Big Changes In WWTL Land

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Thanks.

Maybin, Shipley Named All-Americans

Aaron Maybin and A.Q. Shipley were both named to two All-American teams in the past couple of days. On Thursday, Maybin and Shipley were named Walter Camp All-Americans, and yesterday, both were named to the Foot Writers Association of America team.

The honors were the end to a nice week for both, who were present for the College Football Awards show in Orlando on Thursday. Shipley was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy for the nation's best center, which he won, a first for a Penn State player.


Maybin was a Bednarik finalist, which has gone to a Nittany Lion the last three years (Puz, Puz and Connor, respectively). USC's Rey Maualuga took home the award this year, which didn't surprise us too much, as Maybin is only a sophomore, and didn't get as much national pub as Maualuga did. But you know our thoughts on Maybin by now:

Beast.

Derrick Williams was also named a second team Walter Camp All-American. That's a nice honor for a dude who doesn't really fit a position description all that well, but should be recognized for a season in which he basically did it all.

Congrats to all the players for their post-season honors. They are well-deserved.

Devlin To Transfer

Sources close to us here at We Want The Lion have told us that quarterback Pat Devlin will transfer from Penn State, possibly to a D1-AA school.

Okay, that was our attempt at a serious opening. We don't have sources, we just read the story on scout.com. This isn't a shocking story, as we fully expected Devlin to transfer. After all, he was a pretty highly-touted recruit coming out of high school, and with Clark getting that extra year of eligibility, Devlin would've been on the bench until his senior year.

The part of the story that's interesting for the team is that Devlin won't be sticking around for the Rose Bowl. We assume this is so he can transfer as quickly as possible and be part of another program in the spring. But either way, it leaves the Lions a Daryl Clark injury away from Paul Cianciolo playing in the Rose Bowl. Nothing against Cianciolo, but that obviously wouldn't be the best situation. And as the Scout story points out, since Cianciolo is graduating, Clark will be the only scholarship QB from this year left over for next. So Penn State is definitely going to have to restock before next season.

Anyway, it must've been a tough road for Devlin, and it's weird how this stuff works out sometimes. Maybe if the cards fall just a little differently, then he's the QB of a top ten team. But at any rate, he played well this year when he did play, and a lesser kid would've cracked in the 4th quarter at the Horseshoe after an injury to the starting QB. He certainly deserves a shot to play somewhere and we wish him all the best.

The Preview in Review: Part 3

Time for the Indiana and Purdue preview review. Those links will take you back to the previews we did back in August. We were new and didn't know what we were doing -- cut us some slack. We got it wrong, way wrong, for Indiana; but we hit the nail on the head with Purdue. Well, one of us did, at least.

We'll start with Indiana.

Indiana has eight (8!) home games this year, including four against non-conference powers such as Western Kentucky and Murray State. And to top it off, they don’t play Ohio State or Michigan this year. While they should feast on their weak non-conference opponents, they will still struggle in the Big11Ten.

Our prediction for Indiana: 7-5 (3-5 Big11Ten).

Back in the real world, the Hoosiers went 3-9 (1-7 Big11Ten). Maybe we were living in a fantasy world or something, but we thought they would at least put up a fight. Sure, they had a couple close games and one of their non-conference losses was to a MAC team that ended up doing very well (Ball State) -- but there were far too many blowouts and complete ineptitude on both sides of the ball.

To finish the season, Indiana was 10th in scoring offense and 11th in scoring defense. When you can't score and you got stop people from scoring, you know it's going to be a long season.

It was rough year for the whole team. Marcus Thigpen didn't do much in the backfield, rushing for only 631 yards and neither of the two quarterbacks who got significant time seemed to do much. Ben Chappell and Kellen Lewis both saw significant time at QB, sometimes during the same game, and Chappell getting some solo time when Lewis was out with an ankle injury.

In the preview we made mention that Indiana insisted there was a battle for the QB position that might be resolved until the first game of the season. Unfortunately, that battle may never have been resolved. Quarterback tandems never really work out like people hope and perhaps that may have attributed to Indiana's disappointing season.

So, yeah, Indiana was bad. We were clearly wrong.
But on the other hand, there was Purdue.

Here's what we said:

Purdue’s schedule isn’t as cakey as some in the Big11Ten, but they do luck out by not having to play Wisconsin. We do think they will win their rivalry game with Indiana, mostly to get back at this guy:


However, four of their first six games will be against Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State. That’s not going to be a fun run for the Boilermakers. Boiler down.

Our prediction for Purdue: 4-8 (2-6 Big11Ten).

How did they finish? 4-8 (2-6 Big11Ten). Yeah, it was a lucky guess. We know.

One of the high points for Purdue probably took place when Chris Summers was trotting out on the field to knock down a 44 yard field goal that would have beat Oregon, who was ranked 16 at the time. If you remember Purdue's game against PSU this season, you probably remember how reliable of a kicker Chris Summers is.

Yeah, he's not.

So, long story short, he missed. Then he missed another in overtime, and Oregon punched one in. Hey, at least he's probably better than that guy out at Cal Poly.

After that, Purdue would beat Central Michigan before losing 5 in a row. They would get 2 more wins against Michigan and Indiana. That win at Indiana would end up being the last of the Joe Tiller era as he retired at seasons end.

After the trouncing of Indiana by a score of 62-10, we found this gem of a quote in the AP recap:

"It just means I'm going to have one more Miller Lite," Tiller said. "I was going to limit myself to 12 or 13. This game won't change my mind [on coming back]. I'm done with coaching."

Sure, it was against Indiana, but maybe if Purdue had played that inspired all season long things may have been different. They're always right on the cusp of being a good team, so hopefully they get it together soon.

You get what you need.

Bring it, Traveler.

Alright, so we lost to Iowa and out the window went the hopes of a National Championship bid. While that's pretty disappointing and the Rose Bowl is not really what we wanted, a chance to play USC is something that Penn State and the entire Big11Ten conference needs.

Every year, USC is in the discussion for title contenders and the chance to knock them off in what essentially amounts to a home game, is huge. If the Lions can go into LA and win then it will bring a lot of deserved respect to the conference.

In the coming weeks we're going to talk a lot about this match-up and other BCS games but for today we're going to give a brief look at USC and what they've done -- and to be honest, it's kind of scary.

Offensively, they're scoring a lot of points -- just like PSU. USC has averaged 38.4 points per game but unlike most other teams that score a lot, they're allowing next to nothing. Teams playing against USC have scored 7.8 points per game. Seven. Point. Eight. Not a lot penetrates the Trojan's defense.

The same, however, cannot be said for the fan base.

It's gonna be a fun month.

Penn State has scored 40.2 points per game while allowing 12.4.

As you can see, both teams can score and stop the opponent from scoring. Something's gotta give.

Individually, we know who does what for Penn State. As for USC, there's a good chance the common fan doesn't know any names aside from Sanchez and Maualuga.

Sanchez has thrown for 2794 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. By comparison, Clark has compiled 2319 yards and 17 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

On the ground, we've seen Evan Royster get the ball the majority of the time, carrying it to the tune of 1202 yards. USC has had three players split the load; CJ Gable, Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight. Each has eclipsed 600 yards and they've accounted for 19 touchdowns between them.

As for receivers, the Trojans have had a very productive trio just like Penn State.

Damian Williams has 48 catches for 707 yards and 8 TDs. Patrick Turner has 45 for 667 and 10 touchdwosn and lastly Ronald Johnson has 29 for 488 and 6 touchdowns.

