We Want the Lion

Big Changes In WWTL Land

2008-12-19T18:52:00.003-05:00

Dear reader,

We've moved.

We Want the Lion at Bloguin.

Come check us out,

Thanks.

Maybin, Shipley Named All-Americans

2008-12-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

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

2008-12-11T19:00:00.000-05:00

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

2008-12-09T20:00:00.001-05:00

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.

2008-12-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

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

2008-12-05T21:00:00.004-05:00

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

2008-12-03T21:00:00.001-05:00

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

2008-12-03T17:33:00.006-05:00

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.

2008-12-02T21:00:00.006-05:00

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

2008-12-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

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

2008-11-29T11:11:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-26T18:00:00.001-05:00

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

2008-11-23T16:15:00.016-05:00

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

2008-11-21T13:00:00.001-05:00

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

2008-11-20T21:00:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

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)

Big Ten Round-Up

2008-11-19T17:23:00.005-05:00

Northwestern: 21 Michigan: 14

Rivals

There are a lot of teams winning in Michigan Stadium this year. Add Northwestern to that list. We're far too lazy to look up when it might have been, but it's probably been a while since that happened.

Michigan took the lead going into halftime but never came back out, and Northwestern scored 14 points in the third, getting themselves the win. CJ Bacher threw two TDs in the snow and wind, and Michigan got one of their two TDs as a result of a blocked kick.

We all know things are bad up there in Ann Arbor, but if they can luck themselves into a win against Ohio State, all will be forgiven and Rich-Rod will be hailed as a savior, despite having lost to Utah, Nortre Dame, Illinois, Toledo, PSU, Michigan State, Purdue and Northwestern, all in the same season.

Ohio State: 30 Illinois: 20

Rivals

The Illini had 100 more total yards gained Saturday, with 7 fewer minutes of possession. Their offense was more balanced, passing for 241 while rushing for 214. Ohio State ran for 305 yards, however, making up for a pathetic 49 yards through the air.
But hey, why pass when you don't have to?

Pryor rushed for 110 yards and a score and also passed for one. Beanie piled up 143 yards on the ground, and pretty much played the part of the wrecking ball in this game.

The score is only a 10 point different, but Ohio State pulled away in the second and never really looked back. With rushing totals like that, we can only imagine how painful it was for Illini fans to watch. A lot of those yards were probably, "putting them out of their misery," yards.

Iowa: 22 Purdue: 17

Rivals

If Iowa had gone out and lost this game to a weak as balls Purdue team, we'd probably be pissed. We're pissed either way, because we lost, but if Iowa is going to beat PSU then they better beat up on everyone else too.

Iowa was dangerously close to losing this game, as Purdue drove towards a score at the end of the game. Painter couldn't find a receiver, however, and Iowa got the win. On that final drive, Purdue went from their own 20 to the Iowa 27 in just over a minute and put themselves in a position to win, but just couldn't lock it up.

Oh, and Shonn Greene ran for 211 yards.

Wisconsin: 35 Minnesota: 32

Rivals

We wish we could have seen this game, because it looks like it was a real train wreck in the fourth quarter. When you play for something as cool as Paul Bunyan's axe, easily the coolest trophy in the world, you better have yourselves in check.

Minnesota clearly did not, as they gave up 18 points in the fourth quarter, including 2 safeties and a 5 yard run set up by a horribly timed Minnesota fumble. Of course, this mighty comeback may not have been needed if Wisconsin didn't manage to give up 21 points in the 2nd quarter alone.

Neither of these teams are very good, but at least Minnesota is beating and hanging with teams no one thought they would. Wisconsin has just been a disaster all season after being crowned with all sorts of pre-season expectations.

That's why you play the game though.

A look at the conference championship scenarios is coming tomorrow.

Game 11 Recap: Penn State 34, Indiana 7

2008-11-17T17:00:00.001-05:00

It was a rainy day in Happy Valley. We braved the storm to head down to the Sports Cafe. LaVar Arrington showed up. Penn State won. The sun came out after the game. Hot sausage sandwiches all around. It was a solid day.

Apparently Dick Vermeil was in the house.
We suspect his constant crying may have caused the rain.

Onto the recap...

1st Quarter

Indiana got the ball to start the game. We were looking forward to some domination after last week.

Indiana was able to move the ball just past midfield before the Lion's defense was able to put the brakes on them. We thought that might be bad because on a day like Saturday, with the sloppy weather, you knew field position would be huge.

Walking downtown a lot of our talk was about how much Royster was going to get the ball during this game because of the bad weather. On the first PSU drive, Clark came out passing, then ran for nine before Royster got his first touch and was stuffed on third and 1. Bad news.

Indiana was quick to match the PSU 3-and-out with one of their own, and the ball was back in Clark's hands.

By now it was really raining so we thought that a heavy dose of Royster is what we should expect, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Clark threw on 8 of 10 plays as PSU marched out from their own 11 before being forced to punt inside Indiana territory.

Special teams are important on days like today when the weather plays such a big part in the game, and they were able to get the punt downed at the Indiana 2 yard line.

Indiana rushed for two then threw an incompletion.
On third down they attemped another pass but Mark Rubin stepped up and snatched it out of the air.

There were 15 people in the Sports Cafe and they all went nuts.

After the pick you knew the TD was coming. Instead, Clark ran the ball five yards before having it stripped. Indiana recovered the fumble and we were crushed. We know we're probably looking too far into things but we wonder how Clark's head is right now.

We don't think he's feeling that concussion, because he wouldn't be playing if he were, but what's his confidence level at this point in the game? After a down game against Iowa and then coming out and turning it over right away, you have to wonder. Of course, if you're reading this then you know how the game turns out and what Clark does, but right now, as the first quarter is ending, what kind of confidence does the kid have in his game?

2nd Quarter

Anyway, Indiana was pinned deep again and forced to punt after a few plays. Williams fielded the punt at around midfield and PSU was really starting to win the field position game. All they needed was one big play.

On third down, that big play came. Clark and Williams hooked up on a 39 yard pass.

7-0

After seeing what PSU did to bad teams earlier in the season, we were feeling pretty confident after the score.

Indiana had other plays, however. On their second play after the kickoff, Marcus Thigpen took the ball and ran 57 yards for the touchdown.

7-7

You might have gone to the bathroom with PSU up 7-0 and came back to see the score 7-7.

If you ate at the Cafe like we did, you might have gone to the bathroom with the score 7-0 and came back to see the score 34-7.

After the score, PSU marched down the field to the Indiana 23. The drive was going well as Clark dished out a few medium range passes, but an 11 yard loss on a sack set up a 2nd and 21. Royster got 16 of them back on the next down but they couldn't get the last 5.

Kevin Kelly trotted out to the field but he channelled January 06 and couldn't bang it through.

Despite the miss, you have to be pleased with Kevin Kelly's career. He's knocking down records and he's been about as consistent as you could ask a kicker to be at the collegiate level.

After that, neither team could really put anything together. Both teams had drives of seven or eight plays but couldn't get deep enough into the opposition's territory to put points up.
After one of the drives ended, Indiana found themselves pinned at their own one.
The special teams guys were playing huge.

With little time left and the whole field to go, Indiana probably wanted to just play it safe and get the punt away. The Lion's forced a fourth down and Indiana was forced to punt.

Nate Stupar found his way into the backfield and got a hand on the ball, blocking the punt. The ball got past the line and ended up being downed at the Indiana 20, but it was still a huge play as it put the Lion's in position to score before the half ended.

So far the special teams had accounted for a blocked punt and on several occasions, had pinned the Hoosiers deep inside their own territory.

On a day like saturday when the weather is crap, you need that.

Unfortunately, they couldn't move the ball quickly enough and were forced to bring Kelly back out onto the field.

10-7

This time he got it down, and the Lions went into the half up by a field goal.

-Halftime-

LaVar enters Sports Cafe by jumping over 5 full grown men.

No really he was there. He looks like Predator.

3rd Quarter

As close as the first half was, we never really felt like this game was in doubt. And the Lions reinforced that notion by coming out and putting together a nice drive to start the second half.

After a 4-yard run by Royster and a completion from Clark to Williams, Williams added 12 yards on a carry. After a short run and an incompletion, Clark hit Mickey Shuler for 18 and a big third down conversion.

Go Mickey!

One play later, Royster broke 100 tackles on his way to the house.

Blue Royster Cult.

17-7

Indiana came out on their first drive determined to go three and out. And they did. The Lions took over at their own 41. The drive looked promising after a 16-yard strike to Butler and a 17-yarder to Norwood, but it stalled at the Indiana 19. This time, Kevin Kelly was money.

20-7

The Hoosiers thought that three plays weren't enough last time out, so this time they gave six a try. Josh Hull sacked Lewis on a third and five to force the punt.

However, Clark thought Indiana deserved another chance, so he tossed one up into double coverage on the first play of the ensuing drive and it was picked off by Brandon Mosley.

Not to worry, however, because a 2-yard rush by Ray Fisher was sandwiched in between two incompletions by Lewis and PSU had the ball back again. It was obvious that the defense was locked in for the second half.

After a 3-yard carry by Green and an incompletion, Clark converted a third and 7 by scrambling for 17 yards and the first. It was first and goal from the Indiana 9, and after a short run and an incompletion, Clark hit Butler on the slant for 6.

27-7

Another three and out by Indiana, and that was the end of the 3rd. Excellent quarter on both sides of the ball.

4th Quarter

Penn State came out in the 4th looking to extend the lead. But on a third and 10, Clark fumbled for the second time, and the ball was recovered by Indiana. However, satisfied with the trend they started in the 3rd, the Hoosiers went three and out... again.

On the next PSU drive, it was the Stephfon Green show, which is cool, because he can fly.

Green carried the ball 5 times (but only for 9 yards) and had a 13-yard reception. But on a third a seven on the Indiana 36, D-Will tells Green, "It's my turn, freshman." Hand-off to Williams, and he. is. gone.

Dude on the left is pumped.

34-7

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the game. Each team had two more drives, and no one did anything. If you're counting, Indiana had exactly one (1) first down in the second half.

Game.
34-7

3 Big Stat Lines

Derrick Williams: 4 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD (rushing); 4 rec, 62 yards, 1 TD (receiving). Now that's consistent.
Daryll Clark: 20-36, 240 yards, 2 TD (passing); 8 carries, 43 yards (rushing)
LaVar Arrington: 1 appearance at the Sports Cafe.

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

Maybe one of the more boring games we've ever witnessed involving a 10-1 team.
Did the walk to the bar from the RV lot suck? Yes.
Were we glad we weren't in the stadium? Double yes.
Not a huge day for Royster, but a solid touchdown run.
Fumbles on the opposing team's 2 won't fly against good teams.
Nice catch by Williams on the touchdown pass with the defender flying by; the ball wasn't thrown all that well.
We're extremely glad this game is over.
Overall Clark played pretty decent, but he did make some mistakes. Still needs to tighten the screws against the Spartans.

Penn State Player of the Game: Derrick Williams
It's official: Derrick Williams is really good. We've knocked him in the past for not living up to the hype, but how much of that wasn't his fault? How many times in the last two years had he seen the ball as much as he has in the last two games? He's finally been given the reigns, so to speak, and he's stepping up big-time. It's great to watch. Another rushing/receiving touchdown day for him.

Indiana Player of the Game: Marcus Thigpen
His 57-yard touchdown scamper was the highlight of the day on offense for the Hoosiers.

Game 11 Preview: Indiana @ Penn State

2008-11-14T14:00:00.003-05:00

Gametime: 12:00 pm

Records: Penn State: 9-1 (5-1), Indiana: 3-7, (1-5)

Series Record: Penn State leads, 11-0

TV: Big11Ten Network

Audio: Here

Weather: 52 degrees, 70% chance of rain.

We're not gonna lie, we're about 25 times less excited about this game than we were a week ago. But are we taking the RV to State College to brave the rain, support the team and have another solid tailgate? You bet your ass we are.

Sure, last weekend was a huge letdown, and the feeling may be a bit more morose than usual this weekend, but the team is still playing for a Big11Ten title, and what's more, they're playing to keep that title away from the hated Buckeyes. They control their destiny in terms of the conference crown, and that begins this weekend.

Of course, no one is expecting much of a game against the lowly Indiana Hoosiers, who, despite going to a bowl game last year, have won only one Big11Ten game so far this year. Way back in the summer when we were reviewing the stadiums of the Big11Ten, here's what we had to say about Indiana's home field:

Indiana does, in fact, have a football team. They're redoing the turf. John Mellencamp donates a lot of money to them. That's about all we could find. Some schools are just basketball schools.

Try writing a good song, Cougar.

Well, John Mellencamp is kind of a joke, and so are the Hoosiers this year. They're dead last in the conference in both pass and rush defense, and they've given up 38.7 points a game in conference play. The offense is sputtering as well, scoring only 16.5 points a game in their six Big11Ten games.

The Hoosiers could light it up on offense last year, mostly due to super-athletic QB Kellen Lewis. Lewis has been battling injuries all year after some off-the-field issues in the offseason. Unfortunately for Indiana, backup Ben Chappell got nicked up last week, and the starting spot is still up in the air.

Either way, we don't think it's going to matter. There's being cocky and there's being confident. Last week we were cocky. We're pretty sure the Lions won't have an issue in this game. Clark is going play well, Royster is going to run all over people, Williams is going to be a beast. Things will get back to normal.

It will be good to be back in Happy Valley.

Home sweet home.

Indiana Player To Watch: ???
Your guess is as good as ours.

Penn State Player To Watch: Daryll Clark
We all know that he had a bad game last weekend. A lot of columnists, bloggers and fans have been crushing him this week. Let's try to keep things in perspective and cut the guy a break. He's a first-year QB, and he's done an outstanding job leading this team. Sure, he made some mistakes, but he certainly wasn't the only reason Penn State lost the game. Believe us, we're not scared of ripping on our own players, but Clark deserves a little better than that. He's exceeded expectations this year and we hope he goes out and finishes the season playing up to his potential.

3 Bold Predictions:

Evan Royster will have 120+ yards, and 2 touchdowns.
Derrick Williams will tally both a rushing and receiving touchdown.
Big11Ten officials will start to call holding this weekend. Haha, just kidding!

Other Notes

There's still work to be done by the team.
There's still two tailgates to be had by us.

Game Prediction: Penn State 41, Indiana 10

Blue & White Roundtable: "There's a game this weekend?" Edition

2008-11-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

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. What's something you noticed during the Iowa game, that you haven't heard anyone else talk about? Could be something good, or bad.

It's surely been talked about, but it was the inability to get off the field on third down. Time and time again, Iowa just kept on driving. If the defense would have been able to stop one of a few third and 5+ yard situations last Saturday, the game is over.

2. We all know Daryll Clark won't lose his starting job, but what should the coaches really do this week? Will they, should they, let the offense open up? Or keep it tight? What will be the repercussions of either?

Go ahead and open things up. All those plays with Williams last week were great to see and for the most part, effective. Why not continue trying it? It's Indiana so they should not need to do anything wild, but hey, that was Iowa and they should not have had to do anything wild.

Stay sharp for Michigan State.

And is this "Clark should not be the QB," mentality really creeping into peoples heads?
Really?

3. If Penn State does win out, and faces USC in the Rose Bowl, what will the media folks say before the game? If PSU wins? If PSU loses?

Looks like we were already caught looking ahead once. Not gonna do it again.

Lightning Round

1. Penn State comes out focused, or flat this week?
Focused.

2. Will Pat Devlin finally play again?
No.

3. What could happen first: Notre Dame in the Big Ten, or a College Football Playoff?
The apocalypse.

Weekly Top 5: Best State College Bars (and the worst)

2008-11-13T21:00:00.002-05:00

This week our Top 5 list is the "Best Bars in State College."
Remember, this is just opinion!

Yeah, it's not football related, but people are down about the football business right now so we thought we'd do something that would be fun. Comment, criticize, whatever. You're probably going to hate us when we bash your favorite hang out later in this post.

The preview and BW Roundtable will also be up tomorrow.

Onward with the bars, from 5 down to 1.

5. The Lion's Den

We don't get there often, but we love the fact that you can be outside yet still be inside. It's a good place to go if the lines aren't halfway to The Deli. We like chilling in the basement where you can get away from the loud music upstairs if you need to. Oh, and they had hockey on TV when we went in during Blue/White Weekend. That's always a plus.

4. Sports Cafe

Okay so it's not the same Sports Cafe it was when we graduated in 06. It was great then because it was never all that crowded and, in most cases, whatever you wanted to see was on TV. It's not the kind of place you'd go if you wanted to drink, but it was a great place to go if you wanted to watch some obscure sporting event -- it seemed like they had every channel.

And what's better than sitting out on the patio at the end of spring semester? As long as that bearded homeless guy didn't try and reach across the wall and grab your nachos, it was a great place to be.

3. Pickles

We were skeptical the first time someone wanted to go to Pickle's. The first time we heard anything of it was when someone described it as "frat-tastic." Well, that label might be correct, but it's still a good place, and usually our number one choice to go watch games when we can't get into the stadium (which is almost every game). Multiple TVs, a big bar so you don't have to wait too long, good beer selection and a fair amount of seating as long as you get there relatively early. It's not generally a place we go for a night out, but its performances on Saturdays is good enough to land it at the number 3 spot.

Not a bad place to watch the game.

2. Beulah's/Bar Bleu

Most people probably haven't in Bar Bleu. But you know what? It's nice, it's clean, they have good drinks, lots of seating, lots of TVs, a pool table and you can talk inside without screaming! That's a lot of positives.

They also have those big 'ol fish-bowls for your mixed drink needs. Who doesn't love that? Add a half price happy hour from 9-11, which is perhaps the greatest time ever for a happy hour, and you can have yourself a nice start to your night.

We just like being able to go somewhere in that town where you can just chill out, since at most places, you can't -- it's just too loud and crowded.

And for clarity's sake, we usually hang out in the upstairs part, which we guess is technically Beulah's, but no one calls it that and neither do we.

1. The Phyrst

To most people, The Phyrst needs no explanation.

Between Table Wars, The Phyrst Family Band and Free Fry Night, it seems that the Phyrst is the place to be any day of the week. It's like hanging out in your basement because of the low ceiling and you're likely to break your knees trying to get in and out of those stupid picnic tables, but there's really no other place we'd rather be. Combine the seemingly nightly live music with the atmosphere and that Dark Side of the Moon you've been drinking from your personal stein, and the Phyrst is a clear-cut choice for number one. It's Graham Spanier approved.

