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.