Here are the stats for Penn State's big three:
Butler: 43 catches, 714 yards, 7 touchdowns.
Williams: 40 catches, 451 yards, 3 touchdowns.
Norwood: 38 catches, 605 yards, 5 touchdowns.

On the defensive side, it's been something different for USC. It's always been about offense out there but this year it's the defense that's getting all the hype. They have great players all around and just suffocate teams. Surely by now you heard how Notre Dame didn't get a first down until the third quarter or that UCLA never crossed mid-field after they scored their first touchdown.

They're just killing teams, but if you wanted to be looked at as one of the best you have to beat the best.

One thing we learned by putting this all together is that these teams are pretty similar. They both have high scoring offenses and defenses that hold teams down. They run and pass well and they don't turn it over and they have defense that can just suck the life out of a team. Something unusual is that they also have two common opponents. Both beat Ohio State this season but USC lost to Oregon State a couple weeks after the Beavers took a real pounding here at Penn State.

It should be a great game out in Pasadena and hopefully the Lions can prove they belong. Winning against USC will go a long way in proving that the Big11Ten still produces legit teams.

Conference Championship Previews

Yeah we know this is a PSU blog but we're fans of college football as a whole too. We decided to delay the preview-reviews and check out what's happening this weekend as three BCS conferences hold their championship games. We think it's unlikely, but there's a slim chance that one of these games could have Rose Bowl implications, should the right teams lose and USC weasel their way into the National Championship picture. So, we'll drop these previews on you, then get back to revisiting the preseason and sometime in the weekend we'll have another Top 5. We love those.

Anyway, enough rambling, on with the previews!

SEC: Florida vs. Alabama, 4 PM, CBS

Some time after losing to Mississippi State, Florida became arguably the best team in the nation. Since then, they've dominated everyone they've played and scored 35 or more in every game. They absolutely trounced 4 Top 25 teams along the way. Even while there were still more than 1 undefeated teams in the nation, people were talking about who Florida would play in the national championship game.

Alabama, on the other hand, surprised everyone by hammering Clemson in their opening game (which, in hindsight, isn't very surprising at all) and then followed that up a few weeks later by throttling then No. 3 Georgia (again, not really all that surprising when you look back). While those wins look a little less impressive now that the season has played out, you can't argue the overall product that Alabama has put out on the field. They play solid defense and they control the ball on offense. They tackle, they block and they rush the ball.

We're not football strategists and admittedly know less about the intricacies of the game than we'd like to -- but we know that when you do those three things well, you'll have a very good team.

Given the quality of both teams and what's up for grabs, this looks to be a classic game. Great defense versus great offense -- both ways -- and while Alabama is ranked higher, Florida is a favorite; something a little out of the ordinary.

There are stories all over this, be it about the resurgence of Bama, Nick Saban or Urban Meyer, flashy Florida vs. lunch-pail Alabama or the game essentially being the national championship semi-final.

In the end, it's going to come down to how well the Tide defense can contain the Florida offense. We feel good about Florida keeping the Tide in check, but not the other way around. Florida has put up points against every team they've played and we're not sure that Alabama is going to be able to stop them -- and that's what they'll need. Slowing them down won't do it, as it seems that a slow Florida team is still going to score 30+ points.

So, if Bama wants to win they're going to have to make Florida play their game. We don't think that's going to happen and that Florida will win this one, probably by that 9.5 or better.

Prediction: Florida 28, Alabama 17

Big 12: Missouri vs. Oklahoma, 8 PM, ABC

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about the Big 12 championship and how the South division could very well come down to a three-way tie. Here's what we had to say about it then:

...We think that if Oklahoma pulls the upset (against Texas Tech) this weekend that they will have the best chance to get in. The win will be fresh in poll voters’ minds, and the loss to Texas seems like a long time ago. We think this scenario is the most likely, and if so, look for the Sooner to take a trip to the BCS title game.

Okay, we hit that one on the head, but we're not pleased about the way things have turned out in the Big 12. Instead of using a computer to break a three-way tie, why not look at it in a logical way? Who had the best loss? Texas, on the last play on the road at Tech. Who had the best win? Also Texas, at a neutral site against OU. Obviously the pollsters and computers threw out Texas Tech because they were bombed by the Sooners. You can tell, because they're so far behind in the BCS standings, so how Oklahoma jumps Texas, the team they lost to, is beyond us. The BCS with another outstanding job.

BCS Headquarters

But of course, that's the way it is, and the Sooners get the nod as the South division champion, thus setting up a matchup with Missouri for the Big 12 title. Obviously, much more is on the line for Oklahoma. If they win, they're almost a lock for the national title game. And if they lose, let the madness ensue. Who knows who this screwy system will name as OU's replacement in the big game.

Luckily for the BCS supporters, there's little chance of Oklahoma blowing this one. Despite a 9-3 record, Missouri is an average team. They gave up a boatload of yards and points to Illinois in the season opener. They got smoked by Texas. And they just lost to Kansas to end their regular season. Chase Daniel had great numbers this year, but as we've seen, it ain't hard to put up big offensive numbers in the Big 12. Saturday is going to play out for Mizzou like it did for the Spartans when they rolled into Happy Valley a couple weeks ago. They had a nice season, but they're about the get a wake-up call.

Prediction: Okahoma 56, Missouri 28

ACC: Boston College vs Virginia Tech, 11:45 AM, ABC.

We're not going to lie. We don't know a whole heck of a lot about the ACC. In fact, we had to go look up who was playing in this game just before we wrote these previews. That conference is a mess, indicated by the two teams playing in the championship game with 5-3 conference records.

If at the beginning of the season you wanted to predict the two teams that would appear in the ACC championship game this weekend, you could have drawn the names out of a hat or thrown darts at the wall. Ten ACC teams went 5-3 or 4-4 in the conference this season.

Due to our lack of knowledge regarding the ACC, we decided the only way we could come up with a score for this preview was to play it out on the field. So, naturally, we fired up the ole 360's and played this one out. Boston College versus Virginia Tech. One game (we forgot to pick a neutral site), one chance to get to the BCS, winner take all.

Virginia Tech got the early lead with an interception return on BC's first drive, but BC came back on scored on their next drive. Both teams would put together solid drives through the first and second and entered the half 14-14.

BC scored twice in the third because VA Tech refused to run and threw two interceptions. With the score 28-14 and little time left in the fourth, VA Tech marched down the field and put up 7 with two minutes left.

The onsides kick failed but VA Tech forced a three and out and the ball back with 1:30 left.

They started marching again but threw an interception to end the drive. They would force a final punt as BC does not know how to manage a clock, and got the ball back with 12 seconds left. One play for all the marbles and QB#5 threw the ball out of bounds to avoid the sack.

GAME.

If anyone needs to pad their NCAA09 stats on Xbox Live, we're the guys to call.

Prediction: Boston College 28, Virginia Tech 21

The Preview in Review: Part 2

We'll start this one off with the Lion's most recently vanquished opponent: Michigan State.

We just realized that there’s a glaring lack of jokes in this preview. That’s because there will most likely be a glaring lack of crappy football being played in East Lansing this year. Unlike their counterparts in Ann Arbor, the Spartans should strike some fear into the hearts of Nittany Lion fans this year. We play them in the last game of the regular season, and the winner of that match up could be in line for a great conference finish and a big-time bowl game.