If you're a student, you must get down there on St Patrick's Day and wait in line from 2am-6am. It was probably one of the dumber things we've ever done because those mid-March nights can get pretty chilly, but it was well worth it once we got inside.

The line to get in the Phyrst on St. Patty's Day, approximately 4:30 am.

Honorable Mentions: The Skellar (gotta love that crazy-eyed bartender by the pool table- we're pretty sure he never goes home) and the Crowbar. Yeah, we know the Crowbar has been closed for a while, but it's still holds a special place in our hearts. We liked it so much we made a facebook group.

And now, for the worst, from least suckage to most suckage.

5. The Saloon

Maybe some of you would disagree with us. It's obviously a wildly popular place, and yeah, we do enjoy the Monkeyboys as much as anyone else, but this was better when we were actually in college and didn't mind not being able to move and sweating our balls off. Now that we're out of school, the thought of standing in a 20-minute line just to be annoyed and not get a drink doesn't appeal to us anymore. Kudos to the bar since in snatched up Velveeta after the Crowbar closed, but that's not enough to pull us in.

4. G-Man

We're not going to lie, we've only been to the G-Man once, and that was only one of us. But that one time resulted in wild puking and a trip to the hospital with food poisoning because the wings. Bad times. Haven't been back since and don't plan on it.

3. The Gaff

Probably the weirdest place in town. Horrible music, really weird crowd, no real theme or feel to the place. Does that sound like a place you want to go to?

Pull that tap handle for bad times.

2. Cafe 210

We're not sure why people wait in lines so long to get into 210, but that alone is reason enough for us to dislike it. It's hard to think of a more boring place, but somehow people wait in line forever to get in there, and inevitably we make fun of them when we walk by. The Long Islands aren't that good.

1. The Cell Block

You know, I don't think we've ever been there, but since it replaced the Crowbar and isn't the Crowbar, we hate it. The Crowbar was the best. They had nickel nights, Velveeta, great shows coming through all the time. Just an awesome place, and every time we see Cell Block, which is now a shitty dance club, it kills us.

Special Honorable Mention- The Last Place In Town We'd Ever Attend Award: Indigo

Current Penn Staters know it as Indigo, but it will always be Players to us. There are a lot of reasons to despise this place. The unbelievably long lines to get in, the awful music pouring out of the open door, or because it's a gathering place for guys like these. But let's focus on the line, which is easily the most insane line in the history of State College. When the thing stretches down near The Diner, we're not sure why more people join it, but they always do. We secretly believe that no one ever gets inside. We've never really talked to anyone who's been in there. But one thing is fo sho: we'll never be inside. Enjoy the wait, we'll take cheap drinks and a seat at the bar somewhere else.

Odds & Ends

2008-11-11T21:00:00.001-05:00

We'll get back to our regular schedule tomorrow, but tonight we just wanted to mention a few different items. It's not much, but we're still hungover from the loss like any other PSU fan, so hopefully you understand.

First of all, it's been pointed out by a number of sources how eerily similar this year's scenario is to 1999. We vaguely remember that season, as we were barely in high school, but we have at least some recollection of the Minnesota loss. In case you don't remember, the Lions were 9-0 coming into that game. The final score? 24-23, Minnesota. The dagger? A last second field goal. Weird.

That team went on to lose it's last two and went to the Alamo Bowl. We can say with a good bit of confidence that the team will emerge victorious this weekend, but Michigan State will be a tough one. The Rose Bowl is no small deal, so let's hope they get back on track.

Moving on, you'll remember that last week we posted about a certain t-shirt being sold by a certain prominent clothing company in State College. Well, to the store and everyone who bought the shirt: thanks for jinxing the season. Much appreciated. At least the people who bought it won't ever be able to wear it again without being ridiculed by the general public.

In good news, Evan Royster has been named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award for the nation's top running back. It's not likely that Royster will be a finalist, especially with Ringer and Greene on the list, but it's a nice honor for a guy who's only a sophomore.

Finally, the Penn State/Big11Ten bashers have surfaced in a big way. A couple prominent sports media members congratulated Iowa for keeping a Big11Ten team out of the title game. Pat Forde (pronounced Ford-ie) of E!SPN leads off his "Forde-Yard Dash" column by giving props to the Hawkeyes, and Jim Rome, as if he read Forde's column and liked the sound of it, said almost the exact same thing at the end of "Rome Is Burning" today.

First of all, congrats to you two for having such creative names for your column/show. Trust us, 20 and 30-something sports fans just love a 3rd grade-level play on words. Second, and more importantly, way to go out on the limb and repeat the same sorry old argument every half-ass national sports writer has recycled the last 3 weeks. Very creative. If we wanted to see people mailing it in, we'd go read Rick Reilly. Why don't you use your time to plead to get rid of the sorry BCS system and install a playoff. And if you don't like that, maybe you should just campaign to get rid of all the college football conferences besides the Big 12 and SEC, because as we all know, they are the only ones who deserve a title shot anyway. Dicks.

We would expect this from an E!SPN blowhard like Forde, but generally we like Rome. But today, he doesn't escape our wrath.

Nice picture, clown.

Hey, we never said we were mature. We'll be back tomorrow, hopefully less angry.

Game 10 Recap: Iowa 24, Penn State 23

2008-11-10T18:18:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of things to say about this game, and we'll never get all our thoughts in one recap. Or we could, but we doubt anyone would read it. And of course, there are countless ways this game could've been won, but in the end, this one came down to an issue that has plagued PSU in years past: not scoring touchdowns from the red zone.

If you said to us before the season that the team would be 9-1 after 10 games and in great position to go the Rose Bowl, we probably would've been happy as hell. But no one wants to hear that now. Onto the recap...

1st Quarter

This game had an eerie feeling from the start, and as Penn State received the kickoff and got ready for the opening drive, Bob Griese alerted us that the Lions would be facing 25-30 mph wind gusts. So of course, three pass plays were called. On the third, Clark fumbled and somehow recovered at his own 1.

We're not sure if Clark really had the ball, or how he wasn't ruled down in the end zone, but Boone was able to put from the back of his own end zone. With the wind in his face, Boone only got it out the PSU 25. Two Shonn Greene runs later, and Iowa was on the board.

0-7

Not a good start.

As Galen and JayPa decided it was probably a bad idea to throw into 30 mph winds, six of the first seven plays on the ensuing Penn State drive were runs. The Lions moved the ball steadily, and eventually got down to the Iowa 8, after a nice 12-yard scamper by Stephfon Green.

Derrick Williams took a handoff for 5 yards on first down, but Royster lost 4 on the next play. Clark tried to hook up with Zug over the middle for the touchdown on third and goal, but defensive pass interference is called. Here came a sequence of plays that would kill the team later in the game.

Royster rushed for no gain on first down, Clark was hurried and threw an incompletion on second, and Royster was manhandled for a loss of five. Kelly came on for the field goal.

3-7.

After a rough start, having the ball on a first and goal at the 2 and not getting six is generally not a good thing. And by our calculations, Clark was 2-8 at this point in the passing game.

The D stepped up on Iowa's next drive and held Shonn Greene to 7 yards on the first two plays. Josh Hull got some pressure on Ricky Stanzi and forced an incompletion, and it was three-and-out for the Hawkeyes.

Penn State got the ball at their own 38 after a pretty horrible punt. They rushed five times, including two for Williams, to start the drive. It was obvious early on that Williams was going to be a large part of the offensive game plan, something that probably should've been implemented about 3 years ago. Better late than never, though.

"Hey, maybe we should give this guy the ball!"

The quarter ended with a first down at the Iowa 39.

2nd Quarter

Clark scrambled for 13 yards to open the quarter, then followed it up with a hand-off for two yards and an incompletion. On third and 8, he found Deon Butler for a first down, and a holding penalty on Iowa on the next play gave PSU a first and goal from the 7. This time the Lions would not be denied, as Williams carried one for 5 yards and Royster punched it in on the next play.

10-7

There had been an awful lot of the ground game up until this point, and with the crazy wind, that wasn't changing anytime soon. Iowa gave the ball to Greene four straight times to begin their drive. He picked up 10 yards on the first two carries, and 8 on the second two. On third and 2, Jared Odrick slapped the ball out of Stanzi's hand. Iowa recovered but would have to punt.

Penn State got the ball back and went started running again. After a bunch of rushes and back to back completions to Williams and Butler, the Lions had a first down at the Iowa 14. After a 1-yard run by Williams, Dennis Landolt took a backbreaking holding penalty. Clark tried in vain to make up the ground, but a third down pass to Green only got back to the original line of scrimmage. Kelly added the field goal.

13-7

Iowa came out and threatened a bit, but after some poor clock management, Stanzi was sacked at the PSU 40 to end the half.

-Halftime-

Halftime notes:

3 trips to the red zone: 1 touchdown.
A whole lot of wind = A whole lot of running.
The Iowa D-line was making life miserable for Clark, who in turn was making life miserable for us.

3rd Quarter

We weren't feel particularly confident going into the third, but we did have that, "alright PSU has dominated second halves of games so they should be able to cap this off," feeling.
We understand that's a really long feeling, but that describes what we felt.

So, hoping to get things going, Iowa trotted out the offense and had them walk back off a few plays later after Stanzi threw a pick to Tyrell Sales.

With this excellent field position, the best PSU could come up with was another field goal, and that ended up being the story of the night. So close to the end zone, but never able to punch it in.

At least Kevin Kelly remains consistent.

16-7

Upon getting the ball back, Iowa dished out a healthy dose of Shonn Greene. He is a beast, arguably the best back we've seen this year.

"PJ Hill ran for 58 yards against you, is that not good enough?" - PJ Hill

We thought this drive ended on three separate occasions, and in the later stages of the game, that became another theme.

So far we have two themes:
1. Inability to punch it in from the red zone
2. Inability to stop Iowa on 3rd and 5+.

Iowa faced three 3rd downs on this drive, the final being at the PSU 27 yard line.

On third and thirteen, the secondary forgot how to play the game for a second. Scirrotto and Lydell Sargeant are left in the dust while Derrell Johnson-Koulianos stands wide open and hauls in the TD pass.

We don't think there's been a play this bad for the secondary all year, but they really got burned on this one. Bad coverage, nobody home to cover up over the top. Touchdown.

16-14

After that, the Lions offense came out and quickly found themselves at 3rd and six.
A pass falls incomplete, and it's time to punt.

Feeling the excitment at the possibility of beating the Number 3 team in the nation, Iowa's offense vomits all over itself and coughs up the ball. Thank god.

PSU ball at the Iowa 28.
Evan Roytser for 9.
Evan Royster for 4.
Evan Royster for 6.

That set up second and four at the Iowa 9. Derrick Williams lined up at quarterback and took an option up right side of the line. Nine yards, touchdown. Williams is a beast today.

23-14

4th Quarter

The teams would exchange short drives at the start of the fourth. Iowa ended up getting to start a drive at the PSU 44 and they made short work of that field. It took them 5 plays to get the ball to the PSU 6, again converting a long third down along the way.

Shonn Greene would punch one in from 6 yards and you could feel your pregame nachos and chicken fingers starting to come back up.

23-21

9:20 remained in the game and when you have a team up by 2 that needs to put a drive together, that 9 minutes and 20 seconds can feel like a lifetime.

One of us couldn't see the fourth because of a wedding (who gets married during football season?!) so we'll let the text messages take you home from here:

"aaaaand, three and out"
"#!@$#$^$%&#^&"
"but they rough the kicker and psu keeps the ball!" (good sell by Boone, by the way)
"yeah baby!"
"Iowa 46. Williams just threw a 23 yard pass to Schuler! What a beast!
"woooooooo"
"Third and 14 at the Iowa 27. 4:30 left"

Phone rings:
"what's happening? I got a break from the wedding."
"I don't know, it's a Chili's commercial."
"Dammit!"
*click*

final text:
"Clark throws a pick. Drat"

The ball kind of sailed on Clark and it looked like Williams didn't want to go after an uncatchable ball and risk making a jump ball out of it. Unfortunately, there was a Hawkeye waiting right behind him to make that pick. Only up by 2 and with all this time left, you could almost feel it coming.

By now, those extra jalapenos you had on your nachos were starting to taste exactly like they did three hours ago.

The first play of the drive was a Jared Odrick sack, so you went to put the antacids back in the cabinet.
The second play was an incompletion and you got out that retarded 9-0 shirt you bought at the Clothesline last week.
The third play, Scirrotto took a chance and went over the top on a Iowa wide receiver. If he makes that play without interfering, he's in bed with every PSU woman you've ever known as soon as that charter lands at State College International Airport.

Burn that shirt.

Twice more, PSU would put Iowa in a third and long situation, and twice more they would convert. We didn't think Iowa could pass to win against PSU, but we were wrong.

Iowa would march the ball down to the PSU 14 and, if you're like us, you thought one thing:
Our hero, Aaron Maybin, will block this kick. We thought it would happen. We needed it to happen. The fate of the size of our remaining tailgates depended on it!

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be as Daniel Murray booted it through from 31 yards.

You watched in horror as the ball split the yellow poles and your heart sank right to the floor.

23-24

Game.

23-24

Text mesages began pouring in including a multitude of "what the f---?!" and "how the hell?!" type messages.

and that was what the Iowa fans were saying.

The messages we were getting were more like, "we're meeting at the bridge in 20, be there"

But the season is not over, friends. There's two games to go and a big bowl game to be had. PSU still has the Big11Ten title in their sights and it's theirs to lose. If this team comes out like the 05 squad did after losing to Michigan, then Indiana is going to wish they never made the trip in.

Then, it's just about taking care of business at home against Michigan State.

So be it the Ben Franklin, the Smithfield Street, or even the 322 bypass over Park Ave, you need to step down off that ledge.

Lift your heads up, Lion fans. This is a team to be proud of a run that you won't soon forget, and more importantly, a run that's not over.

We want USC.

3 Big Stat Lines

Derrick Williams: 12 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD (rushing), 4 rec., 43 yards (receiving); 1-1, 23 yards (passing)
Shonn Greene: 28 carries, 117, 2 TD
Iowa- 7/10 on third down.

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

Get 6 on one of those three field goal drives and win the game.
Get a field goal on the last drive and probably win the game.
Why did Williams pull his arms down on the pick from Clark? We will be debating this for quite some time.
Clark played really shaky for the second straight game. You can only blame the wind so much.
Derrick Williams was everywhere. Great all-around game from him.
Solid performance by Jared Odrick.
Gotta give credit to the Iowa D-line. They were all over Clark for much of the game.
The secondary played poorly in the biggest moments.
Someone tell Scirrotto you can't plow into a receiver while he's in the air waiting for the ball.
Two huge holding penalties at two really bad times.
This is why you don't riot in your town after a mid season victory.
Misery.

Penn State Player of the Game: Derrick Williams
43 yards receiving. 53 rushing. 1 for 1 passing for 23 yards. He was huge, making plays all over and picking up the slack whenever the offense seemed to sputter. The more he is involved, the better this offense performs.

Iowa Player of the Game: Shonn Greene
He was everything we hoped he wouldn't be. He ran for 117 and two touchdowns and just pounded the ball when they needed him to. He was just as advertised.

Game 10 Preview: Penn State @ Iowa

2008-11-07T20:00:00.000-05:00

Gametime: 3:30 pm

Records: Penn State: 9-0 (5-0), Iowa: 5-4 (2-3)

Series Record: Penn State leads, 11-9

TV: ABC Regional/ESPN

Audio: Here

Weather: High of 39, 40% chance of rain and snow showers. Big11Ten weather.

For the players, nothing is better than a mid-season bye week. We're glad everyone, especially Clark, was able to rest and heal up. But for the fans, nothing is worse. After the longest two weeks of our lives, it's great to be back.

This weekend the Lions roll into Iowa City to try to keep the undefeated campaign alive. We are pumped, as this will probably be the toughest test Penn State faces the rest of the way (no disrespect to Michigan State, but that one is at home).

When you think of Iowa, you think of............ well, we're not sure that you really think of anything. Seriously, when is the last time you can remember that Iowa had a team that prompted you thinking something other then, "meh, it's Iowa"? Of course they've given Penn State trouble in the past. Save for last year, the Lions lost their last five to the Hawkeyes, including that classic 6-4 shootout at the Beav in '04. Who of us can forget the excitement of that one?

But in all honesty, despite their mediocre record, this Iowa team has played pretty well this season. Their defense is ranked third in the Big11Ten and their four losses have been by a combined 12 points. Of course, great teams find a way to win those close games, but still Iowa has not been blown out all year.

So if Iowa is really that solid, can they give Penn State a run for their money? It could be a close game, but here are two reasons why we think the Lions will prevail:

1. Iowa's Lack of a Passing Game
It's no secret that Iowa likes to run the ball. With a back like Shonn Greene, who is fifth in the nation in rushing, why wouldn't they? But on the other hand, the passing game is dismal. Iowa ranks just eighth in the conference in passing, and QB Ricky Stanzi's accuracy has come into question a bit lately, as he's been unable to throw for 200 yards in any of Iowa's last four games.

This gives Penn State an obvious advantage, as they will be able to focus heavily on stopping Greene and put the game on Stanzi's shoulders. If you are skeptical of strategy, just ask Beanie Wells how his game against the PSU D went a couple weeks ago. And if Stanzi is forced to put the game on his shoulders, the Lions' D-line should be able to make plays. Iowa's O-line does a good job in the running game, but they've struggled in pass protection, allowing 20 sacks on the season, including six last week to an average Illinois defense. We like the Penn State D to have another big-time performance.

2. Penn State's Balanced Offense
Iowa has a very solid defense, led by lineman Matt Kroul (44 tackles, 2 sacks) and Mitch King (43 tackles, 11 TFL, 3 sacks), and linebacker Pat Angerer (73 tackles, 4 int, great football name). Iowa ranks second only to Penn State in the conference in rush defense and is fourth in pass defense. Their defense is the reason they've been able to keep so many games close this year.

However, they've also yet see an offense as dynamic as Penn State's. This team can hurt you in every way imaginable. Evan Royster somehow turns 1-yard gains into 7 or 8-yard gains on a routine basis, the line is outstanding, the receiving corps is rock-solid and Clark just doesn't make many mistakes. It could be a tough day on the ground early on for Royster, but we think the O-line will wear down Iowa's D as the game wears on. However, if the run game isn't working out, Clark should be able to make enough plays down field to build a lead, which is a luxury that Iowa doesn't share on offense. This offense has only really been shut down once, we don't think they'll let it happen again.

