Big Changes In WWTL Land

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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.