Our prediction for Michigan State this season: 9-3 (5-3 Big11Ten).

Well, we got the overall record right, but the Spartans ended up 6-2 in the conference, having lost only to PSU and Ohio State. They opened the season with a 38-31 loss at Cal.

Michigan State is pretty much who we thought they were. No, we won't post the video.

They beat the teams you might have expected them to beat and they challenged for the conference title. Had they beat PSU, they would have won it. During our preview we said that this would be the year of Javon, and it was, as he rushed for 1500+ yards and that the big question mark would be the defense.

The defense ended up being good enough as Michigan State cruised through the majority of their schedule, but their less their stellar play was exposed when they met quality opponents like PSU and Ohio State. Overall, MSU was rather ordinary when you look at the statistics, but they were able to take that squad and turn it into a 9-3 record. Consider where this team was just a couple years ago, and 9-3 is pretty good.

Speaking of where they were:

and

We think it's great that MSU had a great season because, as we keep saying, we need the whole Big11Ten to do well. We also need the two teams we play every year to be good, for the sake of a rivalry. We also think it's great that that coach of theirs may have been trying to mix things up by calling those later timeouts in the season finale.


Moving on to the Northwestern Wildcats!

The Wildcats better start strong though, because they finish their season against Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois. We think Northwestern will bomb their opponents enough early to have a respectable finish and get to a low-level bowl game.

Our prediction for Northwestern this season: 7-5 (3-5 Big11Ten)

This one is kind of a surprise. We picked them to go 7-5 but the 'Cats showed us up and finished the season 9-3(5-3). They'll get themselves a decent bowl game and we hope the represent the conference well.

This season the Wildcats beat the teams they should have beat, beat the teams you thought they could beat and lost to the teams they were expect to lose to. Of course, there was one glaring exception: a 21-19 loss to Indiana.

On a more positive note, one of the most notable games of the season has to be Northwestern's game in Minnesota. Mike Kafka filled in at quarterback and rushed for 217 yards which as you might imagine, set a school record. Minnesota was looking to prove they are the real deal but Northwestern took the win via a last minute (12 seconds left actually) interception that was returned for a TD.

Statistically, Northwestern was middle of the pack. The Cats were fourth in scoring defense, eighth in scoring defense, fifth in total defense and sixth in total offense.

Record-wise is a pretty successful season for Northwestern -- better than a lot of people, including ourselves, probably expected. But if the Wildcats want to go anywhere they're going to have solidify themselves in all phases of the game before they can hang with the big teams. It's pretty easy to get to 6-2 or 5-3 in the Big11Ten, but it takes a lot of work to get that 7-1 or 8-0 mark.

Not PSU News: Weis Returns

Charlie breathing a sigh of relief.

Ty is going to go nuts.

The Notre Dame people made it official today; Charlie's staying.

We haven't heard of one person who supports this decision, aside from the people who make the decision, apparently. From what people are saying on tv, it's like no one wants him, no one thinks he can coach and everyone is tired of his arrogance. We're not sure how you bring a guy like that back.

Chuck went to consecutive BCS bowls in his first two seasons -- with someone else's players. He's followed those up with awfully bad seasons this year and last, and the Irish have lost 15 games over the span of two seasons for the first time, well, ever.

They lost to the Midshipmen for the first time in a mellennia and they have only beat one team that finished the season in the top 25. Yeah, that was our team, by the way.

How do you keep this guy?

Oh right, because someone gave him a monster contract and it's probably going to look bad buying out the remaining 7 years on that deal. Shortsightedness is awesome.

So, while many people were tossing Charlie overboard, here are the Irish bringing him back in.

In an unrelated story, Touchdown Jesus has chosen to transfer, citing a lack of playing time.

The weekly recap goes year-end mode.

Like anyone else out there running a blog or any kind of news-site, you feel obligated to go out and make predictions at the start of the season. We thought now would be a good time to go back and take a look at what we predicted and compare those predictions to what came to be.

We're pretty new at this whole thing so we didn't really venture out on any limbs, but we're willing to take the beating if we were far off and trust us, if one of us really screwed up on something, the other is going to never let them forget about it.

We're going to start things off with Michigan, since they were easy.

Basically, we feel that while defense is the foundation of everything in the Big11Ten, when you’ve lost so many key pieces and have only one returning starter on your o-line, it’s bad times ahead. Throw in a new coach and a new system, and things probably aren’t going your way.

Our prediction for Michigan this season: 5-7 (3-5 Big11Ten).

So we gave them more credit than they deserved. They ended up 3-9 (2-6 Big Ten) and at or near the bottom of the conference in a whole heck of a lot meaningful statistic. Eleventh in scoring offense. Tenth in scoring defense. Eleventh in pass offense. Ninth in pass defense. You get the picture.

There was one statistic, however, where they stood supreme. The Wolverines led the conference with a sparkling 40.1 net yards per punt.

The Wolverines were about as bad as we had hoped but worse than we expected. We loved seeing them lose to teams like Toledo, hearing how this was the first time in a while they lost to all three of their big rivals and we really liked all the "since 1967" stats.

However, the Big11Ten needs Michigan to come back strong soon, if not next year. As much as we hate to admit it, the conference teams are all in it together when it comes to getting the big bowl bids. Why do you think there's 7 one-loss teams and probably a couple 2-loss teams ahead of PSU in the "trip to the championship game" queue?

The sooner Michigan comes back and does something meaningful, the better off the entire conference will be. Just so they don't beat Penn State anymore.


Moving on to Minnesota.

For as much positive potential the offense has, the defense seems to have as much negative potential. It would be a great story to see that terrible defense return with a couple junior college guys and turn into a competitor, but it's still a long shot for Minnesota to turn into anything resembling a contendor quite yet. Hopefully for the Gopher faithful, the 2009 team will put something special together for that new stadium they're building -- but 2008 looks like another year full of L's.

Our Prediction for 2008: 3-9 (0-8)

We were off by four games, but we were way off in predicting 0-8 in the conference. The Gophers ended up 7-5 (3-5) and to a team that was coming off a 1-11 (0-8) season, that's a huge turnaround. Sure, they had the benefit of playing Northern Illinois, Montana State, Bowling Green and Florida Atlantic, but hey, they lost to two of those teams the year before.

We noted that while the Gophers have the potential on offense to do something special, defense will ultimately bring them down. That suspect defense ended up allowing 378.4 yards per game, good for 10th in the conference. Pair that with an inability to run the ball (dead last in the conference with 105.8 ypg) and it was a recipe for disaster when you got against a solid opponent.

Had the Gophers finished a bit stronger and not lost their last four games of the season, including a beatdown of epic proportions by Iowa (55-0), this really could have been a special season. For Gopher fans it was probably a great surprise but moving forward the Gophers won't be sneaking up on anyone. Again, we hope they continue to improve because the more good teams in the conference, the better.

Next up: Wisconsin.

The chances of the Badgers to make an appearance in a BCS bowl this season probably rest entirely on the shoulders of PJ Hill. Make no mistake about it, he can run. It will be no surprise when Bielema starts calling for the ball to get to Hill early and often. As PJ Hill goes this season, so go the Badgers.

Also, PJ Hill has his own website We couldn't believe it when we saw it either. Hope you like the third person.

"Visit PJ Hill's website." - PJ Hill

Our Prediction for this season: 10-2 (6-2)

Yeah, we were pretty far off on this one. The Badgers actually ended up being 7-5 (3-5). PJ Hill did get his carries and put up 1000 yards (4.8 ypc average), but he also split time with John Clay who put up 845 yards of his own (5.9 ypc average!).