Iowa Player To Watch: Shonn Greene
They're having a Greene-out for him! He must be something. He is fifth in the nation in rushing and really the key to the game. If PSU slows him down, it's going to be tough for Iowa to pull this one out.

Penn State Player To Watch: The D-Line
How will they slow down Shonn Greene?
They did a solid job against Wells, so we know they can get it done when they have to. But that was in a huge game and people had been pumped up for weeks. The defense to avoid any kind of let down after a big game and shake off any rust from the bye week and come out swinging. However, when you have a staff like PSU does, we don't expect that to be a problem.

3 Bold Predictions:

The offense scores a touchdown before the fourth quarter.
Shonn Greene doesn't break 80 yards.
Mark Rubin's not done. Pick six this week. Book it.

Other Notes

Penn State is 1-5 against Iowa since 2000, with the lone win coming last year at home.
Iowa is doing both a black-out and a "Greene-out" at the game. Sounds like an identity crisis to us.

Iowa may keep it close for a while, but Penn State has too much for them to handle. Herky the Hawk is going down.

Game Prediction: Penn State 27, Iowa 10

Blue & White Roundtable: Week 11

2008-11-07T09:00:00.001-05:00

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. Do you agree with Joe Paterno, that teams shouldn't have to artificially inflate scores just to please the voters? We all know
it's just how college football works, but how comfortable are you with that?

We're alright with putting the game out of reach. You have to look at it from game to game. If you're playing a good team, you need to put them away. Remember Northwestern and Michigan State a few years back?

If you're playing a crap team that has no chance of coming back on you, then you send out the practice squad and whatever happens, happens. Just don't be callin for bombs when you're up 35 in the fourth.

2. Iowa has been a very up-and-down team this season, and it's defense can actually play. What are some of the unit-to-unit match ups you're looking forward to seeing this week? Which team will win your chosen battle and why?

Probably the most intriguing match up this weekend will be Penn State's offensive line versus Iowa's defensive line. We know, that's not very exciting, but that's where this game will be won. Iowa is second to Penn State in both scoring and rushing defense and is led on the line by senior Mitch King, who has 11 tackles for loss to go with three sacks and a forced fumble.

So obviously, Iowa's D-line has done a solid job this, but no line in the Big11Ten, offensive or defensive, has been as impressive as Penn State's O-line. They protect Clark extremely well, and as great as Royster has been this year, they've been the key to opening up the running game. So while it should be a helluva battle, we think the Lions' O-line will win this battle, allowing Royster to have another solid game and Clark to make plays down field.

3. Backtrack a week. There were riots downtown following the OhioState win. The State College Borough Council had plenty of discussion about "why" it happened, and what could be done to "prevent it" in the future. Of course, they got nowhere. Are wild, dangerous events like this just a part of life at a big-time football school? Or should (or, can) something be done about it?

No, they shouldn't be a part of life at a big time football school, not during week 8, anyway.

How retarded will those fans look if PSU loses a game? You save your parties for the National Championship, and nothing less. Sure, winning a big game is great, but it's meaningless unless you win the rest, too.

Lightning Round

1. Royster has a big game (100+ yds)?
Yes

2. Devlin sees decent playing time?
Not sure why he would.

3. Chances (%) PSU holds Iowa below 10 pts?
50%

Top 5 Reasons College Football is Better Than the NFL

2008-11-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun railing against the NBA in our Top 5 list, we've decided to make it a weekly event. Sometimes the lists will be about sports, sometimes they won't. Either way, think of them as a timeout from the insanity of BCS talk. Today we will run down the reasons that the nation's most ~~popular~~ overrated sport fails to live up to its college counterpart.

5. College athletes actually have something to prove.
In the college game, the players aren't millionaires. They're not playing to get a couple extra bucks from a bonus, they're playing just to win. To us, that makes all the difference. Unless you're one of the lucky few who will make it to playing on Sundays, there is nothing to gain from playing in college except winning. And in college you're winning for 100,000 of your best friends, not just whoever a bunch of marketers rounded up to watch a team in a city you're probably not even from.

4. The tailgate scene.
Yes, we know that people tailgate at pro games too. But have you ever been to one? Since NFL stadiums are generally located in pretty urban areas, tailgates always happen in some nondescript, lame-o parking lot. Too cold and industrial for us. We much prefer the all the different settings that college football provides for our tailgating needs (and the scenery is a little better at a college game, if you get what we're driving at). And obviously, if you want to hang out in a giant field and roam around with tens of thousands of your friends, Penn State is the place to be.

Yeah, that looks fun.

3. Style of play.
Before someone bashes this reason, we know, we know, the NFL players are faster and stronger, and that limits the types of offenses that can be run and college is so slow and blah blah blah. That's not our point. In the NFL, it's all the same. Sure, Miami busted out the Wildcat formation this year, and you might see a gadget play every once in a while, but generally the style of play in the NFL is pretty similar. But just think about college. You get to see the spread, the option, smash-mouth, Tebow's jump passes, and whatever the ACC is trying to pass off as offense. When it comes to style of play, we're equal opportunity fans: we love the diversity of the college game.

2. Stronger emotional ties to college teams.
For many people, your life at college was the best time of your life, and if you went to a big football school, half of every year was dedicated to the football team in that town. You are on that campus because you chose to be there and when the team takes the field, it's like you're right there with them. They represent the town, the school and most importantly, you.

It's exciting watching your hometown NFL team, but to us the pro game is too much of a business and not enough competition. The players are foreign and hard to cheer for.

When you're pulling for the college guys, you already have that strong bond because you both chose to attend that school.

1. The atmosphere at the stadium.
The lack of marching bands at NFL stadiums could be a reason all its own, but stadium atmosphere is more than just the band. It's the unique feel of all the college stadiums (vs. the sterile, cookie cutter feel of NFL stadiums). It's the fight songs, the rowdy students, the noise level and even the sheer number of people at a college game that sets it apart from a pro game. It may be a bit of an apples-to-oranges argument (mostly because pro fans can never match the intensity of a drunken student section), but attend one game of each and see which one is more exciting.

The Links: Slow Week Edition

2008-11-05T21:00:00.001-05:00

We're not gonna lie, besides all the inane stories about why Penn State doesn't deserve a title shot, news on the actual team has been pretty slow lately. Regardless, here are some links that we've been able to dig up. As usual we start with Lion news and then broaden the focus.

This was a widely-held assumption, but Daryll Clark will be playing Saturday. -Rivals-

Oh, and remember when Clark was looking really pissed when Devlin went in during the Ohio State game? Well, he wasn't pissed, he just didn't know what was going on... -Big11Ten Blog-

Iowa administrators couldn't decide whether to do a blackout or a greene-out (for running back extraordinaire Shonn Greene) on Saturday, so they said, "Fuck it, we'll do them both." -Hawk Central-

Kirk Ferentz took a page out of Joe's book and gushed to the press about the Nittany Lions. -Hawk Central-

Joe was asked about the BCS madness quite a bit during his press conference, but as usual, he didn't take the bait. -Rivals-

Pete Carroll did, however. -BCS Stinks-

Funny, you never heard Carroll complaining in '05 and '06. Maybe his team is dropping because they have the worst loss out of all the big-time one loss teams. Then again, the BCS does stink, so do we have a point? Not really.

Hey, speaking of the BCS, and since we're getting to a point in the season where these scenarios are actually interesting, here are some bowl projections. -Bowls-

Based on those projections, Texas wins the Big 12 and Florida wins the SEC. Throw the national media man-love for the SEC out the window, and doesn't Florida have the worse loss of the two, by a looonnnnng shot? This whole system is such a joke.

Ivan Maisel of E!SPN is the latest to defend the system, however. No word on whether Maisel is good friends with Tim Cowlishaw. -I'm A Clown-

A brief rebuttal: The BCS is both different AND wrong. And we're sick of this whole "interest in the sport is higher than ever" argument. That may be true, but it would no doubt be even higher with the payoff of an eight-team playoff at the end of the season.

And to cap off the BCS news, here's an article from the Baltimore Sun, where one guy defends Penn State, and another one rags on PSU fans for whining. -Sun-

We're not sure we agree with either of them. We can't speak for all Nittany Lion fans out there, but we're completely fine with being #3, mostly because we think both Alabama and Texas Tech are going to lose eventually. And if they don't, they deserve to go to the title game, based on this system. We're realists, so we get it. And yes, we will start lobbying for a playoff, dick.

In other news, this guy from Florida makes Penn State's criminals look like amateurs. -Anger Management-

And finally, just in case you didn't have them on your calendar already, don't forget to keep your eye on these these two potentially huge games this weekend: OK State @Texas Tech | Alabama @ LSU

Big11Ten Roundup

2008-11-04T21:00:00.002-05:00

We figured since PSU didn't play, no one else did either. With no recap to write you probably should have expected this on Sunday.

Minnesota: 17 Northwestern: 24
Rivals.com recap

We might be reading this wrong, but did Mike Kafka, the QB for Northwestern, rush for 217 yards? Yeah, that's what the box score tells us. Oh yeah, and he's the backup.

This is a game we wish we had seen.

That 217 yards rushing is also Big11Ten record for a quarterback, in case you hadn't already guessed. Javon Ringer thinks that's an enormous amount of yard to be gained on the ground by one man.

Now, while it's fun to ride the hot hand and cheer for the backup, it looks like Bacher will be back behind center for Northwestern's game against Ohio State this coming weekend. This from the Chicago Sun-Times.

Somehow that huge game wasn't mentioned in any of the recaps we saw on TV, they were just concerned with the NU pick-six that ended the game. It's been a good season for Minnesota so hopefully they can bounce back and find themselves in a real quality bowl game and stun someone out there. We don't play them, so it's all about Big11Ten pride.

Michigan: 42 Purdue: 48
Rivals.

In a battle of defenses that would make the Big XII proud, Purdue was able to hold Michigan to 42 points to preserve the win.

Or, in the real world, there was no defense played, Michigan tied it late and then Purdue took the win on a pass with little time left.

Sound familiar? With offenses like that and defenses that can keep teams below 50, they must be national title contenders.

Illinois: 27 Iowa: 24
Rivals.

Well, at least Illinois won one so it looks at least a little better when people see PSU beat them. The whole Big11Ten is letting us down.

Anyway, Iowa had some trouble scoring until late in the 2nd half, and against PSU, that will be bad news. We've all seen what they have done with the second half of important games. Iowa runs the ball well enough, but the passing game isn't there as Ricky Stanzi went 11 for 29. Not good numbers.

If PSU makes Stanzi win the game, Iowa will lose.

Ricky was also sacked 6 times. Aaron Maybin is drooling right now.

Wisconsin: 24 Michigan State: 25
Rivals.

This is what we need. Michigan State needs to keep winning so they have a fairly impressive record when they come to the Beaver. As if there's not enough bad mouthing towards the Big Ten already, if the last challenge of the schedule comes from an average MSU team, it won't look good. Do not lose again, Michigan State.

Well, except for against PSU, obviously.

Wisconsin should have won this game as they finally seemed to have found themselves. They had 430 total yards, including a whopping 281 on the ground. Michigan State's lead man, Javon Ringer, only ran for 54 on 21 carries.

PJ Hill and John Clay each carried the ball for 100+ yards. That is unreal and while we are happy we crushed them, we wish they had been this potent during all of their other games.

Wisconsin was leading 24-13 at the start of the fourth, but Michigan State put up 12 points in the last 9 minutes and took the lead on a field goal with 7 seconds left. Michigan State with the win, and Wisconsin finally starting to look like a decent team.

Central Michigan: 37 Indiana: 34
Rivals.

Really, Indiana? Really?

1007 total yards. 485 total yards for Indiana and 485 for Brian Brunner, the quarterback for Central Michigan. That may have been the difference. He threw for 4 TDs and 1 INT.

Central Michigan totaled 522.

This is the 2nd time Indiana has lost to a MAC team this season, the first time that's happened in school history. To be fair though, they are two of the better MAC teams this season -- the other being a ranked Ball State team.

Don't Do It

2008-11-03T22:15:00.000-05:00

Okay, we're very excited about the team this year, and we understand things are going well. But we are also trying not to get ahead of ourselves. Because nothing's worse than gloating to the your loser friends who love the Big East and then having your team crap out in a really winnable game. To make a long story short, we're always extremely wary of the jinx factor. Apparently, though, the Family Clothesline doesn't share our trepidation. Check this out:

It can be yours for only $9.99!

First of all, if you're actually considering buying that, just stop reading this blog. In fact, stop cheering for the team altogether. That thing might as well read "THIS SHIRT IS A MASSIVE JINX." Second, does the Clothesline already have shirts made up for 10-0? 11-0? Does each printing of each scenario shirt exponentially increase the jinx factor? Third, have you ever seen anyone with a body type that would match that shirt?

Usually we find the Clothesline to be a fine establishment, but come on, this is pure madness. So do yourself and your team a favor and just ignore this crap until all the games have been played.

Thank God the bye week is over.

2008-11-02T20:37:00.000-05:00

Well, the new rankings are out and in what should be a surprise to no one, PSU was passed up by Texas Tech, who moved into the number 2 spot, behind number 1 Alabama.

The precedent was set when Texas jumped past a couple teams to get to number 1 after beating then number 1 Oklahoma, so Tech passing PSU after beating number 1 Texas is really no shocker. The good news for PSU is that Tech still has games against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, while Alabama still has to play out their schedule against opponents that belong to the greatest conference ever in the history of college football. We think it's unlikely either of them finishes undefeated, but the most important thing is that PSU continues to take care of their own business.

We can look ahead like that because we don't wear the equipment on Saturdays.

Anyway, here is a link to the rankings on the BCS page: Lower Right Corner

If you don't want to go to the BCS site and just want the info now, here's the top 10:

1. Alabama
2. Texas Tech
3. Penn State
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. Utah
9. Oklahoma State
10. Boise State

To be honest, we kind of expected all the Big Ten haters to knock PSU down to number 17 after having a bye week in their extra soft schedule.

He's no joker.

2008-10-31T21:20:00.010-04:00

In the spirit of Halloween, NBC.com contributor Bryan Burwell thought it would be a good idea to try out his favorite costume. Actually, we're not entirely sure he had on any costume when he wrote this article, but he sure comes off as a real clown when you sit down and read his latest column.

We're not sure who this guy writes for full time, but this article reeks of a guy who's hometown team has been bumped out of contention. He just comes off as bitter. It's kind of pathetic when you consider he's paid to write these things.

Check it out.

Mr. Burwell decided to let everyone know why he thinks that Penn State is undeserving of a shot at the national title.

Why is it?

Because Ohio State got spanked the past two tries, of course.

Look, we understand that people don't like the Big Ten, and as soon as those SEC and Big12 teams started piling up losses, everyone was looking for a one loss team to put ahead of Penn State. We're kind of used to seeing articles like this. We realize that because Ohio State can't get up for a big game, that it reflects poorly on the whole conference.

But to say Penn State doesn't even deserve a shot because of another team's poor performance in the previous two years is just ridiculous.

In fact, he claims that he can think of ten teams off the top of his head that deserve a chance to play for the 'ship. Those ten teams? "Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, USC, LSU and even Missouri."

Texas - Ranked one, so they'll get there ahead of PSU if they remain unbeaten.
Alabama - Same as Texas, except second. We understand the BCS, mostly, so we can deal with that. We'll be disappointed, but we get it.
Florida - They lost to Ole Miss, and you want to see them with the best in the country?
Georgia - Didn't they get destroyed at their own field? Probably the worst pre-season number 1 ever.
Oklahoma State - Lost to Texas. That was their National Championship, why should they get to try again?
Oklahoma - Same as OK State.
Texas Tech - We'll see, but you want to knock PSU for not having a difficult schedule?
USC - Got trounced by Oregon State, who got trounced by -- you guessed it -- PSU.
LSU - Two lopsided losses. TWO. You can't put teams in the national championship just because of the name of the school.
Missouri - Really, who didn't see right through that team? Two losses. Do they even have a defensive squad on that team? There's two sides to that ball.

So, Burwell, this is who you pick? A couple of two loss teams and a couple other teams who got the piss beat out of them at one point or another?

The only legit teams that might be on there are already ranked ahead of PSU -- and we're fine with those rankings -- or Texas Tech, which always seems to create some kind of buzz until they play someone that matters.

Why do we think those are the only legit teams? Because they're undefeated.

Everyone knows how the BCS works by now. You go undefeated and you give yourself a chance to play for the crystal. If you lose to unranked teams or get blown out at your home field, you probably won't get that chance. If you lose twice, you really don't deserve that chance.

These teams are not being "penalized for being in a far superior conference," as Burwell states, they are being penalized for losing games.

Some of those teams on his list have already had their chance to play Texas or Bama, and lost. So we're not sure how anyone could make the case for them being more deserving of a chance to play for the championship than Penn State. Why even watch Texas play against one of three teams they already beat the snot out of?

Win games and get in. Lose and you're out. It's simple. You don't get second chances or rematches, so get it done the first time. Every team is under the same pressure.

We can't wait to read Burwell's column on Monday, should Texas lose Saturday.

Ass.

Top 5 Reasons The NBA Sucks

2008-10-30T21:00:00.001-04:00

If you're thinking, "Why is a Penn State football blog writing about the NBA," well, we can't say we blame you. But it's bye week, there's little going on with the team, we're bored and we like Top 5 lists. If you hate the NBA- and if you're a college football fan, we think there's a relatively good chance that you do- consider this a break from having to read Bill Simmons' 7,500-word columns on how great it is.

5. The game is a side act to the player introductions.
There's more choreography in NBA pregame introductions than there is in a Chad Johnson end zone celebration (before this season anyway). We wish the players would use the effort they put into elaborate handshake routines into actually running on the court.

Is this really necessary?

4. The end of the game is the most boring part of the game.
You may be saying, "That's the case in any sport, if it's a blowout." And therein lies the rub: the NBA is actually less boring in a blowout then it is in a 5-point game down the stretch. Unless the score is within 3 points, the last 2 minutes is all fouling, free throws and timeouts and goes on for about half an hour. That's just an inherently dumb problem, and there's no getting around it.

3. No one plays defense. Ever.
Don't even try to argue against this. Watch a college basketball game and see how the team plays defense. Then watch an NBA game, and take note of how many open 3s guys get, because defenders are all too lazy to run out and get a hand in the shooter's face. People talk about great defenders in the NBA all the time, but don't buy into this; the "great" defenders just play less-crappy D than the average guys. Defense in the NBA is a total farce. And that's that.

Nice D, losers.

2. They refuse to play back to back nights in the playoffs.
Come on, ladies. High school kids play multiple games in a day sometimes during holiday tournaments. You're world-class athletes and you can't suck it up and play two nights in a row? How many nights off would these guys need if they stopped loafing around and actually played? Three? Five?

1. The pro basketball championship pales in comparison to the college basketball championship.
Hey, there are a lot of reasons why the NBA sucks, but how can you top this one? In what other sport is the college championship noticeably more exciting, more popular and flat-out better than it's pro counterpart? Ummm, none. The college tournament is great: 64 teams, 2 and a half weeks, you fuck up once and you're gone. The NBA? 16 teams over about two months (seems more like five) and all the excitement of a 2-hour history class on a Friday afternoon.

Bonus: Stephen A. Smith is prominently involved in the analysis of the sport.

"I LOVE THE UNIVERSITY OF PENN STATE, HOWWW-EVAHH, THIS BLOG IS TERR-A-BULL!" -Stephen A. Smith

Thank you, Stephen A.

Bye Week Matchups

2008-10-29T21:00:00.004-04:00

Well, it's bye week. At first it seems like a bad thing; for nine weeks, you've been looking forward to watching Penn State go out and dominate. But hey, we all can use a break (especially our concussed, Davey O'Brien Award finalist quarterback). So while Penn State is resting up this week, we suggest you do so as well- on your couch. And here are some games going on this weekend (in chronological order) to entertain you while you're there.

Wisconsin @ Michigan State, 12:00, ESPN
We might as well put one Big11Ten game on this list, as we're sure you'll be longing to see some mediocre football. The Spartans have to be feeling good after knocking off Michigan in Ann Arbor for the first time since the grunge era, and Wisconsin is finally off the schneid after a (not so) big win over Illinois.

So who will emerge victorious in this one? We say Michigan State. We're pretty sure Javon Ringer is just going to keep killing opposing defenses until both his legs break off (which should be sometime around November 22nd), and we're way way way far from sold on Dustin Sherer. Go Sparty.

West Virginia @ Connecticut, 12:00 ESPN GamePlan/ESPN360.com
Alright, so this one's not really on TV, but it has Big East title implications, so it should be on your radar. Oh, what's that? Oh right! The Big East sucks and no one really respects it. Well, if you're not doing anything else, watch this one online so you can make fun of your crazy friend or co-worker that swears the Big East is an actual big-time college football conference.

Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville, FL), 3:30 CBS
This one is pretty huge for both teams, as they're both 4-1 in the conference, and the winner of this game is most likely going to win the SEC East division and go to the conference title game. Considering that they might be playing that sneaky Alabama team in said title game, you may want to keep your eye on this one.

This is a neutral site game, held in Jacksonville (which isn't exactly neutral), and as well all know, it's dubbed "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party." We find that a bit grandiose. In Happy Valley, we don't really need a nickname, because we know we have the best tailgate scene in the country, bar none. (Hey, we don't brag often around here, let us have this.)

Anyway, we like Florida in this one, because if they don't get revenge for that little celebration stunt the Bulldogs pulled last year, they shouldn't be allowed to field a team next year. In case you forgot about that incident, here you go:

Florida State @ Georgia Tech, 3:30, ABC
HA! Just kidding. You should never watch ACC football under any circumstances.

Texas @ Texas Tech, 8:00, ABC
This is the big matchup of the weekend, obviously, with Big XII, BCS and best-team-in-Texas implications. Texas Tech gets the shaft big time amongst voters and the media, but Graham Harrell, Michael Crabtree and company can really light it up. Ask Kansas, who had 63 points hung on them last weekend.

Of course Texas is the #1 team in the nation, lead by top Heisman hopeful Colt McCoy at quarterback. Usually we would make fun of a dude named Colt, but the guy is playing out of his mind right now, completing a whopping 81% of his passes so far for 21 touchdowns. That is INSANE. Also keep your eye on wideout Jordan Shipley, who leads the team with 58 receptions. He's been a beast this year as well.

Considering that these two teams are averaging over 90 points per game combined, we're pretty sure that this isn't going to be a defensive struggle a la PSU-OSU last weekend. But no matter how potent Tech's offense is, we like the Horns to prevail in this one. Why? Well, for starters, Tech's schedule makes Penn State's look like the NFC East. Just some of the teams they've beaten this year: Eastern Washington, SMU, UMass, K-State and Nebraska. Meanwhile, in the last three weeks, Texas has beaten Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State respectively. That's a litttttle tougher. So yeah, best of luck to Tech- and trust us, we're rooting for them- but we think ol' Colt and the Longhorns are going to rough them up.

What happened this past weekend?

2008-10-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

This is late because we're lazy. And because Monday night was wing night. oops.

Indiana: 21 Northwestern: 19

Take note, Penn State. We know Northwestern ain't no Penn State, but Indiana is not a good team but if you turn the ball over five times, as Northwestern did this past Saturday, it is very possible to lose to bad teams.

The stats for this game were very similar, with the exception of the 5 turnover margin in favor of Indiana. Neither team really seems to be able or want to run the ball and neither has that game breaking quarterback, but it's good to see Indiana get a win against a ranked team because they're coming up on the schedule and the Lions need to be warned that anything can happen.

Wisconsin: 27 Illinois: 17

Thanks, guys. Every week that Illinois victory from a few weeks back seems to look less and less impressive.

Sherer accounted for 3 touchdowns, one of them on the ground. Juice completed barely more than 50% of his passes and threw more picks than TDs. Neither team ran the ball at that well and PJ Hill only had nine yards.

Does not approve.

What happened? Did he get hurt? Wisconsin fan, fill us in (won't happen). All we could find was that he bruised his foot. We really hope, for the sake of his manhood, that wasn't the reason he only had 9 carries.

Michigan: 21 Michigan State: 35

They may have lost to Ohio State, badly, but we still need to worry about Michigan State. Javon Ringer had a party on Saturday, rushing for 194 yards and two touchdowns. As a team, MSU put up 473 yards of total offense. Michigan only had 252.

Much like PSU, Michigan State had not beat Michigan in what must feel like an eternity, but they were able to get over that hump this weekend. This seems to be the year for that.

Michigan State has their slip up against Ohio State, but it's still safe to say they have the tools to be a good team and that last game of the season will be a good one. We look forward to taking the RV up for that one.

Minnesota: 17 Purdue: 6

Yeah, Minnesota. Since we don't play them this year, we are secretly cheering for them. Some of us are fans of teams in other sports that have been terrible in recent years, so we feel for the fans of Minnesota football who stuck with their team and get to see them play winning football.

The win wasn't glamorous, but they got it done. Adam Weber continues to play effeciently despite having no running game, and the defense is keeping people off the scoreboard, even though they were predicted by many (including us, most likely) to be terrible.

Minnesota continues to rise and is now 7-1 and ranked 17th. Did anyone outside of the Gophers locker room expect this to happen?

Game 9 Recap: Penn State 13, Ohio State 6

2008-10-26T20:38:00.001-04:00

How crooked was that "O" behind the end-zone? How sweet was the mini S-Zone in the corner?

Man did it feel good to type the score of this one in the title. As we said last night, it wasn't pretty, but at this point, who cares. A win is a win, and when you're playing Ohio State at night in the Horseshoe, you'd take a 3-2 victory and be thrilled about it.

For most of the night, this game was dead even, and you could sense that it would take one huge play from either side to win. In the end, it came in the form of an incredibly untimely turnover by a true freshman QB (and the one of the wildest scrambles to recover a ball that we can remember).

And oh by the way, to the rest of the country, you are welcome. You won't have to see Ohio State in the National Championship again this year. We're happy about it too.

Onto the recap...

1st Quarter

The first quarter was the most boring quarter of football we've seen all season. Both teams seemed to be sort of feeling things out as both defenses really locked things down.

Ohio State started with the ball and seemed to start moving the ball pretty well, but after a few incompletions it was time to punt.

PSU had two big plays on back to back first downs and our hopes were high we might see a first possession score, but two incompletions and a sad run led to a fourth down and a punt.

For Ohio State's second drive, PSU stacked the line against Wells and forced the game onto Pryor. It would be a theme all night as Ohio State tried to force the run, PSU stuffed them, and Pryor was forced to throw.

It worked this time and Ohio State was forced to punt after only 7 plays.

Ohio State probably would have tried the same tactic, but PSU didn't even bother trying to run, and was also forced to punt rather quickly.

And so ended the most boring quarter ever. Yeah, this is the Big Ten.

2nd Quarter

The short drive theme continued as three more drives started and ended before either team could get very far into the other team's territory.

Our hearts were broken once though. After Jeremy Boone pinned Ohio State at their own 3, Pryor was able to complete a 53 yard pass to a wiiiiiide open Dan Sanzenbacher. Somehow he disappeared into the secondary and took the catch to the PSU 41. We couldn't believe it, Pryor isn't supposed to do things right. We wanted that safety.

It didn't matter though, as Beanie wasted two rushes and Pryor threw another third down incompletion. Boeckman for Heisman, right?

OSU punted and PSU started at their own 11. Pretty crap field position.

The Lions nickel and dimed their way out to about their own 30 before, on a first and ten, Clark hit Graham Zug of all people for 49 yards. Like Sanzenbacher before him, Zug slipped unnoticed into the secondary and found himself wide open. We were thrilled and disappointed at the same time because while the gain was great, had Clark put a little more oomph on that it would have been 6.

Great play nonetheless, and things were finally looking to get going.

Okay so maybe not, three players later it was fourth and 4 and Kevin Kelly trotted onto the field.

He is money, in case you forgot, and banged one through for three.

3-0

On the ensuing kickoff, OSU returned it to their 39 yard line. Not good.
OSU started the drive with about a minute and a half left, they could not be allowed to score.
An incompletion and a false start followed and we thought we were going into halftime with the lead, but Pryor moved the ball 10 yards and got a new set of downs.

Fortunately, Aaron Maybin hit the right-bumper a couple times then got the User Sack and OSU took a loss of 9 yards.

Once again, it looked like things were about to end, when Pryor hit Robiskie for 33 yards. Dammit.

Finally the Lions were able to put the brakes on their drive and forced them to kick the field goal.

3-3

Lebron was pumped.
Remember though, just because something is expensive doesn't mean it won't look retarded on you.

-Halftime-

This is not the game you were looking for.

3rd Quarter

Penn State got the ball to start the 3rd, and as Kirk and Brent alert us that the O-line got a bit of a tongue-lashing during halftime, Royster rushed the ball for 9 yards, then quickly picked up a first down on the next play. That's more like it.

Clark then hit Butler for 4 yards, which was followed by Stephfon Green scampering for 12. With a first down near Ohio State territory, Williams rushed for a yard, and then thinking you had a flashback to 2006, Royster got stuffed on a draw. On third and 7, a draw by Clark picked up only two yards, and it was time to punt. Maybe not the best call on third and 7.

Boone let loose with another fine punt (he had a very solid night out there in a game that was mostly a field position battle), pinning the Buckeyes at their own 9.

As the drive began, we fully expected another solid defensive stand. So with every frustrating play Ohio State put together, our blood pressure went up just a little bit more.

The drive started with Wells carrying it four straight times. Pryor then completed three consecutive passes, which, let's face it, is about two too many for him.

After a short run by Wells, it was third and 7 for the Buckeyes. Pryor tossed one on the sideline to Robiskie, and it looked like he was out of bounds. But the replay showed that he somehow got a toe down, and the drive continued, as remote controls were thrown across rooms in the houses of Penn State fans everywhere.

But in a game where absolutely everyone looked tense, Tressel went super-conservative, running Wells three times for just 7 yards, and Ohio State had to settle for a field goal.

As annoying as that drive was, it was absolutely huge that the D held them to 3 points.

Don't Grammatica yourself.

3-6

Luckily, Penn State came out and put together a nice drive on their next possession. Clark scrambled on the first play and turned a 1-yard gain into a 7-yard game after he dragged a dude behind him. Green picked up the first on the next play with a 5-yard run.

Clark then took over, hitting Butler for a 7-yard pickup, Williams for 12, and then he took off on a QB draw for a huge 14-yard pickup, putting the Lions in field goal range (or so we thought).

Clark then went for the home run, trying to hook up with Williams on a wheel route inside the 5. Williams made a sweet catch, but couldn't get a foot down. On second down, Clark fired one high over Graham Zug as the quarter came to a close.

We think maybe a run would've been a better call there, because you probably pick up a couple yards and aren't staring at a third and 10. Then again we're guys in our mid-20s who write a blog.

4th Quarter

After the longest commercial break of our lives, we wondered what brand of genius Galen Hall had up his sleeve for a third and 10 in the 4th quarter. He treated us to a shovel pass.

Actually it wasn't a horrible call, and Royster was mere inches away from picking up the first. But that bastard Heyward grabbed his foot and tripped him up. Kevin Kelly trotted out to tie the game. Before the ball was even snapped, you somehow knew what was going to happen.

Wide right.

And that's the most pissed off we've been all year.

As Ohio State took over possession, the Lions needed to get the ball back immediately. When Pryor scrambled for a first down on third and one, you could almost feel this one slipping away. It was obvious Tressel was going to run the ball until Penn State stopped it, and Wells took two carries for 9 yards.

Then, it was the biggest third and 1 of the season. Instead of diving behind the line and picking up the first, Pryor tried to break the game open. And then Mark Rubin answered everyone's prayers:

When you saw that ball pop out, your night went from miserable to euphoric in .02 seconds.

While the ball was on the ground, Tyrell Sales made the most heads-up play in the history of sports, batting the ball forward to knock it away from Pryor, as he knew he couldn't grab it himself. A couple heart-stopping seconds later, Bowman (who was huge all night) fell on it.

Momentum: shifted. Huge play by the D, HUGE mistake by Pryor.

Now everyone was pumped. It was Penn State ball at the Ohio State 38. Royster took the hand-off from Clark for a big 9-yard pickup. Wait a second...that wasn't Clark...

Why the hell is Devlin in the game? We're still not sure, although Clark looked a little woozy after a hit he took during the last drive. Whatever the case, it was Devlin out there running the offense.

The next play was Pat's only pass attempt of the game, and while he didn't connect with Derrick Williams, Williams drew a pass interference penalty that put the Lions at the Ohio State 14. Royster ran one for 2 yards, followed by Green going for 6. And on a huge third and 2, Royster cut one outside and danced past the first down marker and out of bounds. We let out the biggest sigh of relief ever (up to that point, anyway).

It was first and goal at the 2, and it was time to take one in, Paterno style. A hand-off to Dan Lawlor went for 1 yard, and a Devlin sneak was stuffed. The second sneak, however, was good.

A.Q. was a happy man.

10-6

Ohio State got the ball back, looking to make up basically handing the momentum to the Lions on the last drive. Pryor wasted no time, hooking up with Hartline for 15 yards. The next pass downfield to Robiskie looked like it might be caught, but Lydell Sargeant made a nice hit to break it up. Wells carried the ball for 6 yards on the next play, and then Pryor was stopped short on a scramble. A huge stop by the D.

Penn State started its next drive at the Ohio State 37, and it was time to let Royster go to work. A rush for 3 and a 15-yard facemask penalty. A rush for 10, timeout Ohio State. A rush for 9, timeout Ohio State. A sneak by Devlin for 2, timeout Ohio State. We do believe that was their last timeout.

Three short rushes by Royster could not pick up a first, but the team was well within field goal range to go up by 7. This time, Kelly's kick was true.

13-6

Kelly then came up huge on the kickoff with a touchback. 1:07 left on the clock.

Pryor fires his first pass out of bounds for an incompletion. You relax a bit. On second down, he hits Ray Small for 14 yards. You tense up again. After a spike, there's another incompletion. You relax a little. On third, Pryor hits Small again, this time for 14. You scream obscenities at Ray Small, a dude you'd never even heard of a minute ago.

After a quick spike, it was second down from the Penn State 43. 36 seconds left. The ball was snapped. Maybin applies pressure from the outside. Pryor rolls right and lofts one towards the end zone. Brian Hartline was in the area. So was Lydell Sargeant:

Game.

13-6

awwwwwww

How's that one taste?

3 Big Stat Lines

Evan Royster: 19 carries, 77 yards
Penn State D: held Ohio State to 61 yards rushing (!)
Brent Musberger: 8 counts of gushing praise for Pat Devlin handing off the ball, 1 count of calling Clark "Norwood", 3 counts of being plain senile

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

It can never be easy against Ohio State.
Zero turnovers on the road.
We've never witnessed a game played more tentatively by two teams (coaching staffs included).
Clark made some very questionable throws, but he managed to avoid the big mistake, which is more than we can say for another QB in this one.
That said, Pryor is a good QB, especially for a true freshman. Still a douche, though.
Okay, so Devlin didn't really do anything, but its gotta be tough to enter a game of that magnitude ice cold in the 4th quarter.
Thanks for those 30 free penalty yards in the 4th, Buckeyes. Much appreciated.
Insane game by the D as a whole. Odrick, Sales, Rubin, Maybin, Sargeant and Bowman all made huge plays at one time or another.
Beanie Wells: 55 yards on 22 carries.
Annoying overused stat of the week: Penn State hasn't won at Ohio Stadium in 30 years. Know how many games were played there at that time? Seven. A little misleading.
God it feels good to beat Ohio State.

Penn State Player of the Game: Mark Rubin
This really could go to a number of guys on the defense, but Rubin made the biggest play of the night, in addition to finishing with 11 tackles. Not only did he snuff out a sneaky move to the outside by Pryor, he popped the ball loose and completely changed the course of the game. Gotta give him the game ball, because that sequence basically won the game for Penn State.

Ohio State Player of the Game: The Defense
No one player stood out for the Buckeyes. No one really stepped up and made that huge play that they need to make to win the game. But the defensive unit was stout for the most part, holding the conference's best offense to 13 points and only 281 yards. It just wasn't quite enough.

Honorable Mentions: Punters Jeremy Boone and A.J. Trapasso
Hey, it's not often we mention the punters, but in such a low-scoring field position game, they had a chance to affect the game and they both stepped up nicely. Each put three punts inside the 20, and Boone pinned OSU on their own 3 in the first half. Trapasso absolutely bombed one early on for 59 yards. Take a bow, punters. Nice games from both of you.

Big W

2008-10-25T23:18:00.004-04:00

Okay, so that wasn't the prettiest game ever played, but the Lions got the job done tonight. Big time kudos to the D, and a special thanks to Terrelle Pryor for handing the game to us on a silver and crimson platter. The undefeated run continues. It feels great to be a Penn State fan right now.