Wisconsin started off well enough as they won their first three games, but that brings us to the next part of our preview:

After that game (Fresno State), they get a week off to prep for a road trip to Michigan. Despite it being a down year for Michigan (potentially), it's never a good thing when you have to travel to Ann Arbor.

Following Michigan the Badgers play at home against Ohio State, Penn State, then travel to Iowa before returning home for a game against Illinois. If Wisconsin can get through that stretch, perhaps even with just one loss, they should be at the top of the running for Big11Ten Champs as they close with Michigan State, Indiana, Minnesota and a team that really strikes fear into everyone -- Cal Poly.

If you didn't know by now, The Badgers didn't get through that stretch. They lost to Michigan (somehow), Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa before breaking the slide with a win against the Illini. They would lose one more to Michigan State before closing out the season with three wins, BUT BARELY.

If not for a disastrous day kicking extra points (or not kicking extra points, that is), the Badgers would have lost to Cal-Poly. The Cal-Poly kicker missed three of those extra point attempts, including one in overtime that allowed Wisconsin to lock up the win.

Wisconsin's demise may have been one of the biggest surprises of the season, but there's no reason to believe they won't come back swinging next year. They were middle of the pack in a lot of categories this year, so it might just take a little fine tuning to get things rolling again. Unfortunately for Badger fans, Brett Bielema doesn't look like the kind of guy who could fine tune anything.

We'll continue this tomorrow....

Odds & Ends

So we're a bit behind on actual Penn State news lately. We blame the turkey:

Good for watching football, bad for writing about it.

Anyway, we're back from our post-Thanksgiving hangover with some news on the team, including post-season awards and the likely Rose Bowl matchup with USC.

Leading off, Penn State cleaned house in All-Big11Ten honors. Here's the list:

First Team

• Daryll Clark
• Derrick Williams
• A.Q. Shipley
• Gerald Cadogan
• Rich Ohrnberger
• Kevin Kelly
• Navorro Bowman
• Aaron Maybin
• Jared Odrick
• Anthony Scirrotto
  

Second Team

• Deon Butler
• Evan Royster
• Lydell Sargeant
• Stephen Wisniewski
  

Honorable Mention

• Jeremy Boone
• Tony Davis
• Josh Gaines
• Dennis Landolt
• Jordan Norwood
• Mark Rubin
• Tyrell Sales
  

Yikes. Look at the number of linemen on those lists. That shows you what a force both lines could be this year. Also, Joe was named Big11Ten Coach of the Year. Hey, we love Joe, but it's ironic that a dude who does probably the least amount of coaching in the conference wins Coach of the Year.

In a related story, James Laurinaitis was named Big11Ten Defensive Player of the Year. E!SPN's Big11Ten Blogger Adam Rittenberg had this to say about that choice:

James Laurinaitis is a future College Football Hall of Famer and a sure-fire first-round NFL draft pick. He's an excellent football player. He should not have been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. That award should have gone to Penn State defensive end Aaron Maybin. No one else is really in the discussion. Maybin was flat-out dominant this season. I don't care if he's just a sophomore. Base the award on merit, not on reputation or name recognition or having a nice back story.

We rarely agree with people from E!SPN, but Rittenberg really hit the nail on the head. This is a case of voters not doing their homework and voting for a name, not a performance. Maybin was a beast out there all year, and while Laurinaitis is a good player, he didn't impact games the way Maybin did this season.

Speaking of Maybin, he's a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award for the top defensive player in the nation. Penn State has a death grip on this award, as it went to Dan Connor last year and Paul Posluszny the previous two years. We hope this doesn't turn out the same way as the Big11Ten Defensive Player of the Year, because Laurinaitis is one of the other two candidates for the Bednarik (Ray Maualuga of USC is the other). It would be funny if Maybin won this one but didn't win POY in his own conference.

In other award news, a record five Nittany Lions made the Academic All-America team. Gerold Cadogan, Josh Hull, Andrew Pitz and Mark Rubin earned first team honors, while Stefen Wisniewski made the second team. Kudos to those guys.

Now we move to the Rose Bowl, where by now you've heard that Oregon State got smoked 65-38 by Oregon in the Civil War on Saturday. The big change coming from that game is that USC will head to the Rose Bowl barring a loss to 4-7 UCLA this weekend or some kind of insane BCS shakeup (insane shakeups are always possible with an insane system). This is what we wanted: a chance to prove something on a national stage against an elite team. Now the team needs to go to Pasadena and not blow it like another Big11Ten we all know and love.

Speaking of Ohio State, Oregon State's loss likely means the Buckeyes will get yet another BCS bowl bid this year. Just be thankful that it's not the national title game.

Just one final note: we were waaaaaayyyy off on our prediction of the Georgia-Georgia Tech battle on Saturday. Had we known that Georgia has no idea how to defend the option (or how to tackle, for that matter), we would've chosen differently. Trev Alberts referred to that game as a classic battle. If you enjoy a general disregard of defense by two teams, then yes, it was definitely a classic.

We'd talk more about the Rose Bowl today, but we have a solid month to do that. That's all for now.

Saturday Preview

Just because Penn State's regular season is over doesn't mean we aren't excited about college football Saturdays anymore. Sure, it's not the same as a Penn State football day experience, but today's slate of games should be relatively entertaining, with some big rivalry games. Here's a look five big games on the schedule today, in chronological order.

Georgia Tech @ Georgia, 12:00, CBS
Is this game going to be very exciting? Probably not. Georgia is an 8.5 point favorite over Tech, and frankly, we think that's a little low. Tech has a decent record at 8-3, but 8-3 in the ACC is like 5-6 in an actual conference. The Gameday crew has alerted us this morning that Tech really hates Georgia. Check out this snippet from Tech's fight song:

So then it's up with the White and Gold
Down with the Red and the Black
Georgia Tech is out for a victory
We'll drop our battle axe on Georgia's head, CHOP!

Apparently they don't understand rhyme in Georgia. Anyway, without giving you any real analysis here, we feel Georgia will win this one handily.

Prediction: Georgia 34, Georgia Tech 13


Florida @ Florida State, 3:30, ABC
Can you remember when this game was actually a fierce rivalry? We can, but only vaguely. What happened to teams like FSU and Miami? Did the new ACC just automatically make everyone mediocre upon joining? Florida State is showing signs of life this year, currently sitting at 8-3 after two straight 7-6 seasons, but Florida has been absolutely killing teams ever since they lost to Ole Miss at home in Week 4. In fact, the Gators are averaging 46.5 points a game this year. Look for Florida to jump out to an early lead and never look back, as they are outscoring opponents 146-7 in the first quarter this year. Holy Hell.

If you're a Seminoles fan, it's going to be a long day for you.

Prediction: Florida 52, Florida State 14


Oregon @ Oregon State, 7:00
Here's one that actually matters for us Penn State fans. We all know how this works by now: if Oregon State wins tonight, they go to the Rose Bowl, setting up what we're sure will be an exciting second chapter to the 45-14 beatdown PSU gave them in September (a game that has been mentioned about 0 times in the mainstream media this season, by the way). But if Oregon pulls the (mild) upset and USC wins out, bring on the Trojans, baby.