If you're an Ohio State fan, it feels...well, not so good.

Ohhhh, so sad.

Much, much more in the recap tomorrow.

Game 9 Preview: Penn State @ Ohio State

2008-10-24T19:31:00.000-04:00

Gametime: 8:00 pm

Records: Penn State: 8-0 (4-0), Ohio State: 7-1 (4-0)

Series Record: Ohio State leads, 12-11

TV: ABC

Audio: Here

Weather: 51 degrees, 20% chance of rain.

The dreaded Horseshoe.

Gameday will be there. Herbstreit can barely contain himself.

Words cannot describe how we're feeling going into this game. It's a strange combination of emotions: excitement, nervousness, anger and most of all, trying not to pee ourselves in anticipation. We don't even know what that means, that's how crazy this game is.

Look, we sort of hate it when people define a team's season by just one game. It's just not fair. To be frank, this team has already surpassed our expectations for this season. Before the season, we thought a two-loss campaign would be great. We weren't being pessimistic, just realistic. But here we are, 8-0 and a 2.5 point favorite against Ohio State in the Horseshoe. Eight weeks ago, we would never have believed it. So when we say this game is pretty much the whole season, we mean it.

We can't stand Ohio State. They're smug as hell, their coach is a ninny in a sweater vest, they think they're king shit, and they don't even recognize how much we despise them, which only pisses us off more. And let's not forget what their last three massive choke jobs have done to the reputation of this (semi) good conference.

So the Lions have a job to do tomorrow night in Columbus. They have to go out there and beat the Buckeyes in their own back yard not just to continue this improbable run, but to give a shot to someone else from the Big11Ten to make some noise on a national stage. Ohio State had their shot(s), and they blew it big time.

Now it's our turn.

That's probably as preachy and sentimental as you'll see us get (of course we make no promises). Onto the actual game analysis.

Usually we like to give you a look at both teams and how they match up against one another. But this week we're going to change it up. We all know that our offense is stout. If they can get some momentum early against the Ohio State D (which is not easy, because it is an extremely good defense), we think they'll be alright. Where this game will be won for Penn State is on the defensive side of the ball. On that note, let's take a closer look at the weapons that the Lions will have to contain tomorrow night:

Beanie Wells: Public Enemy #1

We use that nickname for Beanie only with deepest apologies to Maurice Clarett.

Hey, we're not sure if you heard this or not, but Beanie Wells was battling an injury earlier this season! Whoa! Despite that, he is averaging almost 124 yards a game this year, and he just torched Michigan State for 140 and 2 TDs. There's no doubt about it, the guy's a beast. He is huge and he will punish defenders all day long. But he's also very speedy for his size and can make quick cuts when he needs to. He's a tough man to bring down.

Stopping Wells is the key to this game. Ohio State can usually throw out a pretty balanced offensive attack, but this year, everything relies on the ground game. Of course QB Terrelle Pryor is a big part of that too, but stopping Beanie is where Penn State needs to start. Ohio State is dead last in the conference in passing with only 140 yards a game. The Buckeyes hung 45 on MSU last weekend, but Pryor only had 116 passing yards. So the objective is clear for the Lions: stop Beanie on the ground, and that will be a huge factor in winning this game.

Terrelle Pryor: He's Good, But He's Still A Freshman

"I called this press conference to announce...nothing."

What a dick. This guy fits right in at Ohio State. But putting that aside, like we said, the D can't worry only about Wells, they have to watch Pryor on the zone read and scrambling from the pocket as well. The guy does not seem to be that fast, but he has a very smooth running style where he'll lull you to sleep and then burn past everyone on the field. We hate to play the role of Captain Obvious here, but Penn State absolutely has to make Pryor make plays with his arm.

This kid is a true freshman, and while he's done a good job so far, he is the living definition of "game management." Not to mention, he looked lost at times in the backfield during the Wisconsin game, and we can't count the number of times he's held onto the ball too long this season. Let's see what he can do in a HUGE game, under big time pressure. If he can win this one against a very solid Penn State D, kudos to him. But if he's gonna beat you, make him do it with the arm.

James Laurinaitis: Just Stop Talking About Him Already

You've got to be kidding.

Okay, so we cheated, he's not an offensive weapon. Yes, he is an outstanding defensive player, but for God's sake, can the media stop blowing him for one second? Also, if we see another shot of his Dad in the stands, we're going to vomit. And who allows himself to be photographed like that? Ugh.

Ohio State Player To Watch: RB Beanie Wells
Again, a very obvious pick, but is there anyone more important to the Buckeyes' success? If you say Pryor, you're lying to yourself.

Penn State Player To Watch: Daryll Clark
Pryor isn't the only one who may have to make some big plays through the air. Clark has been nearly flawless all year. Can he keep up his stellar performance in this monster of a game? The dude has shown tremendous poise all year, and we don't see any reason why that will stop this weekend. Besides, he's got a ton of weapons out there. Just avoid the big mistake (ask Morelli about that).

3 Bold Predictions:

Kevin Kelly ties the Big11Ten record for career field goals after he boots two in this one (suck it, Mike Nugent!).
Royster will outgain Beanie.
Our hair will be gray on Sunday morning.

Other Notes

In case you haven't heard 4,000 times this week, Penn State is 0-7 at the 'Shoe as a Big11Ten member.
BREAKING NEWS: Mark May just picked Ohio State to win. Shocker.

Well, what else is there to say about this one? We're just gonna buckle in and try not to have a heart attack. It's gonna be a hard-fought game, no doubt, and Ohio State is a very good team. But like we said, they had their chance. This year we're the better team, and the guys are going to prove it tomorrow. They win in a close one. Then it's party time:

Game Prediction: Penn State 27, Ohio State 17

Blue & White Roundtable: Armageddon

2008-10-23T20:30:00.000-04:00

For the first time ever, questions are coming from us this week. If you think they suck, give us a break! It's our first try.

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. Was Ohio State's blowout of Michigan State last weekend an anomaly or are the Buckeyes "back"?

No team is ever "back" after one big game. We feel it's more a situation of whether or not they ever left. Sure they had some slow games against some less than stellar teams, but Ohio State is always going to get everyone's best game. No one forgets to show up when they play the Buckeyes. There's a better chance they forget to show up when they come to play you.

Take into consideration the loss of Wells and the addition of Pryor and it's safe to say this team was going to be going through some growing pains, even if pretty much the entire rest of the roster is returning from last season.

The defense of OSU never left and the offense needed a period of adjustment, but we think it's safe to say that after Michigan State, the Buckeyes are properly adjusted and ready to go. They're a very good team, a dangerous team, and one that could ruin 2008 for us.

So yeah, I guess they're back.

2. What can Penn State do to avoid a slow start in this game?

Well that's easy: score early and stop Ohio State after scoring. Who came up with these questions anyway?

But seriously, it's imperative that the Lions get off to a good start against this team. If they can get a lead, it's going to put so much more pressure on the Ohio State offense (and that quarterback kid who's running it). Come out, let Royster control the first drive, make a couple solid throws and get some points on the board. Plenty of time to open the playbook up from there.

And on defense early on, all they should be worried about is stopping the run. DO NOT let the Buckeyes establish the run game, or it could be a long night. The more Penn State forces Pryor to make plays with his arm, the better their chances. Concentrate on those things early, and hopefully they'll avoid the early game letdown they had last weekend against Michigan.

3. Why is Ohio State ranked ahead of Penn State in the computer rankings? And why is every media member and his brother picking Ohio State this week?

Thanks Blue and White Roundtable Question writer person, that is an excellent question!

Honestly! Why are they?!

Ohio State has a loss.
Penn State does not.
Penn State has been convincing in every win.
Ohio State has been shaky against much lesser opponents.
Ohio State was smoked by USC.
USC lost to Oregon State.
PSU rolled over Oregon State.

Isn't relating common opponents one of the big things with the computer polls?
Who's running that show over there?

"Don't worry guys, I fix it."

As for why people are picking Ohio State? We really don't have an answer to that either. Probably because they expect Ohio State to be used to playing in and winning big games.

Oops.

Yeah, we reused a picture in back to back posts.

Make no mistake about it though, Ohio State is a good team again this year. They're always going to be good and there's no real reason they can't win this game.

Do we expect them to? No.

But that doesn't mean they can't, and if you're looking in from the outside, it's probably really easy to see a veteran Ohio State team that has dominated the past couple years, and pick them.

Lightning Round:

1. Who gets more TDs on the ground, Clark or Pryor?
Clark.

2. If the winner of this game wins out, will they get a shot in the BCS title game?
Yes and No.

3. Does dotting the I even compare to our drum major doing flips?
No. Some fat tuba player just standing there can't match the flip. The flip at least takes athletic ability.

The Great Debate

2008-10-22T21:00:00.003-04:00

Kirk Herbstreit: Good evening readers. Tonight we've rounded up the coaches of the Penn State Nittany Lions and Ohio State Buckeyes. We thought we'd get them together for a nice debate and a discussion about this weekend's coming game. Because I went to Ohio State and have an incredibly odd infatuation with Penn State, We Want the Lion has chosen me as moderator.

Now, without further ado, please welcome Jim Tressel and Joe Paterno!

Herbstreit: Good evening gentlemen. Now, on with the questions. Coaches, why do you think the computer polls have Ohio State ranked ahead of PSU in the BCS?

Paterno: Ah, I don't even know how they work, I mean, I,I, I don’t even have a computer!

Tressel: Well we have a stellar program here at THE Ohio State University. We have a lot of great young people who go out and work hard, week in and week out. Also, the fact that we may or may not pay them probably helps our computer ranking.

Herbstreit: What can each of you do to sway the voters to vote for your school in the polls?

Tressel: Well, Kirk, you really have to appeal to what matters most to these folks: money. So we'll probably have an Escalade or two sent out to the important voters out there across the country. It's no big deal, Terrelle has three of them already.

Herbstreit: Coach Paterno, what can you do to sway the voters?

Paterno: Uhhh, win, you dumbass.

Herbstreit: Let's move on to this weekend's big game. Coach Paterno, what do you think about the Ohio State squad this year? How can you win this weekend?

Paterno: Oh ya know, they got a great bunch of kids over there. We’re gonna hafta go out there and play hard, that’s just a great group of kids and they’re a good, solid football team.

Herbstreit: And Coach Tressel, are you excited about the fact that, with a win this weekend, you could possibly have a chance to blow another huge game against a big conference opponent at the end of the year?

Tressel: Watch it, Kirk. You don't want to see me angry.

Tressel: Alright, so it's not that scary.

Herbstreit: Coaches, what might each of you do to fix the BCS?

Tressel: Except for including teams from the SEC, I’d say it works perfectly.

Paterno: I, I, I’m not sure what this BGS is, but anything’s better than letting the President decide the winner. That bastard Nixon….

Herbstreit: Coach Tressel, what’s your impression of your freshman quarterback, Terrelle Pryor?

Tressel: Well I think he has a tremendously bright future in front of him, much like other highly touted freshman from this great university’s past.

Paterno: You mean like this guy?

Tressel: No comment.

Herbstreit: Coach Paterno, how would you describe your coaching staff?

Paterno: Ahh well Kirk, ya know they’re a great bunch of kids.

Herbstreit: But coach, some of your coaches, like Tom Bradley, have been at the school for over 30 years!

Paterno: Ahh that Bradley’s a good egg, he’s gonna have a great career someday.

Herbstreit: Anyway, Coach Tressel, how would you characterize your staff?

Tressel: We’re a team of mavericks, Kirk.

Herbstreit: Moving on…Coach Tressel, what effect do you think the raucous Penn State student section will have on your Buckeyes this Saturday?

Tressel: Kirk, the game is at Ohio State.

Herbstreit: Speculation aside, you have to admit that Penn State’s student section is the best in the nation.

Paterno: Didn’t you play at Ohio State?

Herbstreit: Uhhhh....Coach Tressel, walk us through a game day with you. What's your routine like?

Tressel: Well Kirk, to be honest, I spend most of the day picking out my sweater vest.

Paterno: But you only have two different colors, you ninny!

Herbstreit: Coach Paterno, please let Coach Tressel finish.

Tressel: Thank you, Kirk. After I pick out the vest, I just make a couple quick calls to the boosters to make sure the money is being doled out according to... I mean, just to say hello, and then I get ready to fire the guys up.

Herbstreit: And what is your game day routine like, Coach Paterno?

Paterno: Basically I spend all morning trying to crap, then I catch the elevator to the booth for the game.

Herbstreit: Fantastic! Continuing on with you, Joe, what is your opinion of sideline reporters?

Paterno: Well it depends on what she looks like.

Herbstreit: Okay gentlemen, now it's time to take a couple questions from the audience. First up is Dan, from Princeton, New Jersey.

Dan: Coach Tressel, why are you such a smug bastard?

sigh

Herbstreit: Let's move on. Here's Brett from Indiana.

Brett: Coach Paterno, how does this compare to other big games in your past?

Paterno: Well I remember back when I was just starting out as the head coach here we had a big game against, oh, what was that school, the uh Western University of Pennsylvania and it was a big one! We were undefeated and they were undefeated and they had a couple a real good kids. Great buncha players. They had that one fella what was his name, oh yea-

Herbstreit: Thanks Coach. And you Tressel, how does this compare to other big games in your career?

Tressel: Well Kirk, we've been in a lot of big games and we've had a lot of success in those big games so I-

Urban: What's that, Tress?

Tressel: Well we did have that slip up against Florida but that was nothing. We rebounded nicely and ran the table the following season and the-

Les: And then what, Jim?

Tressel: We've been in a lot of big games.

Herbstreit: Well that was awkward. I didn't know you guys were in town. And now for the final question. Coaches, tell me why your team is the best team in the nation. Coach Paterno, we'll start with you.

Paterno: Awww, come on Kirk, I, I'm not gonna waste my time, I mean, that's just a silly, I, I'm not gonna answer that, come on, that's just a waste of time.

Herbstreit: Coach Tressel, your thoughts?

Tressel: Well, I think we do have the best team in the country, Kirk. We have a great defense, and an offense that is learning every week. And what's more, our team has wide-reaching appeal. I've talked to all of our fans, all the hockey moms and Johnny Six Packs and Joe Plumbers out there. And unequivocally they've told me that if you take out the SEC and the Pac-10, we have the best team in this great nation.

Herbstreit: That's just not true, Coach! Let's go PSU!

Paterno (shaking head): Ugh...

Herbstreit: On that note, I think it's about time to wrap things up! Thanks for your time, coaches.

"mmmmmyeeeeeaaah!"

Blame Woot

2008-10-22T13:02:00.002-04:00

Dear Readers,

We had a great post planned for mid-day today and we were really close to finishing it, but then we got online this morning and checked out our regularly-visited websites and found out that today is a woot-off day.

Sadly, we will probably spend most of the day buying Sansa media players, Roombas and Bluetooth headsets.

So the post will be up sometime tonight. Thank you.

Management

Game 8 Recap: Penn State 46, Michigan 17

2008-10-20T19:00:00.008-04:00

It was a scary start. We were legitimately nervous. But someone forgot to tell Michigan that you have to play two halves of football.

The streak is over.

1st Quarter

The game couldn't have started off worse for the Lions, as Clark couldn't handle an errant snap and fell on the ball for a 16-yard loss. Clark got the ball back near the original line of scrimmage by hitting Deon Butler with a pass, but his next toss was incomplete and it was an early three-and-out.

And then, as if the proverbial light bulb went off above the team's head, Michigan's offense methodically moved the ball down the field. Steven Threet completed three passes during the first five plays of the drive, and then the Wolverines ran the ball nine straight times, none of them going for more than nine yards, but it was enough as Brandon Minor took one in from five to give Michigan the early lead.

0-7

No big deal though, as Penn State went to work. Royster took his first carry of the game for 20 yards, and after an incompletion, Clark scrambled for a first dow..... oh snap.

He's clutching an imaginary ball, apparently.

If we work in the replay booth, PSU never loses the ball.

It was Michigan's ball at their own 44. After an incompletion, Minor busted a huge 36-yard run, as the line was dominated and Scirotto finds out you can't tackle a 215-pound running back around the shoulders.

After a short pass and a couple runs, the drive stalled and Michigan settled for a field goal.

0-10

Before we had time to get all freaked out, Penn State responded. Chaz Powell returned the kickoff to the Penn State 48, Clark hit Williams for an 8-yard completion, and then Royster decided to take one 44 yards to the house.

7-10

On the ensuing kickoff, we experienced the first of many we-can't-catch-a-break moments, as Sam McGuffie fumbled the ball on the return, only to recover it himself when it looked like it would easily be Penn State ball. Dammit.

Michigan didn't waste that gift as they went right to work. After completions by Threet for 21 and 28 yards, the Wolverines had the ball on the Penn State 24 as the first quarter came to a close.

2nd Quarter

It was third and three to start the 2nd quarter, and instead of getting a big stop, the Lions let Threet scurry for a 14-yard pickup and a first down. After two short runs, Minor took it in from one yard out for his second TD of the day.

7-17

Shit.

But again, no worries, surely Penn State would ram the ball down Michigan's throa....oh snap. Three and out.

At right about this point, we had something of this effect running through our heads: "We're down 10 to Michigan, ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod...."

Any other opponent, and we probably don't go into panic mode, but it's funny what a nine-game/12-year losing streak will do to you.

As we silently repeated "the better team will win, the better team will" over and over in our heads, Penn state did what they needed to do on Michigan's next drive and forced a three and out.

The Lions got the ball at their own 31 and tried to make something happen on offense. Clark had three completions on the drive (Butler, Butler and Shuler) mixed in with a 16-yard carry by Royster. But on third and one from the Michigan 27, Clark fumbled the ball and couldn't pick up the first.

Not a problem, Kevin Kelly would get the team within a touchdow...

Clank.

This game was frustrating as hell.

The teams exchanged three and outs and it was Michigan's ball with only 2:53 left in the half. A first down or two and we would be looking at going into halftime down 10.

But just before we started pulling our hair out over that thought, the D stepped up big, stuffing three runs and to set up a punt from Michigan. The punt was downed at the Penn State 26, but a personal foul from the Wolverines moved it up to the 41. Thanks, fellas.

After Clark hit Butler for 17 yards, Royster told the other guys to relax while he put the team on his back.

"I'm gonna need this later."