There's not much between these in-state rivals on paper, as they're both 8-3, though Oregon State holds the edge in Pac-10 play with a 7-1 record (Oregon is 6-2). So what gives the Ducks hope to beat the Beavers (what a matchup of mascots that is...)? Oregon State's great freshman running back, Jacquizz Rodgers, will miss the game due to a shoulder injury. If Oregon can hold the Beavers' passing game in check (something Arizona couldn't do in the last couple minutes last week), they should have a good chance to win in Corvalis.

Prediction: Oregon 23, Oregon State 21


Notre Dame @ USC, 8:00, ESPN
This game really is not all that interesting, except for the subplot of Charlie Weis's eventual termination from his head coaching spot. It's not enough that Weiss is showing that he is a very average coach, but a lot of stories are coming out through mainstream papers and sports talk radio about Weiss being an incredible ass and rubbing a lot of ND alums the wrong way. We just think he's a fat jerk who rode Bill Belichick's coattails all the way to a huge payday and had a good first season with Ty Willingham's players. Either way, he doesn't last another full year at ND, if he even lasts through this year.

And since this game involves USC, let us take the time to mention that we think the Trojans being ahead of Penn State in the BCS is ridiculous. Anyone who says the Pac-10 is head and shoulders above the Big11Ten this year is mildly insane. At the least, the conferences are right on par, at the most, we think the Big11Ten is better this year. Throw in the fact that USC lost to a team that Penn State crushed, and we definitely have an argument to be ranked higher. It doesn't help that Oregon State really turned their season around after the big loss in Happy Valley (whereas Iowa has a mediocre record), but USC being such a high profile program has to help their ranking.

In other news, this game is going to be a massacre.

Prediction: USC 120, Notre Dame 3


Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State, 8:00, ABC
The final game we're previewing is probably the best matchup of the day. Oklahoma State has had a pretty nice season, and they played Texas very closely earlier in the year. If Oklahoma has any sort of hangover from last week's big win, they could have some trouble on their hands. They're not the greatest road team in the world, either.

On the other hand, they have the ability to score 28 points in about six or seven minutes, so if OSU slips up early, it could be over for them just as quickly as it was for Texas Tech a week ago. If Oklahoma does slip up in this one, it would make things way easier for those quirky BCS computers to figure out the Big XII South, but we don't think that's going to happen.

Prediction: Oklahoma 49, Oklahoma State 28

We'll be back next week with actual Penn State news.

The Final Roundup

Time for the final Big11Ten Roundup. There was some thought into comparing what we predicted each team to do versus how things actually turned out, but that can't happen for two reasons.

1. It would embarrass us.
2. We didn't even finish all the team previews.

Slackers we are.

Since we were in State College tailgating for the last game, we didn't really get to see any of the games. That's really going to hurt the quality of the assessment so if you get the "this guy is just reading from the box score" feel from this post, it's probably because we're just reading from the box score.

Indiana: 10 Purdue: 62
Rivals.

You are not reading that incorrectly. This was the weekend of the rout.
You may have heard at some point during the season that Joe Tiller is retiring. While the Purdue season as a whole wasn't very good, at least they gave him a proper send-off as they trounced Indiana and won the Old Oaken Bucket. A trophy like that is what makes the Big11Ten great. It also gives us a chance to share this picture

That picture has nothing to do with anything, except the word bucket.

Anyway, check out the Rivals link. Purdue set a bunch of "hasn't happened since..." records and Kory Sheets moved up the school's career rushing chart. Tiller also said he plans to drink 12-13 Miller Lites.

Wisconsin: 36 Cal Poly: 35
Rivals.

If you are Cal Poly fan, you probably hate kickers right now. Their kicker missed three extra points, including one in overtime. After he missed in OT it was just a matter of time before the Badgers punched one in and won the game. The headline says that Wisconsin dodges the upset, but at this point in the season and the way Wisconsin has played, we're not sure who would have been upsetting who.

PJ Hill went over 1,000 yards for the third straight season, he's only the second Badger to do that.

"PJ Hill for Heisman." - PJ Hill

Northwestern: 27 Illinois: 10

Rivals.

This is game that you'd probably have to see to understand, because we don't. Both teams had comparable statistics in terms of total yardage (Indiana: 335, Northwestern: 339) and neither team turned the ball over too many times to be out of the ordinary. But somehow, Northwestern comes out and wins by 17 and finishes off a good season. The Wildcats end with a record of 9-3 (5-3) and will likely find themselves in a pretty good bowl. No one really expected that to happen.

The Illini, however, will end the season 5-7 (3-5) and miss out on the bowl season. Like many, you might have expected to see this same write-up when the season started, except switch the names of the schools wherever they appear. Northwestern far exceeded any expectations while The Illini failed to live up to theirs.

=(

Iowa: 55 Minnesota: 0
Rivals.

We're not sure how this happened. Minnesota rushed for 7 yards. Iowa for 222. Iowa passed for 261. Minnesota had 127. That must be how it happened.

If you could say one thing about Minnesota this year, it was that their offense was able to perform. Unfortunately for Gopher fans it didn't function at all on Saturday and they ended their tenure in the HHH Dome with a monstrous loss. We'll miss the dome (okay so not really), but no one will miss the epic design flaw on the roof.

Oops.

Despite that loss, however, Minnesota far exceeeded most poeple's expectations for this this season. They end the season 7-5 (3-5) and will likely play in a decent bowl. If the wheels hadn't fallen off during the last four games, all of which they lost, they could have found themselves in a real good bowl and that would have surely been a suprise to everyone.

Regardless of how they finished this season or what they do in their bowl game, it's probably safe to assume that in the coming years, Minnesota may be a team to watch out for in the Big11Ten.

Ohio State: 42 Michigan: 7
Rivals.

Wish we could have seen this one. We wanted Michigan to win so that Ohio State couldn't claim "co-champions" but alas, they couldn't pull it out. Michigan sucks.

Apparently Michigan's defense played well or some garbage, and Ohio State got lucky in scoring 42 points.

Who allows this to take place?

Game 12 Recap: Penn State 49, Michigan State 18

We got up at 6 AM to start cooking a turkey for the tailgate. It was cold as shit then, and it didn't get any better all day. But it was a great tailgate followed by an even better game. Penn State looked like they did earlier in the season, when they would score at will and play suffocating D. It was an excellent performance all around, and the Lions are now Big11Ten champions. And of course there's this:


It feels pretty good. Onto the recap...

1st Quarter

Penn State got the ball to start the game, and after they go three-and-out, we started wondering if this was going to be another slow start for the offense.

Luckily, we started feeling better when Maybin planted Ringer in the backfield for a loss of 2 on MSU's first offensive play. After a false start, Hoyer completed two passes to pick up a first down, but after a 4-yard loss by Ringer, an incompletion, another false start and a sack by Abe Koroma, Michigan State actually lost yardage on the drive and had to punt.

On the next play, those feelings about a slow start began to fade. Clark hit Norwood on a post for 49 yards and it was first and goal at the MSU 10.


Clark hit Williams for no gain and Royster rushed for 5, setting up a third down. On third down, Clark scrambled and waited until the absolute last second before hitting Graham Zug just inside the pylon. Great play by Clark to buy some time.

7-0

The Spartans came out on the next drive and had a third and 4 after a short run and a 5-yard completion to Ringer. But Hoyer was sacked again on third down, this time by Ollie Ogbu and had to punt. Penn State's ensuing drive stalled after five plays and they punted back. But the Lions' D was locked in early, and forced another three-and-out. Great start by the D, especially the line, as Ringer still had negative rushing yards up to this point.