After runs of 14 and 10 yards, a 3-yard reception, and two more rushes of 5 and 2 yards, the ball was at the Michigan 5 and Royster rightly said, "I'm fucking tired, you guys handle it from here."

So Clark took the reigns and hit Norwood for an absolutely clutch 3-yard touchdown pass. Getting six before the half was HUGE for the team. And our health.

14-17

-Halftime-

Time to listen to every D-bag in the bar talk about how they got tickets to the fourth game of the World Series.
That Phillies hat sure is shiny.

Just kidding, we love Philly people.

3rd Quarter

The first Michigan drive of the third quarter was what we had hoped for. While they gained a few yards, they ended up being forced to punt, thanks in large part to a Maurice Evans sack.

We'd dedicate ourselves to an Evans photoshop, but we don't really care about him anymore.

PSU started the drive at their own 13 and promptly got the ball to Royster. He seemed to be ripping off five or ten yards on every run. He's a beast.

As the drive approached the red zone the passing picked up and the drive sputtered out after three consecutive incompletions. Call out the kicker.

17-17

On the ensuing kick-off Michigan ran the fumble play. Fortunately for them they were able to recover the ball.

This time, Nick Sheridan entered the game at quarterback for Michigan. This was probably not the scenario he had envisioned when he thought about this game during their Wednesday film session.

A holding call on first down backed the Wolverines up to their own 8.
Rich-Rod called 2 straight plays to keep the ball in Sheridan's hand and he was able to get -3 yards.
On third down and just inside their own 5, it was Jared Odrick time.

Put ya' hands up.

19-17

Following the safety and the kick-off being out of bounds, PSU began at the 50.
For some reason, PSU ran the two minute offense, scoring in only 1:35.
A Royster rush of three, Clark to Butler for 25, a Royster run of 21 yards and finally a 1 yard run by Clark to put the ball in end-zone.
The third could not be going any better.

26-17

After the kick-off, Sheridan trotted onto the field.
Three plays later he trotted back off.

4th Quarter

The Lions ran the ball a couple of times and got Kevin Kelly into field goal range where he knocked one down from 32 yards.

29-17

We would like to say we were beginning to feel a little comfortable, but we weren't quite yet. Again, a seemingly infinitely long losing streak will do that to you.

The next Michigan drive was all Aaron Maybin.

On second down, he chased down Minor in the backfield for a loss of 2 yards.
You could say he got stamped.

Following that play, he rescued a kayaker stranded in the Colorado river.

On third down, he got to Threet and forced a fumble.

Abe Koroma recovered at the Michigan 20 and we were finally beginning to feel pretty good.

A quick drive put the Lions in scoring position and Clark ran one in.

36-17

We heard that Michigan got the ball back, but we must have missed it.

Upon getting the ball back, PSU did what they had to do and ate up 6 minutes of game-time with a drive that ended with Kevin Kelly putting one through the uprights.

39-17

Again, Michigan got the ball back but was forced into another three and out.

Penn State came back onto the field with Devlin behind center and all he did was feed the screen pass to Stephfon Green who took it 80 yards for the touchdown. The game had long since been out of reach, but it was great to see that huge play. Nothings better than seeing a couple of second stringers make something big happen.

46-17

Michigan got the ball back and did nothing.

We love it.

Game.

46-17

3 Big Stat Lines

Evan Royster: 18 carries, 174 yds, 1 TD
Daryll Clark: 18-31, 171 yds, 1 TD
Deon Butler: 8 rec, 105 yds

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

The defense started off extremely slow in this one. The D-line was being dominated by a Michigan O-line with very little experience. But the D bounced back big time in the second half.
Great job by Royster and the line to keep the game close in the first half.
Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway) if they start that slowly next weekend, it could be a loooonnnnng game.
Awesome game from Deon Butler.
Aaron Maybin didn’t have an outstanding game, but for that one drive in the 4th, he ruled the world.
Seeing Rich Rodriguez start 2-5 at Michigan means that there is some sort of justice in the world.
We wish the same could be said for Nick Saban.
It’s a small sample, but from what we’ve seen, we like Ohio State tailgaters better than Michigan tailgaters.
Don’t try to go to a bar at night in State College during homecoming. Just stay at home.
Bring on the sweater vest.
Tim Cowlishaw just defended the BCS, again.
We like to make up quotes.

Penn State Player of the Game: Evan Royster
He's been rock solid all year, but in this game, he was an absolute beast. His huge gains early on had us asking why we weren't running the ball more, and his touchdown run and work on the scoring drive before the half kept the game from getting out of hand early. He was great in the second half too, picking up yards in huge chunks, as well as first downs in key situations. Another sick yards-per-carry number as well. In a year where he's done so much already, Royster just continues to impress. We're all looking at an elite college running back.

Michigan Player of the Game: RB Brandon Minor

He didn't quite have a Royster-like performance, but it was a fine game from Minor overall. We were expecting to see McGuffie from the start, but it was the junior Minor who came out and ran over the Penn State defense early on. This guy is a bruiser and had some impressive runs Saturday night. Unfortunately for him, Penn State started to figure out the zone read and actually shed some blocks as the game went on, and Minor was a non-factor in the second half. Still, a nice job.

Fire The Computer

2008-10-20T12:09:00.005-04:00

Well, the first BCS rankings of the year were released yesterday, and on the surface there were no surprises, as Penn State came in at #3. But if you dig a little deeper, you might be surprised- and pissed off.

Just check out what E!SPN’s Adam Rittenberg points out in his post on the rankings:

“The computers like Ohio State even if the voters don't. The Buckeyes come in at No. 9 in the BCS standings, buoyed by a computer ranking (No. 5) higher than Penn State's (No. 7).”

Right, it makes perfect sense that Ohio State would be above Penn State in the computer rankings, given the fact that they got killed by a team that lost to a team that Penn State killed. And, oh yeah, we’re undefeated.

What the fuck kind of algorithm is running on that computer?

And if that’s not enough to fire you up, check out this snippet from E!SPN’s story on the BCS rankings. The article talks about Penn State’s relatively low score, then offers this analysis:

“In fact, fourth-place Oklahoma (.832) might be able to catch Penn State, even if coach Joe Paterno's team wins out.”

Now that is just insanity, and in fact, there’s really no truth in it. If Penn State wins out (and that’s obviously still a big if) and gets leapfrogged by a one-loss Oklahoma team, we’re turning in our IDs as college football fans.

But the real point is that if these scenarios are even being mentioned in the national news, it just shows how awful this system is. The next time Tim Cowlishaw defends the BCS on Around the Horn, please email him and tell him that both he and the BCS are jokes.

But no worries, if the Lions go to Columbus and beat the Buckeyes, we’re at least 75% sure our computer ranking will top theirs next Sunday.

The recap will be up this evening.

Game 8 Preview: Michigan @ Penn State

2008-10-17T12:00:00.001-04:00

Gametime: 4:30 pm

Records: Penn State: 7-0 (3-0), Michigan: 2-4 (1-1)

Series Record: Michigan leads, 10-3 (ouch)

TV: ESPN

Audio: Here

Weather: Partly cloudy, high of 55, 0% chance of rain, 100% of beer can chicken at our tailgate, 98% of beatdown in the Beav.

Where to begin? We all know about the losing streak (we even wrote about it Wednesday). Usually we would down-play it and say it doesn't matter, even though we all know it does. But this year, it totally works out in Penn State's favor for once. First of all, against any other team this game would have "TRAP" written all over it. But against a team to which you've lost nine in a row, you're not going to take the game lightly, no matter how bad said team is.

Which brings us to our second point: Michigan has been awful this season. Does that mean they'll be awful tomorrow? Well, not necessarily, but there's a pretty good chance. The Wolverines' loss to Toledo last week was a microcosm of their season so far: good enough defense, virtually zero offense, enough mistakes to cost you the game, and pretty much embarrassing for everyone on the team. The whole season has been rough for the Big Blue, but last week took it a step further. It's not uncommon for Michigan to have trouble with teams from Ohio, but this is a little ridiculous.

Of course, we've been there before. We lost to Toledo earlier in the decade. This stuff happens. Teams go through ups and downs. With an exception or two, usually we match up really well with Michigan, they (or the refs) have just done the little things to pull out the wins over the years. Well, finally, the tables have turned. We are having an outstanding season, steamrolling almost everyone, dominating on both sides of the ball. And Michigan? Well, not so much.

So what exactly is going to happen in this one? Well if we knew that, we would be getting paid for this, hopefully. But since we don't, here's our token analysis:

Michigan Offense vs. Penn State Defense
This match-up is a joke. Penn State has the best defense in the conference right now, allowing 259 yards of offense per game. Combine that with Michigan's offense, which is 10th in the conference in passing (only Ohio State is worse, imagine that), 9th in rushing, and dead last in total offense, with 291 yards a game. Having watched Michigan, we're not sure how they're averaging even that much.

Wolverines quarterback Steven Threet has been shaky at best so far, showing pretty awful accuracy by completing only half of his passes. His favorite targets are Martavious Odoms and Greg Matthews, who have combined for 43 receptions through six games. Freshman running back Sam McGuffie leads the squad in rushing with 470 yards and 3 TDs. He also sports a stellar 3.9 ypc average, and we'd imagine he's going to have a tough time against Penn State's run D, which is only allowing 89 yards a game on the ground.

To be frank, if Michigan puts up two touchdowns on the Lions D, we'll be surprised.

Michigan Defense vs. Penn State Offense
Well, this is a better match-up, but we obviously still like our chances. Michigan is 6th in the conference in total defense, and third in rush defense, allowing just over 102 yards per game. Of course, Penn State is leading the conference in rushing (as well as total offense), so it should be interesting to see how that match-up plays out. It should be a decent test for Royster and the line.

On pass defense, Michigan is faring much worse however, as they are allowing 241 yards per game, good for just 10th in the Big11Ten. It could be a field day out there for Clark and company, so look for the big play down field early and often.

As for individual standouts, sophomore linebacker Obi Ezeh has done a solid job in his role and leads the team with 56 tackles. Junior defensive end Brandon Graham has 5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, and senior cornerback Morgan Trent has two picks. But again, we still think the Lions will fare just fine against this D.

Michigan Player To Watch: RB Sam McGuffie
Hey, we had to pick someone. He has made some decent plays, and is having a good enough year for a freshman. Probably Michigan's best chance at getting points on the board this weekend.

Penn State Player To Watch: DE Aaron Maybin
Note to Steven Threet: be afraid. Be very afraid.

3 Bold Predictions:

Evan Royster out-gains the entire Michigan offense by himself.
Aaron Maybin records a record 14 sacks against the woeful Michigan offensive line.
During the post-game presser, after the worst ass-whooping of his professional coaching career, Rich Rodriguez announces that he's taking his dream job at Clemson after the season.

And finally, just in case you need any more motivation this weekend, remember this:

Let's go out and end the streak this weekend.

Game Prediction: Penn State 38, Michigan 7

Blue & White Roundtable: Payback @ The Beav Edition

2008-10-16T21:00:00.001-04:00

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. Penn State is undefeated and ranked #3 in both major polls. Have they been tested yet?

Well, I'm sure every fan outside the Big11Ten would say they haven't, but we feel like they have, at least to some degree. Despite being pretty inconsistent, Illinois is a very solid team, and they have some real talent, at least on offense. That wasn't an easy game. And the Lions have proven their worth on the road as well, because going to Camp Randall and winning is never easy, no matter how horrible Allan Evridge may be.

Obviously the big test is looming on the 25th. Another potentially huge match-up would be Michigan State to close the season. But there's still a lot of time before that game. If Penn State keeps focusing on their opponent on a week-to-week basis like they have been, we're pretty confident they can pass all their tests (at least on the field).

2. What unit or player is most responsible for the Nittany Lions success this season?

The offense. Specifically, the quarterback. One could easily argue it's some part of the defense because of the points allowed this season, but at all times Clark has looked like the real deal. He seems calm and collected, he makes the throws and runs the ball well when asked. The offense usually goes as the quarterback goes, and Clark has been going great.

3. How can Michigan beat Penn State on Saturday?

We don't really know. If this were any other lousy team in the Big11Ten, we'd say there's a chance that the Lions could look past this and let them hang around and claim a win, but this is Michigan. Guys on this team were there in 2005 when Michigan beat them. They've heard all the crap about how PSU has not beat Michigan in a bajillion years and they know this is their chance. No one will be looking past Michigan.

Ask this question when PSU plays any other crap team and the answer is, "PSU looks one week ahead and mails this game in," but since it's Michigan those guys are going to be focused and ready to go.

Lightning Round

1. Going up for Homecoming?
Of course.

2. What do you think is going through Maurice Evans head these days?

3. Where were you the last time Penn State beat Michigan?
Pickin' up chickies on the 6th grade playground.

4. Will Joe Paterno be on the sidelines for any of the game?
No.

Big Blue Heartbreak

2008-10-15T20:00:00.003-04:00

So by now we have all been inundated with the talk about Penn State's infamous nine-game losing streak to Michigan. Every year we're reminded of the streak, and every year it gets worse as the Lions we somehow find a way to blow it against the Wolverines.

This year, that should change. But before this weekend's clash, to get you fired up we thought we'd take a look at the three toughest losses to Michigan over the streak. Hopefully these sour memories will make this weekend sweet.

1999: Michigan 31, Penn State 27
Recap

10 years ago, and wouldn't you know it, Tom Brady was pissing us off.

This was a helluva matchup, with the 9-1 Lions coming off of a heartbreaker of a loss to Minnesota the week before, and 7-2 Michigan just having gone through a rough three-game run where they gave up 100 points and went 1-2.

Penn State had a pretty horrible day on offense, as they rushed for only 7 yards (!) on 20 carries, and only put up one offensive touchdown. A punt return TD and interception return for a TD contributed the bulk of the points. But they still managed to lead 27-17 with just over nine minutes left in the 4th. This is where Brady took control (shades of things to come, we suppose).

Damn you, Brady.

Brady put the team on his back for the most part, first leading a 81-yard drive and scrambling for a 5-yard touchdown to make it 27-24. After Michigan's D forced a three-and-out (we have no way of knowing this, but we'll bet those three plays were all runs), Brady led another drive, this time capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass that went down as the game winner. What a dick.

Of course, Brady has since paid for the sorrow of Penn State fans everywhere.

Karma.

2002: Michigan 27, Penn State 24 (OT)
Recap

Another ill-fated match-up where Penn State squandered a 4th quarter lead, this one featured such quarterbacking legends as Zach Mills and John Navarre. Sometimes, as a sports fan, you look back on the past and think it's superior, and then you remember that Zach Mills and John Navarre were leading big-time programs.

Not exactly legendary.

The Lions led this game 13-7 at the end of the 3rd, and then a shootout ensued. Michigan struck first to make it 14-13, then Mills hit Bryant Johnson on a 19-yard touchdown strike and added a two-point conversion, going ahead 21-14. Not surprisingly, Navarre led the Wolverines on a 64-yard drive to tie it up.

Then came the controversy. Penn State was driving with the clock winding down, and a long pass to Tony Johnson was called incomplete because Johnson was ruled out of bounds. Replays showed Johnson was clearly in bounds, but alas, instant replay was not a part of college football in the old days of 2002. The Lions were forced to punt, and Michigan ran out the clock to send it into OT tied at 21.

In overtime, Penn State managed only a field goal by the great Robbie Gould, and Michigan's Chris Perry managed to plunge into the end zone from three yards out. Shit.

2005: Michigan 27, Penn State 25
Recap

Well, this one really sucked. It is certainly fresh in our minds, as this was our senior year and we were screwed once again by the Big Blue. This one was easily the most painful of these three losses, as it was one of those games that you thought you had no shot of winning, then there was no way you could lose, and then...welllll...

After an insanely boring first half which saw a lone field goal from Michigan, the Wolverines struck again in the 3rd quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run from Mike Hart to make it 10-0. Penn State finally got on the board in the 3rd with a field goal from freshman Kevin Kelly, and the score was 10-3 going into the 4th. An old-fashioned Big11Ten shootout.

The 4th actually was a shootout, and the scoreboard really started to light up. The Lions tied the game at 10 after a 61-yard run by Tony Hunt and a 2-yard touchdown run by Michael Robinson. On Michigan's next drive, Alan Zemaitis stripped world class a-hole Chad Henne of the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. Kelly ran one in for two after a botched snap. 18-10, Lions.

Henne led Michigan right back down the field and fired a 33-yard TD to Mario Manningham. The Wolverines added 2 to tie the game. Penn State failed on its next drive and Michigan added a field goal on the following possession to make it 21-18. M-Rob tossed an interception, but Penn State stopped Michigan while using some timeouts and got the ball back. M-Rob then got redemption for the pick, leading the team on a 13-play, 81-yard drive and took another one in himself to put Penn State up 25-21.

Then, continuing the theme from the 2002 game, Michigan was given a gift on the final drive when the refs added 2 seconds to the clock after Lloyd Carr called timeout and then argued the clock continued to run.

We tried to get a comment from Carr, but we found this loser in his office:

Anyway, 2 seconds doesn't seem like a lot, but Michigan kept moving the ball, and they ran their last play with 1 second on the clock and... well, you know the rest.

Misery.

So let these games sit and fester in your mind for a couple days. Then, whether you're at your apartment, a bar, or inside the Beav, take that aggression out on Saturday.

The Links

2008-10-14T21:00:00.001-04:00

We're so excited about the team right now that we're actually posting on a Tuesday. Don't get used to it.

Starting off in the Blue & White world, Gene Wojciechowski says that Joe deserves a contract for next season. -Wojo-

By the way, are you tired of Joe injury news yet? If you are, don't click this link. -Rivals-

Adam Rittenberg points out how much the playbook has opened up this year. -E!SPN-

Speaking of that, it now looks as if Galen and JayPa purposely kept the play calling conservative against Purdue to sort of set up Wisconsin. If so (and that is based on 0% fact), it was a great move.

Jeff Rice of the CDT talks about how well Penn State's offensive weapons performed in the 'Sconsin game. -CDT-

However, as a commenter points out, maybe it's not the best idea to give a Penn State football article the headline of "Weapons abound in PSU domination." We just think maybe that could be a little misleading. Maybe.

The Lions' dominating performance did not go unnoticed, as Daryll Clark and Aaron Maybin were named Big11Ten offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively. -Altoona Mirror-

Moving on to our upcoming foes, South Florida coach Jim Leavitt took some shots at UM coach and resident ass clown, Rich Rodriguez. Consider us fans of Jim Leavitt. -Nice-

Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free-Press talks about Michigan leaving the Toledo game in the past and focusing on the Lions. Just take a minute to take in that sentence and have a chuckle. -DFP-

Of course Snyder buried the lead in that article. Check out the part about RichRod not being interested in the Clemson job, which Tommy Bowden just vacated. If Rodriguez left Michigan after this year for Clemson, on a comedy scale of 1 to 10, that would be a 40.