Williams fielded the punt and got to his own 24, but a penalty moved the offense back to the 14. The Lions got four plays in before the end of the quarter.

2nd Quarter

Clark hit Royster on a screen for a 19-yard gain to start the second. After an incompletion and a short run, Clark found Norwood for a huge 26-yard pickup on third and 7. Royster then carried one for 14 yards and after a Clark run went nowhere, Dan Lawlor pounded it in from 4 yards out. 12 plays, 86 yards. Nice drive.

14-0

Michigan State was looking to get something started on their next drive, and early on, they did. The Spartans moved the ball well and picked up three first downs after 4 runs from Ringer and a couple completions by Hoyer. But on first and 10 from the PSU 46, Mo Evans got to Hoyer for an 11-yard loss. MSU couldn't recover from there and were forced to punt again.

That was bad news for Spartan fans, because the Lions weren't going to be stopped. It was looking a little bleak at first, after Stephfon Green was stuffed for a loss of 4 and Clark was sacked for a loss of 3 (both by Greg Jones), but Clark hit Green on a screen that went for 37 yards (and probably would've gone for a score if Green hadn't run into A.Q. Shipley).

After a pass interference penalty, a short run and an incompletion, it was third and 11 at the MSU 29, and Clark stepped up again on third down, hitting Zug for a huge 28 yard gain. Clark took it in for 6 on the next play.

Did you see him stare down the ref after that play?

21-0

Michigan State was probably feeling the urgency at this point. If they didn't score soon, the game could get out of hand. Hoyer came out and completed his first three passes of the ensuing drive. The only problem was that the third one went to Scirrotto. Whoops.

Clark wasted no time and hit Williams for a 32-yard touchdown.

We are lazy photoshoppers.

28-0

Michigan State doesn't quit though (as we would find out more about later), and they took the ball on a 14-play, 76-yard ride for a touchdown before the half.

28-7

Penn State may have held the Spartans to a field goal if it weren't for a ridiculous pass interference call on Scirrotto, but we barely cared. After that first half, we weren't too worried about the Spartans coming back.

-Halftime-

3rd Quarter

Michigan State got the ball to start the third quarter and couldn't get anything going. They converted a first down but then were set back by a false start penalty. A few short plays later and it was punt time.

The Lions fared no better as they went three-and-out.

Not to be outdone, the Spartans went three-and-out.

On the Lions' second possession of the half, things changed.

The offense started on their own 30, but Royster and Norwood quickly ate up 56 yards of grass and put the Lions deep in Michigan State territory. Around this time, one of the broadcasters mentioned that they had not heard anything from Butler this game.

The words were barely out of their mouth when Clark hit Butler on a four yard slant.

35-7

The Lion's weren't stopping, and the Spartans didn't seem to even put up a fight.

On the next drive, the Spartans got a quick first down and then went for blood on the ensuing first down. The Spartans ran a poorly executed trick play to try and jump-start things, but it all fell apart. It was a bold call but Lydell Sargeant was back there and he has a knack for picking off the deep ball -- don't ya, Lydell?

Yes sir.

The play was reviewed because the lateral was forward, the Lions declined the penalty and got the ball at their own four, and Hoyer was left dead on the field. He didn't look injured until he realized the ball had been picked off.

Getting the ball back must have ignited the offense as they ran four plays and got 2 first downs. On the fifth play of the drive it was all Butler.

Clark stepped back, put the ball in the air, the camera panned to the right and what did we see?

Butler in space. 70 yards.
That's six.

42-7

MSU got the ball back and ran five plays before punting.
Somewhere, Michael Moore was taking off that Michigan State hat.

4th Quarter

Devlin started the fourth quarter for the Lion's and we expected a bunch of hand-offs. Instead, they let the guy pass it.

On his fourth attempt, he caught Michigan State excercising their new "stop Deon Butler" scheme.

He was pretty open.

49-7

After that score, PSU went into shutdown mode whenever they had the ball and MSU got 11 meaningless points. We wish they wouldn't have let them get that 2-pt conversion and on-side kick, but we don't even know what guys were on the field when that happened.

So yeah, 49-18.

The big story though was MSU using two timeouts back-to-back with 9 seconds left. We're not sure what they were trying to accomplish but some guy on the post game show was saying the MSU staffers and players were taunting the crowd. We're not sure that actually happened because there was nothing they could taunt us for. I mean, they were losing 49-18. Did this really happen? Did anyone in the stadium see this? Does anyone in the stadium read this?

If it did, they were probably just pissed that there were Roses on the PSU sideline sometime during the third quarter. We wish they had waited until the game ended because it does come off as a bit cocky. Celebrate after the game, guys.

Anyway, what a way to end the season. The fan-base owes a LOT to the guys pictured below. They committed to this school when it was at its worst, and now they have 2 Big11Ten trophies to show for their efforts.

Game.
49-18

3 Big Stat Lines

• Daryll Clark: 16-26, 341 yds, 5 TD (1 rushing)
  
• Senior Receivers: 12 rec., 311 yds, 4 TD
  
• Penn State D: held MSU to 35 yards rushing
  

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

• Outstanding play on both sides of the ball by Penn State
• What a game by Daryll Clark. Good to see him close out the season on a positive note.
• Deon Butler is extremely efficient: 3 catches, 3 touchdowns.
• Awesome game from the big three senior receivers overall.
• Maybe we should've predicted this type of game. MSU got crushed by Ohio State and barely beat Wisconsin. They had a nice year, but they didn't beat any great teams.
• Damn, it was cold out there.
• Two Big11Ten titles in four years for these seniors. Not too shabby.
• Doesn't look like Joe is goin' anywhere.
• Five and a half damn weeks until Jan. 1.
  

Penn State Player of the Game: Daryll Clark/Senior Receivers
You can't say enough about the performance of these four. Clark looked relaxed from the start, going through his reads, making solid throws and buying time with his feet. The first touchdown was all his doing. He had a huge day from there on out, and his stats show it. As for the receivers, what a way to go out. Williams made a great catch for a touchdown, Norwood was his old sneaky, speedy self and got into space a number of times and every time Butler touched the football, it went for a touchdown. The offense closed out the season in style, thanks in large part to these guys.

Michigan State Player of the Game: LB Greg Jones
Jones racked up 15 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and a sack. He seemed like pretty much the only Spartan defender that could do anything against the PSU offense. He is a beast for sure.

And finally, give the man some roses:

Game 12 Preview: Michigan State vs. Penn State

Gametime: 3:30 pm

Records: Penn State: 10-1 (6-1), Michigan State: 9-2, (6-1)

Series Record: Tied, 12-12-1 (Penn State leads the Big11Ten series record 11-4)

TV: ABC

Audio: Here

Weather: High of 28 and snow showers. Dress warm.

All the marbles.

We all know what's on the line here. A Big11Ten title. A trip to Pasadena. A little national respect. There have been a lot of big games this season, but as of right now, tomorrow is the biggest.

As for the game, it feels eerily similar to a couple others we've played this year. Penn State is facing off against a Michigan State team that has a stud running back and a passing game that is a bit anemic. Remind you of anyone? Maybe Ohio State and Iowa?

Well, the strategy is the same in this one as it was for those two. Stop the run and make the mediocre quarterback beat you. One time the Lions stopped the run masterfully, and they won. The other time they didn't, and..... you know.

So Penn State's front seven will have to step up and stop arguably the best running back in the conference, Javon Ringer. Ringer's been a beast all year, no doubt, but if the big boys up front can stop him, Michigan State may really struggle to move the ball. Despite Ringer's 140 yards per game this season, the Spartans rank only 8th in the Big11Ten in rushing with 150 yards per game. That stat means they have virtually nothing else besides Ringer to throw at you out of the backfield. On the other hand, they haven't really needed anything else yet. But the objective is clear: stop Ringer and make Brian Hoyer beat you.

We've seen Hoyer in action under center a few times this year. We can hardly say we were impressed. Now, he doesn't have a great receiving corps (we loss count of the drops they had against Wisconsin), but sometimes he makes throws that leave you scratching your head wondering what the hell he was thinking. That's the kind of quarterback we like to see.

Penn State's defense is ranked 1st in the conference in terms of passing yardage allowed, and if they play smart, put some pressure on Hoyer and force a couple turnovers, we think things will be A-OK. Of course you can forget we said all of this if Tom Bradley just drops them back into a soft-ass zone on every third and long like he did against Iowa. For everyone's sake, let's hope the defense comes out aggressive.

As has been the case most of the season, we haven't said much about Penn State's offense. That's because for most of the season, it's been extremely good, and we don't really need to say much. But the Indiana game marked the second straight game that the offense started slowly. Blame Clark, blame the playcalling, blame your drunken friends or whatever you want, but the offense has to come out and set the tone early this weekend. Michigan State is 8-0 this year when they score first, so getting on the board early is going to be key. We have confidence that the offense can come out and put together a nice first drive like they were doing earlier in the season. If they can give a lead to the defense, we like our chances in this one.

And oh by the way, like we said, on paper this game looks a lot like the Iowa game. Except for one huge difference:

Bring it.

Michigan State Player To Watch: QB Brian Hoyer
Ringer is the obvious choice here, but we know he'll get his touches and to win, PSU is going to have to shut him down. So if they do, all the pressure falls on Hoyer. And that would probably be a good thing, as he's completed just 49% of his passes this year (and just 43% the last two games). In the cold weather, against a stout pass defense and a hostile crowd, Hoyer is going to have to play out of his mind in this one.

Penn State Player To Watch: Derrick Williams
This is the swan song at home for a guy who's done more than his fair share to turn this program around from its awful stretch earlier in the decade. His signing and subsequent performance in his first year increased Penn State's exposure and put it firmly back in the national picture as a football school. While his performance on the field was less than stellar at times, we feel that this was less his fault than most people probably think (check out the Roundtable from yesterday). And this is his last chance to make a few more explosive plays before what should be an appreciative home crowd.

3 Bold Predictions:

• D-Will scores another rushing touchdown.
  
• Royster scores two.
  
• Saturday night, we'll be drinking to a Big11Ten Championship.
  

Other Notes

• Ringer's a beast, but we don't think he's better than Shonn Greene.
• It's going to be a cold tailgate.

Okay, we have to admit that we were feeling a little blah about this game earlier in the week. But now that it's almost here, we're pumped. You don't get the chance to win a conference title every year, and to do it at home would be amazing. If Penn State plays up to their full potential, they win easily. Since that's been a bit of an issue lately, we think this one will be close throughout. But they will pull away in the end.

Game Prediction: Penn State 28, Michigan State 14

Blue & White Roundtable: The Final Countdown

Other possible participants:

There is No Name on My Jersey
Tangled Up in White and Blue
W. F. Yurasko
Happy Hour Valley
Black Shoe Diaries
The Nittany Line
Zombie Nation
Nittany Whiteout

1. So, are you freaking out this week? Did you honestly think Penn State would be in this position, going into the last week of the season? How about Michigan State?

Let's start with Michigan State. Let's hope in the DeLorean for a moment and take a look at our preseason preview of MSU. In probably our only decent call of the season, we picked them to go 9-3. Their current record? 9-2. Hopefully after Saturday, we'll be dead on (although we did pick them to beat Cal/lose to Wisconsin, but cut us some slack). And check out this foreshadowing:

Unlike their counterparts in Ann Arbor, the Spartans should strike some fear into the hearts of Nittany Lion fans this year. We play them in the last game of the regular season, and the winner of that match up could be in line for a great conference finish and a big-time bowl game.

So to make a short answer really long, yeah, we expected them to be here.

As for PSU, before the season we figured (like most others) that Ohio State would be the team to beat and that the Lions would probably finish second in the conference and get a New Year's Day bowl. But a few games into the season you could almost see the power shift from Ohio to PA as the Bucks stumbled out of the gate. It was great to watch. So we got that prediction wrong, but we figured at the start that this weekend's game would be big.

And speaking of that game, we're not really freaking out too much. If the team was still undefeated, we probably wouldn't even be sleeping this week. But things being as they are, we're not too nervous. If the team plays up to their potential this weekend, they ought to win. Of course we've said that before this year so we'll see how it goes.

2. What would you like to see more of/less of this week?

Run the ball. You know, there was all the talk about the HD offense but we've all realized what a great thing we have in Royster. He has been consistent all year and there have been a few games where he probably should have been give the rock a few more times.

The HD thing is great and we love seeing things opened up, but when you get to the big show, you dance with who brought ya. Royster has been a beast all year so we'd like to see him continue getting the ball.

3. What are your feelings towards Derrick Williams' career as a Nittany Lion? Has he lived up to the hype? How? If not, who's to blame?

We have some pretty strong feelings on this subject. We were quick to criticize Williams the last two years for being underwhelming. But this season made us rethink a couple things. First, just look at his best two years: his injury-shortened freshman season and this year. It's not like Williams played poorly as a sophomore and junior; he was a solid player. But he wasn't the superstar everyone expected him to be. But when you take a look at those two "down" years, what do they have in common? A quarterback who could be described as inept at best and head-scratchingly awful at worst, and ultra-conservative play calling.

Seeing what Williams has done this year has restored our faith in him as a player. The two times the offense has opened up and he's had a playmaking QB with which to play, he's been outstanding. When the team wasn't throwing the ball downfield, how much could he really do? This offense should've been running through Derrick Williams for four years, and instead they've done it only for a handful of games (including the last couple). If he would have been utilized more, we have no doubt he would've made a bigger impact. Either way, he's a great talent, the program had two stellar years during his career and we wish him the best in his career in the future.

4. The national media is back-pedaling on their summertime pro-SEC propaganda, now saying that conference in overrated. What gives? Haven't we (basically, everyone outside the SEC) been saying that the whole time? How would Penn State stack up against the top few SEC teams, like Alabama, Florida and Georgia, on a neutral field?

On a neutral field, we think Florida is the only team that would really be something to be afraid of. Sure, Georgia and Bama are good teams and could probably beat Penn State because anything can happen when it's just one game. Florida, however, is a whole 'nother animal. They've been killing everyone since they lost to Ole Miss and they don't look like they're about to slow down.

We would love to see PSU play against any of the three because we feel they could beat any one of them. That said, beating one of them is significantly less likely than beating the other two, but we'd still like to see it. If football worked in a series like hockey or basketball, we'd never want to see Florida, but one-game at a neutral site? We'd love the chance.