Yesterday Adam Rittenberg said Steven Threet was expected back for this weekend's game. -E!SPN-

Today, John Heuser of the Ann Arbor news says Threet could miss the game (and gives other injury updates). -AAN-

We don't know who to believe, but really, we could care less either way.

Threet, desperately trying to escape high expectations.

Now, in national news...

A dude from Rivals lists his early top 5 Heisman candidates. Enjoy flavor-of-the-week status, Colt! -Heisman-

Chase Daniel, a guy who no doubt fell out of that Top 5 this past weekend, will try to lead Missouri to a win over the new #1. -Rivals-

Keep your eye on USC the next couple weeks. They're going to sneak back into this thing before all is said and done. That is if QB Mark Sanchez can rebound from a shaky outing against Arizona State last weekend. -Trojans-

Finally, here are bowl projections from two losers from E!SPN. Obviously, not a lot of love. Feel free to email Bruce Feldman and tell him he's a dick. -Blah-

Big11Ten Roundup

2008-10-13T21:00:00.003-04:00

Time for the Big11Ten roundup. It's a day early. Last week it didn't even come at all. A couple surprises took place this week as Minnesota upset Illinois and Michigan managed to lose to Toledo. At least Appalachian State ended up winning their league championship. Anyway, on to the business -- the lackluster roundup you've come to expect. Links go to rivals.com recaps where a paid writer can fill you in with the real details.

Iowa: 45 Indiana: 9

Rivals.

Iowa started the season with three lopsided and pretty dominating victories -- not allowing a TD until they played Pitt in week four. Then they managed to lose to Pitt, which would ruin anyone's season. That started a three game slide, but just when things looked extra gloomy, the Hawkeyes got a date with Indiana.

Long story short, Indiana gets trounced and Iowa walks out with a 45-9 victory.

The big stat is that two different Iowa running backs topped 100 yards.

Which Iowa will show up when they play PSU? We don't really know, but we hope it's the one that was on the three game skid.

Minnesota: 27 Illinois: 20

Rivals.

Yes! Minnesota! At the start of the season we wanted to say that Minnesota might be someone to watch this year, but we didn't have the balls to say it. Surprising, eh?
We knew they had the potential on offense and they would be able to move the ball, but the defense was all question marks.
Well, the defense is still probably a lot of question marks. They allowed the Illini to pile up 550 yards of offense to their 312. We're not sure how someone can be out gained that badly and pull out the victory, but hey, congrats to Minnesota. They found a way.

We hope they win out, because, you know, PSU doesn't play them.

Toledo: 13 Michigan: 10
Rivals

Oh, this is wonderful. The folks in the stadium-formerly-known-as-the-big-house must be flippin out up there. We would make fun of them a lot more, but you may remember Toledo beating PSU back in 2000. It hurts. We can relate.

With a score of 13-10, this may have been one of the most boring games to watch, ever.

Aside from a 100 yard interception return, there probably wasn't one play to get excited about.

Just remember, Michigan may be down, but they're never out. We won't talk about beating them until it actually happens. They're a huge program, they can pull out the wins and we hope that the guys that actually play the games have the proper mindset going into this game.

Michigan State (23): 37 Northwestern: 20

Rivals.

We're guessing that if you watched this game, you heard the names Tyrell Sutton and Javon Ringer, a lot. A LOT.

Ringer ran 35 times for 124 yards while Sutton ran 23 times for 139.

This game looks like it was never in question as Michigan State scored often and early.

After an initial loss to Cal, Michigan State has quietly gone about its business and compiled a nice 6-1 record. They stumbled a bit against Iowa, but they've been convincing everywhere else. If they beat Ohio State, which is entirely possible, the battle for that ugly Land Grant trophy at the end of the season may take a lot more significance.

Oh, and Northwestern is 5-1. Weird records in the Big11Ten this year.

Ohio State(12): 16 Purdue: 3

Rivals.

You are reading that score correctly.

Purdue's terrible defense held Ohio State to 16 points.
Mighty Ohio State only scored 16 points.
Pryor piled up a whopping 97 yards through the air and 27 on the ground, while Beanie rushed for 94.

Whats most important, however, is that Ohio State's offense didn't score a touchdown in this game. Their only 6 point score came from the return of a blocked punt.

We love it.

What did you do today?

2008-10-13T18:58:00.003-04:00

Do anything exciting today?

Aaron Maybin did.
He destroyed the Flood.

You are safe.

Game 7 Recap: Penn State 48, Wisconsin 7

2008-10-12T19:45:00.002-04:00

Pregame

Look who's back. Could you imagine a PSU game without the Blue Band?

Well, in the Roundtable we guessed Joe was would be on the field. We were clearly wrong. It was probably announced last Sunday and we just missed it.

1st Quarter

The first couple drives of this game, if you could even call them drives, were trash.

PJ Hill got three straight carries and got nowhere. Punt.

PSU got the ball and got a big gain, then punted four plays later.

John Clay then got three carries for some big yards. Wisconsin shot themselves in the foot, then Maybin (read: BEAST) chased down Evridge in the backfield for a loss. PUNT.

Fearing the inevitable Derrick Williams return, Brad Nortman punts the ball fifteen yards to be sure Williams doesn't get his hands on the ball.

Kevin Kelly says, "skip the first three downs, I can knock it down from here."

They didn't skip the first three downs, but KK did drill one home from 5o.
He has turned out to be quite the reliable kicker.

3-0

Upon getting the ball back, PJ Hill got two rushes. He ran for nine, setting up a short second down.

Most teams would take second and one and try some sort of play down field, relying on third down to convert that short first down.

Wisconsin hadn't passed the ball yet, no reason to start now.

No passing plays?
"PJ Hill approves of this method." -PJ Hill

On second and 1, the PSU D-line knocks that stupid grin off of PJ's face when they stop him in the backfield for a loss of two yards.

That set up a third and three and on that play Ollie Ogbu lead the jailbreak and got the sack.

You better check yourself.

As the first quarter ended you should have noticed two things:
1. Wisconsin had attempted one pass, an incompletion.
2. The Wisconsin student section was still half empty.

2nd Quarter

PSU started a drive at the end of the first at their own 49. It seemed like every drive was starting at or near mid-field, and it would only be a matter of time before they punched one in.

On this drive, all but one play went for positive yardage.

The drive culminated with an option to Royster that he walked in from two yards out. Clark took a hell of a shot on the play, but Holly Rowe was quick to inform us that he laughed it off.

10-0

Realizing they were quickly getting into some serious trouble, Wisconsin decide to come out throwing the ball. Three attempts, three incompletions. It was time for a punt. Somewhere in there Maybin knocked down one of those pass attempts. He's everywhere.

Upon the reception of said punt Williams decide he wasn't going to let anyone touch him, and took it back 63 yards.

Shot out of a cannon. Get it?
It's a big blue and white cannon and, ah, nevermind.

17-0
And it was beginning to feel like the rout was on.

It felt like PSU had just knocked the life out of Camp Randall, but those Wisconsin kids weren't ready to give up quite yet.

Travis Beckum took a reception 42 yards into PSU territory. John Clay piled up some runs and moved the ball even further.

"PJ Hill does not approve of this method." - PJ Hill

A big run by Everidge got the ball to the PSU 6, and then finally PJ Hill got a carry and took it to the PSU 1 yard line. Wisconsin was finally ready to punch one in and --Oops, 12 men in the huddle.

The refs back the Badgers up to the five, but Evridge took it in anyway.

17-7

The last thing you want to happen as the half ends is for the home team to start building any momentum. The offense needed to come out and put something together and get some points to quell the turn-around.

Rosyter had two good runs on the next drive and it seemed like he was picking up 6 or 8 yards on every carry. Clark and Norwood got some rushing attempts that really went nowhere and it put the Lions in some passing situations.

We don't know anything about running a football team, but when it's 2nd and 8 and you have a guy like Royster breaking off 5+ yard runs left and right, why not try and shorten things up for third down?

Isn't it ironic that a couple PSU fans might be disappointed that, after all these years, Joepa tried some fancy plays when a run up the middle might have got the job done?

Anyway, two Clark passes fell incomplete and they had to punt the ball away.

A Wisconsin penalty on the return put the ball inside their own 10 yard line.

It was time to run the two minute drill and maybe swing the momentum even further their way, but Aaron Maybin (read: FIEND) was in the backfield before Evridge knew what was going on. He hit Evridge as he crossed the line of scrimmage and knocked the ball loose, right into the waiting hands of Josh Hull.

On his way to forcing that fumble, Maybin had a steak dinner, had sex with your girlfriend and saved four children from a burning building.

Drive ended. PSU ball.

PSU had to go for the jugular now.

Butler was interfered with on first down and the Lions were moved up to the two. Clark ran it in on the QB keeper.

Party on, Clark.

24-7

Wisconsin got the ball back with 1:24 left in the half.

A series on ineptitude followed, and it was on to the second half.

Yeah, the rout was back on.

-Halftime-

During halftime, Aaron Maybin put an end to the Taliban.

Threat neutralized.

3rd Quarter

Penn State received the ball to start the 3rd, and Daryll Clark promptly said, "Don't worry guys, I'll handle this."

Clark was 4-5 on the drive, hitting Williams, Norwood and Butler twice along the way. On the Wisconsin 4, Clark decided, "Fat Wisconsin linemen be damned, I'm plowing this one in."

And he did.

31-7

Wisconsin got the ball back and ran the the ball three times for nine yards and punted. We know, that play calling seems shocking what with Brett Bielema's extreme confidence in Evridge. At least for the Badgers, Williams made a fair catch on this punt.

The coaches seemed content with letting Clark control the game with his arm and again let him loose on the next drive. He really went to work, hitting Royster for 24, Norwood for 21, James McDonald (???) for 25 and finally Butler for a 44-yard touchdown.

Woot.

38-7

The Badgers came out lifeless, and Evridge tossed a pick to Lydell Sargeant on 3rd down, because he wasn't yet satisfied with Penn State's point total.

Clark hit Williams and Green twice on the following drive, which ultimately stalled at the Wisconsin 13. Kevin Kelly added to the beat down.

41-7

Much to the delight of Badger fans, Wisconsin started its next drive with a new QB, Dustin Sherer. And we can still hear the loud, sarcastic cheers after Sherer hit Garrett Graham with his first attempt for a 23-yard gain.

Get used to that headset, Allan.

After another completion and couple of rushes, the Badgers had the ball on the Penn State 27. Then, with all the composure of his predecessor, Sherer tossed an interception to Sargeant, who returned it 55 yards to the Wisconsin 44.

Or not.

Green had a carry for 8 yards, and the quarter was over.

Just a guess, but we think Jump Around probably wasn't much fun last night.

4th Quarter

Green had another carry for a first down to start the quarter, and then Clark hit him for a 19-yard pickup. Two plays later, Clark was intercepted.

The best thing about that interception was that it was a 34-7 game in the 4th Quarter, and Clark looked completely pissed off on the sidelines. That's a gamer.

The Badgers took over at their own 42. Sherer went back to work, and was 3-4 until he found another Lion defender with a pass, this time it was Mark Rubin.

Back up the truck. Under review.

Incompletion.

Not to worry though, because Sherer threw another incompletion to set up a fourth and 11, where he was promptly sacked for a loss of 12 by, you guessed it, Maybin.

The teams traded three-and-outs, and it was eventual transfer Pat Devlin's turn to take the reigns of the offense.

Devlin threw a couple completions on a drive that went for eight plays and 51 yards, and he sneaked one into the end zone to add the final blow to Wisconsin's nightmare conference start.

48-7

The Badgers got the ball back and moved it down the field, but nothing would come of it.

Shame in Madison.

Game.
48-7

3 Big Stat Lines

Daryll Clark: 16-25, 244 yds, 1 TD (passing); 6 carries, 12 yds, 2 TD (rushing)
Derrick Williams: 63-yard punt return for TD
Aaron Maybin: 6 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles (!!!)

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

RIP PJ Hill speaking in third person jokes. Until next year.
Aaron Maybin is leading the nation in sacks. Did anyone see that coming?
The PSU offense is good.
We expected a win, but not by that much.
Allan Evridge gives new meaning to the word "inept".
The game was over after the Evridge fumble in the second quarter.
The second half was a showcase for Penn State.
Wisconsin: run, run, incomplete pass, punt.
Williams returns another kick. Brad Childress belittled the Wisconsin punter after the game.
Royster didn't have huge numbers, but he was still very solid.
The defense as a whole played great.
Bielema looked clueless. Not so easy when you're not using an inherited Alvarez squad.
Call us trite if you want, but this was the definition of a statement game.

Penn State Player of the Game: Aaron Maybin
Re-watching the game barely through the first half we were thinking "damn, Aaron Maybin might just have to be the player of the game!" Well, there were still more than two minutes left in the first half at that point, and he still had a sack, forced fumble and tackle for loss left in him before the half closed. That forced fumble at the end of the 2nd essentially ended the game for the Badgers, and we have Maybin to thank for it. This guy is a beast and he's been great to watch.

Wisconsin Player of the Game: QB Dustin Sherer
If only because he had as many completions in his first two attempts as Evridge did all game.

Crazy Weekend

2008-10-11T11:55:00.002-04:00

It was another insane day of college football. Tomorrow Penn State will be #3 in the nation. We can't say we expected this at the beginning of the season. But as of tonight, we have arrived. Bring on the Wolverines.

Recap coming tomorrow. Go State.

Game 7 Preview: Penn State @ Wisconsin

2008-10-10T23:03:00.004-04:00

Gametime: 8:00 pm

Records: Penn State: 6-0 (2-0), Wisconsin: 3-2 (0-2)

Series Record: Wisconsin leads, 8-5

TV: ESPN

Audio: Here

Weather: 64 degrees at game time, clear skies, 0% chance of rain

"P.J. Hill approves the following." -P.J. Hill

When you look at the stats, Wisconsin probably should have a better record than 3-2. But the stats don't tell the whole story, as usual. Blowing a 19-point halftime lead to Michigan would be awful even if Michigan were having a good year, but doing it during what is obviously a transition year for the Wolverines is unacceptable. The Badgers had every chance to bounce back last weekend, but their defense couldn't stop a true freshman QB when they needed to. (To be fair, it was the top recruit in the nation, but he's still a freshman.)

Despite all that, we're scared as hell of this team, because its still loaded with talent, and it's still one of the most dangerous teams in the conference. This is the first huge test of the season for Penn State, and if they can stare down the Badgers and beat them up in Camp Randall, they will be loaded with confidence the rest of the way. Before we get to our prediction, let's look at some important areas of the Wisconsin squad, and how the Lions will need to deal with them:

Running Backs
For the Badgers, the 5'11", 236 pound junior P.J. Hill is a bruising power back who is fourth in the conference in rushing. The backup is John Clay, who at 6'2" 237 is also a beast, but is a little quicker than Hill. Clay had a nice game against OSU and is averaging 6.7 ypc so far this year.

When you compare the Badgers ground attack to Penn State's, there's not a WHOLE lot of difference between the two, at least statistically. Both teams have two very talented backs, and both are near the top of the conference in rushing. Penn State leads the Big11Ten with a whopping 256 yards a game on the ground, while Wisconsin is third with 210. Both will try to establish the run early to set up the pass. The Penn State D-Line will have their hands full with the talent of the Wisconsin backfield and if they can shut them down, they can shift all the pressure to Allan Evridge.

QB
Fifth-year senior Allan Evridge is at the helm for Wisconsin, although his job is in jeopardy after two straight losses in which he had very rough outings. He's completing just 56% of his passes this year and he's thrown 4 picks to only 5 touchdowns. He's been shaky at best so far.

Evridge is at his best when he can rely on the run and just manage the game. Penn State needs to shut down the run and put the game squarely on Evridge's shoulders. If they make him win the game for the Badgers, they should be in good shape. Pressure early will be key.

Receivers
Wisconsin is just 9th in the conference in passing, but a lot of that has to do with Evridge. He does have some weapons to throw to, however. The Badgers have a great tight end tandem with junior Garrett Graham and senior All-American Travis Beckum. Beckum is second on the team in receptions and receiving yards, and Graham leads the team with 3 TD receptions. Sophomore wideout David Gilreath leads the team in receiving with only 14 catches and 167 yards, so you can see that the passing game is a little anemic.

The backers and secondary will have to stick tight to Beckum and Graham, but the real key to stopping the pass will be to put lots of pressure on Evridge, early and often.

Defense
We would break the defense down by unit if we weren't so lazy and actually knew a little something about each of the units. But those are two big factors playing against us, so we give you this.

The Badgers' D isn't quite as stout as they were in years past, but they are still talented and can control games when they're playing well. In the conference, they're currently 6th in scoring defense, 4th in pass defense and just 7th in rush defense. That last stat is particularly interesting to us. Linebackers Jaevery McFadden and DeAndre Levy lead the team in tackles with 44 and 33, respectively. Levy also has 6 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.

While the Badgers' D is solid, there are a few holes that the Lions can attack. If they can win the battle on the line and get Royster and Green moving early, it will really open things up for Clark, Williams, Butler and Norwood (and hopefully Galen Hall's playbook). The Badgers aren't super fast on D, but they are physical. As Clark may need to make some plays on his feet, he'll need to watch his ass and stay away from getting drilled. If the Lions offense can rebound from a lackluster performance last week and return to their dynamic form from the Illinois game, they shouldn't have TOO much of a problem scoring against this D.

Wisconsin Player To Watch: QB Allan Evridge
Alright, it seems really easy to pick Evridge, but he is the correct choice here. This entire game depends on him for the Badgers. Their defense usually keeps things close, but can Evridge pull it together and lead the offense on some sustained drives? It's not going to be easy against the stout Lions' D, but if he doesn't do it, the Badgers are staring down an 0-3 start in the conference.

Penn State Player To Watch: Jordan Norwood
It's almost becoming too hard to pick just one guy to watch on this team, but since Norwood is coming off of an injury, we'll go with him. He's such a key to the passing game, always making a big impact, but in a quiet fashion (if that makes sense). Watch him early and see if his hamstring is 100%. It would be great to have him out there in full force this week.