Lightning Round

1. Daryll Clark throws a pick?
Negative, Ghostrider.

2. Royster scores? How many times?
Yes, twice. We always think he'll score twice.

3. Did you go to any games this year? How many?
One of us went to one game (Coastal Carolina), and except for the Illinois game, we were in State College tailgating for every other game. And we'll damn sure be there this weekend, no matter how much snow falls on the way.

Control Your Destiny: The Conference Championship Outlook

Instead of giving you a batch of links from the college football universe this week, we thought, since the season is winding down, we'd take a look the championship picture in the six BCS conferences. If it were up to us, the Big East and ACC wouldn't be included in those six, and in fact, let's get them out of the way first.

Big East
Contenders: Cincinnati, Pitt, West Virgina
You might be wondering why we're even delving into this, but the thought of another Pitt-Utah BCS game is just too exciting for us to pass up. Frankly, if you look at the standings, there are way more scenarios for this conference than we care to describe, so we'll offer the most likely cases.

Cincinnati will take on Pitt this weekend, and if the Bearcats win, all they need to do is beat Syracuse next weekend and they win the conference. Cincy's only loss came to UConn, and they beat West Virginia. So if WVU wins out (they still have to face Louisville, Pitt and South Florida) and Cincy does as well, they'll both finish with one loss and Cincy will win the tiebreaker. Pitt has the Cincy game, the Backyard Brawl with WVU and UConn left, and they will most likely need to win all three of those to win the conference. Of course, in the Big East, nothing is out of the question. But no matter who wins, we hope they play Boise State or Utah.

Prediction: Cincinnati


ACC
Contenders: Seemingly everyone
Good God, you need a PhD in physics to figure this conference out. Out of the 12 teams in the league, there are a whopping nine who have a conference record of either 3-3, 4-3 or 4-2. In a word: clusterfuck.

Of course the reason for this is that these teams are all evenly-matched. Or in non-political-speak, they all kinda suck. Again, there are probably 1,000 different scenarios, but here are the most likely.

In the Atlantic division, Maryland has the inside track to come out on top. The Terps are 4-2 while Florida State and Wake Forest are each 4-3. Maryland already beat Wake, and if they take care of business against Florida State this weekend, they’ll pretty much wrap up the division. If they lose, then all hell breaks loose. If you want to figure things out from there, feel free. In the Coastal division, Miami is 4-2 and they’re taking on 4-3 Georgia Tech this weekend. The winner of that game will most likely take the division. On a side note, remember when Miami was absolutely unstoppable? What happened? Blame the ACC.

Again, we never encourage you to watch ACC games, as they’re more frustrating than trying to watch Mark May on SportsCenter, who, by the way, would probably rank all the ACC teams ahead of Penn State if he had the chance.

"I'm a massive tool."

But if you must watch the championship game, email us and tell us how it went if you’re still alive afterwards.

Prediction: Maryland


SEC
Contenders: Alabama, Florida
Allow us a moment to rant, if you will. Penn State got ripped a lot for it's soft schedule this season, to the surprise of no one. But mainstream media SEC man-love syndrome does not allow one to take an honest look at the schedule of a team like Florida. Florida has played games against three ranked teams, two of which have been badly exposed as incredibly mediocre (Georgia and LSU), and the other was #25 South Carolina, who your high school's JV squad could probably out-score. Add to that a non-conference slate including powerhouses like Hawaii and The Citadel, and even your mom could tell that schedule is a joke.

We're not trying to take anything away from Florida, they're a helluva team. (They're also a helluva team that lost at home to Ole Miss, but we digress.) We're just saying that there's always a counterargument, and if people want to point out crappy schedules in the Big11Ten, then allow us to do the same to the SEC. Moving on...

There's no longer any need for speculation; the SEC title game is already locked in. It's happening on December 6th, and Florida and Alabama will battle it out for the conference crown and most-likely a spot in the BCS title game. Watching Alabama squeak out some close games and seeing Florida just destroy teams ever since they lost, we will be shocked if the Gators don't win this one. And if there is any justice in this world, Nick Saban won't win a national title.

Prediction: Florida


Big XII
Contenders: Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma
Well, half of this conference is easy to predict. In the North division, we believe Missouri is locked in as the winner. The Tigers are 5-2 in the conference and second place Nebraska is 4-3. But even if Missouri were to lose their final conference game to Kansas this weekend and Nebraska ended up beating Colorado, Mizzou would be the division champ as they beat the Huskers earlier in the year. So essentially, Missouri is going to the Big XII title game.

Of course in the South division, things could get a bit more complicated. If Oklahoma knocks off Texas Tech this weekend, the South will most likely have a three-way tie between the aforementioned squads and Texas. If this is the case, check out the conference’s seven tiebreaker rules for a three-team scenario. Two points to make here: 1) how would numbers 6 and 7 ever come into play (because number 5 seems definitive) and 2) we could be wrong on this, but we think number 5 will have to be the deciding factor since all three teams will have beaten each other.

There’s no doubt that a three-way tie would be an absolute mess. Every team will have an argument to be the rightful division winner. But in the end, the computers will decide. Seems fitting, eh? Anyway, we think that if Oklahoma pulls the upset this weekend that they will have the best chance to get in. The win will be fresh in poll voters’ minds, and the loss to Texas seems like a long time ago. We think this scenario is the most likely, and if so, look for the Sooner to take a trip to the BCS title game.

Unless we understood the rules wrong, in which case, disregard everything we said.

Prediction: Oklahoma


Pac-10
Contenders: USC, Oregon State
This one is the most interesting to us, because it has implications for the Big11Ten champ via the Rose Bowl. Honestly, we kinda stopped thinking about Oregon State after they knocked off USC, but if the Beavers win their last two games, they're Pac-10 champs. That's right, a three-loss, #23-ranked team could be headed to the Rose Bowl. Woohoo!

Obviously, we are not happy about this scenario, no matter who wins the Big11Ten. Getting a Rose Bowl win over Oregon State probably isn't going to win you very many national respect points. But the fact remains that Oregon State is the only Pac-10 team who controls its own destiny. USC has one conference game left on the slate, and it's against UCLA, so we're assuming they'll win that one and finish 8-1 in the conference. The Beavers are at Arizona this weekend and face #24 Oregon at home in the final weekend of conference play. Neither of those are easy games, so start rooting for Arizona and Oregon if you care even a little about the Big11Ten's reputation.

Prediction: USC (please, God)


Big11Ten
Contenders: Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State
I suppose we all know the scenarios by now, but what the hell, let's go over them one more time. Penn State controls its fate, and if they win Saturday against Sparty, then they win the conference. Simple as that. Ohio State is playing Michigan this weekend, so barring an apocalyptic meltdown, they will win and finish 7-1 in the conference. If they win and PSU loses, the Buckeyes are headed to the Rose Bowl, and this blog will probably shut down because we'll be wandering around aimlessly, pondering our broken existence.

Obviously Michigan State needs the most help to win the conference. Since they lost to OSU, they'll need to beat Penn State in the Beav and Michigan to beat Ohio State to have their ticket to Pasadena punched. Since there is about a .0001% chance that both those things happen (notice how we are avoiding the jinx-factor by saying both), we feel this is really a two horse race.

As a side note, should Penn State pull it out Saturday afternoon, Ohio State will claim that they are conference co-champions, since both teams have one loss, even though the Lions will get the BCS auto-bid (a la 2005). We have no idea why the Big11Ten allows this, because it is extremely annoying and makes pretty much no sense, since Penn State beat them straight up this season. Just another lovely quirk of college football.

Prediction: Penn State (duh)