3 Bold Predictions:

Clark will post a season-high rushing mark this week.
Norwood makes at least two catches in key 3rd down conversion situations.
Someone in the Wisconsin band will be fondled by a tuba player.

Other Notes:

Penn State is 2-5 all time at Camp Randall Stadium, and hasn't won there since 2002
The Blue Band could whoop Wisconsin's Band's ass

This one is going to be close until the fourth quarter. Penn State is going to score, get the ball back and the let Royster salt the game away. And it will be glorious.

Game Prediction: Penn State 27, Wisconsin 13

Wisconsin Band Will Show Up and Play...Will the Football Team?

2008-10-10T13:14:00.001-04:00

Yes, the news came out last night - before we even finished writing our Roundtable post, so that shows our stellar research skills - that the Wisconsin band will be playing at tomorrow night's game. The Green Bay Press Gazette has the story.

The band is being allowed to play amidst allegations of hazing and sexual misconduct. We would criticize the move to allow them back, but we're pretty sure Mo Evans and Abe Koroma will be playing Saturday as well. HEY-OOOOO!

But seriously, having the band will definitely be a boost to the crowd, if not to the actual Wisconsin players. College football without marching bands is...well... kinda like the NFL. Boring. This will give it more of a big-game atmosphere, and it should be awesome. That is assuming the band can actually concentrate on playing a song without fondling one another, of course.

Big Games This Weekend

2008-10-10T10:14:00.000-04:00

In addition to the big Penn State-Wisconsin game Saturday evening, this weekend will showcase three games featuring top-five teams squaring off against other ranked teams. One way or another, there will be a shakeup in the top five. Let’s take a quick look, in order from least to most intriguing:

#17 Oklahoma State @ #3 Missouri (8 pm, ESPN2)
Is Oklahoma State for real? We will find out as they invade Missouri on Saturday for one of three huge games that kicks off in primetime.

The #3 Tigers are led, of course, by Heisman-calibur duo Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin. They have Texas coming up next week, but they don’t want to overlook an Oklahoma State team that has flown under the radar to the tune of a 5-0 start. If Mizzou can squeak past those two, the only real test left is a final game with Kansas. A win in that could set up a potential conference title game with Oklahoma.

The Cowboys are hoping to pull the big upset in Missouri. If they can do it, kudos to them, but they still have games with Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma on the schedule after this one. It’s going to be a tough road for anyone in the Big XII this year. But we think they might be able to do it, because they’re led by All-Big XII press-conference-giver and All-World man, Mike Gundy. Yes, the real reason we’re talking about this game is so we could show this:

Don't act like you don't enjoy this every time you see it.

#4 LSU @ #11 Florida (8 pm, CBS)
Well, batten down the hatches in the swamp, there’s a bounty on the head of Tim Tebow! Of course the LSU guy, named Ricky Jean-Francois no less, did some pretty quick backpedaling afterwards, because he doesn’t want to look like an ass if Tebow tears him a new one, which is a distinct possibility.

The Gators (who are sick on NCAA 09, btw) have already lost one, so they need to pull this one out at home, while the Tigers are looking to keep their unbeaten season alive. (Side note: we refuse to call LSU "the Bayou Bengals", because it's the single-most annoying fucking nickname ever, and if we hear Reece Davis utter it again, we're going to go insane. Back to the blog.)

Are we sick of LSU and Les Miles? Yep. Are we even more sick of the SEC in general? You betcha. All the SEC people are hiding behind the ol' "everyone is beating each other up within the conference" excuse for the losses. Well that's fine, except Florida lost to Ole Miss. Oops. Explain that one. Either way, this is a big time game down south, and we can only hope that the Gators prevail, if only so we can hear SEC apologists pooh-pooh it on Monday. This is also the third huge game on at 8 pm. It's gonna be a fun night.

#5 Texas vs #1 Oklahoma (12 pm, ABC)
This game is obviously huge for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it means at least one top-five team will fall this weekend. But this will give us a look at the front-runner in the Big XII, a conference that is pretty stacked this year. Both Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy have been playing out of their minds so far and will look to carry their team to a big W.

A win for either side would obviously be huge (and may bring a #1 ranking either way), but this game is just the beginning for both squads. Oklahoma faces off with Kansas next week, and still has a high-octane Texas Tech team on its schedule. The Longhorns’ schedule is absolutely brutal, as they will face off with Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech consecutively before having a cake game against Baylor. Yikes.

This is one the nation’s top rivalry games, even more interesting that it’s at a neutral site. And with both teams playing so well, we’re sure it’ll quite the scene in Dallas. Kind of anticlimactic that it’s at noon, but we’ll be tuned in.

Stay tuned for the Penn State-Wisconsin preview, coming later today.

Blue & White Roundtable: 'Sconsin Edition

2008-10-09T20:29:00.000-04:00

Score when you get into the red zone. Leaving points on the field might be okay against Purdue, but it won't fly against the Badgers.
Establish the running game. Let the best part of your offense set the tone. Then you can...
Open up the playbook. Bust out some plays that will baffle the Badgers D. Get points on the board early and then don't look back.
Stop the Badgers running game. P.J. Hill and John Clay are looking to pound the Lions D. Penn State must make Allan Evridge win this game at any cost. Speaking of which...
Pressure Allan Evridge. He's looked shaky at best so far, and he's barely clinging to his job. Sack him a couple times early and then he's finished.

Don't Do:

The opposite of all that stuff.

2. The Badgers are really down after dropping out of the rankings and losing their grip on a Big Ten title and a BCS Bowl. There is concern that the Badgers are emotionally spent and could collapse. Does Wisconsin bounce back and beat Penn State or do they collapse? Is there reason for panic in Madison?

Hey, by now we all know how the mainstream sports media works. They panic in Week 1, they panic in Week 7, they panic in Week 12. It doesn't matter what week it is or what happens, someone is always worked up about something.

That being said, there really isn't reason for panic in Madison. Do we think that the Badgers are going to win this weekend? No. Is an 0-3 start in the conference the worst thing in the world? Also no. There are a lot of factors at play here. There are good teams in this conference and Wisconsin is facing them early. Sometimes you don't live up to preseason expectations (like Wisconsin last year). And of course, when you don't win the games you're supposed to win (i.e. Michigan), you may end up with a bad record.

There's no reason to get too worked up about it though. In case no one remembers, we had a couple rough years not too long ago, and we seemed to have bounced back pretty well, now that we're rid of Morelli. There's no reason Wisconsin can't do the same. They just have to play hard the rest of the season and try to turn things around. And quit whining.

3. The Big Ten has a good crop of running backs this year including Wisconsin true freshman John Clay who is averaging 6.7 yards per carry. How much playing time does Clay see this week compared to P.J. Hill? How does our defense fare against them?

John Clay is good. When we read 6.7 yards per carry, our initial reaction was that it was probably inflated by a couple home run plays or running third down draws on 3rd and long. We call that the "give up" play.

So we checked out game recaps and play by play write ups. Against Michigan he had 3 carries. One of those was a 40+ yard run. That helps.

Against Ohio State he had 10 carries, on all downs, and put together regular runs of 10+ yards. He had a couple of 0's and 1's in there too, but he still moved the ball to the tune of 6.9 YPC.

Is this the week that Clay gets more carries than PJ Hill? We don't really think so. He's still going to be sprinkled in there and probably break off a couple nice ones, but we feel confident in PSU's rushing defense that's only allowing 80 yards per game.

We also feel confident that PJ Hill will campaign, via the internets, to maintain that number one spot.

I can make a play.

4. Between the third and fourth quarters the Wisconsin students do the "jump around", which shakes the stadium. How do you think the loud, jumping, night atmosphere will affect Penn State?

I think they've played in an environment like that a couple times already. Listen, they're playing collegiate football at a high level, every stadium is loud and rocking (unless you play for Northwestern or Indiana). They're taught to deal with it, they know how to deal with it. Maybe for some first timers this might be surprising and have some effect, but a lot of these guys have been around for a while and know what to expect. Also, we love Jump Around in Camp Randall.

One of the coolest things out there.

Over under for years before Penn State students take it and claim as their own?

Lightning Round

1. Predict the play calling. Do Galen and JayPa open up the offense or do they get conservative on the road?
Open it up. You have to. Wisconsin may have lost 2 already but they're dangerous for sure. Open it up and put them down.

2. What are the odds Wisconsin loses two consecutive games at home?
Hopefully pretty good.

3. Does the Wisconsin band play this week?
Doesn't look like it.

Actions like this will get you suspended.
Just like our blogger account is about to be.

4. How many quarters does JoePa spend in the coaches box?
Zero. He's on the sidelines. That why he's paid the big bucks.

Penn State vs. Wisconsin Links

2008-10-08T22:30:00.000-04:00

Since the first really big game of the season is almost upon us - though not as big as it would've been had 'Sconsin not lost its first two conference games - we're going to forget about the normal college football links and concentrate on this week's game.

While Norwood is back for Penn State, the status of Wisconsin left tackle Gabe Carimi is uncertain for Saturday’s game. As you can see, the Badgers are a bit banged up as a whole as well. -Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-

It’s definitely a good thing that stories like this one about Wisconsin QB Allan Evridge are popping up the week before the game. -MJS-

Joe is still trying to determine whether he’ll coach on the sidelines or from the booth. Maybe he ought to stay in the booth, given what happened last time he was in Madison. -CDT-

Bob Flounders of the Patriot-News thinks Clark needs to win the game with his feet this week. If we had to guess, we’d say Clark will be on the move more this week than last. -PennLive-

It’s been a tough 2008 for A.J. Wallace, but he’s overcoming it and will make his second straight start at corner on Saturday. Just one question: how do you “eat some bad soup”? -CDT-

Bret Bielema has a great moment in this AP article where he says the Badgers are only 5 points away from being 5-0. Apparently he had no comment on those 19 points that disappeared against Michigan. -Altoona Mirror-

On the off-chance that you’re headed to the land of cheese for the game this weekend, here are some things to do and see in Madison. -CDT-

No word on whether or not the Wisconsin band will be back for this week’s game after it’s suspension last week. But this isn’t the first time they’ve been on bad behavior. -Band Gone Wild-
Just check out that headline! When the first three words of a news headline are “hazing”, “booze”, and “sex”, you don’t expect to see the rest of the headline be about a marching band.

Rivals gives us a little game preview. -Rivals-

And finally, CollegeFootballNews picks Penn State to prevail in a close game. All the fears mentioned in that paragraph are pretty much what we’re worried about too. -CFN-

Norwood Will Play This Weekend

2008-10-08T07:18:00.004-04:00

Good news from Happy Valley. Joe says that Jordan Norwood will play this weekend again Wisconsin.

This will obviously be a boost to the offense, as the team has missed Norwood's presence, at least in the Purdue game. We've always been big fans of Norwood. He's very sneaky, and he quietly makes plays when the team needs him too. We're glad he'll be back on the field.

OH YEAH

More on the big matchup with Wisconsin later today.

Game 6 Recap: Penn State 20, Purdue 6

2008-10-05T15:58:00.015-04:00

Actual text message conversation between WWTL writers (pfffft) during the game:

Greg, 1:11 pm: This game is poop.
Will, 1:12 pm: Agreed.

Hey, sometimes you win ugly. This was one of those times. Unlike Wisconsin, we know how to do that. Recap time.

1st Quarter

Joe was in the booth to start the game. The announcers say he was trying to demonstrate an onside kick in practice this week. That sounds like a really horrible idea.

The Lions kicked off to start the game. Purdue did little on their first possession, despite a 17-yard run by Curtis Painter that made us want to pull our hair out. After that play, running back Korey Sheets got stuffed and Painter threw two incompletions. Penn State ball.

The drive started well, as Clark immediately hit Williams for a 15-yard gain, and Royster followed it up with a 16-yard carry. Clark then hit Williams on a 9-yard pass. The next two plays would begin the frustration that we would feel on offense all day. Clark's attempted pass to Butler on second down was incomplete, and then Royster was stuffed on 3rd and 1. A promising drive ends in disappointing fashion.

After Boone popped one in the end zone, Purdue put together one of the weirder drives of the season, as they charged 10 plays for only 25 yards. Kory Sheets could do nothing on the drive, and Painter was sacked on a third and 2, and Purdue was forced to punt again.

It was deja-vu for the Lions on the ensuing possession as Royster picked up 9 yards on a rush on first down, but Williams and Royster were both stuffed on runs on second and third downs. Another punt.

Purdue got the ball on the 50 to start its next possession, and they continued to plod along with short completions and runs for basically no gain. The most boring quarter of football ever recorded ended with a third and 8 for Purdue on the Lions 25.

Trust us, it's growing.

2nd Quarter

Luckily, Aaron Maybin felt it necessary to sack Painter to start the 2nd quarter, which set up a 45-yard field goal for Chris Summers.

Wide right.

Penn State got the ball back and went to work. Clark completed passes to Butler and Williams, and Royster capped four straight rush plays with a 23-yard gain. After an incompletion and a 3-yard Royster run, Clark absolutely threaded one to Graham Zug on third and 7 for a 16-yard gain. It was first and goal from the 5.

Of course, Williams lost 2 yards on a carry after he slipped trying to change direction. This would be a running subplot throughout the day, as ESPN even showed a montage of Penn State players falling over. Never a good thing. Clark nearly fell over on the next play but managed to scoot a few yards forward to the 1. Dan Lawlor tried to make the leap on third down, but he did not get in. Clark appeared to try to sneak in on fourth down, but whistles had blown, requesting a review on the third down play.

We have no idea why this happened, because the third down play really wasn't close, but it worked out in our favor because we're not sure Clark got in on his sneak attempt. He did get in on his next try though. Finally on the board.

We're so pissed off it took this long, we're not even going to look for a picture.

7-0

Purdue got the ball back and tried to even the score. Sheets finally gained positive yardage, with runs of 5 and 16 yards to start off the drive. Painter had three completions, but the drive stalled as he got dropped for a rush of -2 yards at the Penn State 19. Surely Chris Summers could nail a 36-yard field goal, right?

NOPE. Wide left.

There was 3:41 left in the half, and Penn State wanted more points. Clark got locked in and threw 5 completions, with a couple runs scattered in between. The last completion went to Royster for 18 yards and it got the Lions to the Purdue 5-yard line. Then the team decided to rewind to 2006 and 2007 and not put up 6 in the red zone. Clark threw an incompletion, Cadogan took a false start penalty, Clark threw another incompletion, and Royster slipped and fell after a short pass from Clark. Fantastic. Kelly booted one home to mercifully end the half.

10-0

This is what it's come to? Photos of kickers?

-Halftime-

3rd Quarter

Penn State received the kickoff and put together another underwhelming drive to start the 3rd. Clark threw two completions for two first downs, but after two short gains by Royster, Clark couldn't hit Williams on third and 4. Punt.

On Purdue's drive, Kory Sheets ripped off another impressive 1-yard run, and Painter's attempt on third down was no good, and Purdue punted again. Really, a thrilling game.

Yawn

This time, though, the Lions wouldn't be stopped. They started on their own 39, but Clark hit Williams for 19 on first down. Royster had two carries for 10 and 12 yards, and Penn State had the ball on Purdue's 20. Clark was sacked for a loss of 5 and then rushed for a loss of 2, but hit Butler (who made a brilliant catch) for a clutch gain of 23 on third and 17. Royster decided he'd had enough of the team's bullshit attempt at offense today and took it in untouched from 4 yards out.

You guys are terrible.

17-0

Purdue drove for five plays and 29 before they had to punt. Stephfon Green had a couple nice rushes on Penn State's next drive, but they would punt after six plays. Purdue started their next drive on their own 7 yard line and just when it looked like they had some things going, Painter tossed an interception to Drew Astorino, who returned the ball all the way to the Purdue 30.

On a scale of 1 to 10, through three quarters, Painter was a solid -4.

A couple plays and the quarter was over.

4th Quarter

We rejoiced at the start of the 4th as we realized there was only 15 more minutes of this travesty remaining.

Clark hit Royster with a pass for a 23-yard gain, down to Purdue's 4-yard line. And as was the custom on this day, Penn State couldn't put it home from short yardage. An incompletion and 2 rushes for 1 yard brought on Kevin Kelly. It's up and good.

20-0
This is the worst we've ever felt after being up 20-0.

Joe Tiller obviously grades his QBs on the same scale we do, because he lifted Painter for Joey Elliot to start Purdue's next drive. And believe it or not, it worked. Purdue put together a very methodical 14-play, 82-yard drive to put up their first touchdown of the day, a 1-yard run by Sheets, a play after Eliot hit Desmond Tardy for a 19-yard gain on fourth and 10. Nice job by him.

20-7
Oh wait....

Chris Summers wanted to get rid of any chance of getting laid last night, and he did so by missing the extra point. Horrible day for that guy.

Are you kidding me?

20-6

Luckily for everyone, the third drive of the fourth quarter would be the last one. Royster went to work and had 3 rushes for 38 yards to start the drive. Green followed it up with an 8-yard rush, but Clark was sacked for a loss of 9. Clark found Royster on a screen on third and 11, and the dumbass ref gave the Lions the worst spot in the history of the game. Luckily, Clark sneaked it ahead on fourth and 1 and Penn State ran out the clock.

Game.
20-6

3 Big Stat Lines

Evan Royster: 18 carries, 141 yds, 1 TD (rushing); 4 rec., 53 yds (receiving)
Daryl Clark: 18-26, 220 yds (passing); 1 TD (rushing)
Josh Hull: 11 tackles, 2 TFL

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

There are always games like this in a season, you just have to be happy to get the win.
It was boring as shit though.
4 scores on 4 red zone trips, but all 4 should've been touchdowns.
Josh Hull responded nicely to the criticism.
D did a nice job on the Purdue passing game. Longest pass completion for Painter was 25 yards, and Purdue had only 158 pass yards as a whole.
Everyone was slipping out there.
Royster was great as usual. The guy is consistent.
We can't believe we're saying this, but we think more run plays should've been called in certain situations. Purdue's run D was non-existent and Royster was destroying people out there.
Man would we love to see Norwood suit up next week.
First huge game coming up.

Penn State Player of the Game: Evan Royster
Through five games, no one has come close to stopping Royster, and Saturday's game was no exception. Royster racked up 141 yards on only 18 carries, good for a 7.8 yards per carry average. If he has another game like this against Wisconsin next weekend, screw giving him mention within the conference, he should be getting some national pub. If you still think Beanie Wells and Javon Ringer are superior, good for you, but we feel just fine with Royster lining up in the backfield.

Purdue Player of the Game: Kicker Chris Summers
Not really.