NittanyWhiteOut.com

Head on over!

2008-03-20T10:55:00.001-07:00

I've been duplicating my posts from www.nittanywhiteout.com to here because there was a small technical problem with the Big 10 feed reader. But thanks to Sean it has been fixed and all is right with the world, so without further ado, everyone head over to

www.nittanywhiteout.com

Because this site is officially offline.

Off they go carrying the Big Ten banner!

2008-03-19T21:08:00.001-07:00

Any win by a conference member only makes the collective league look stronger
as a whole. So suck up your petty differences and see the bigger picture.

Pryor chooses SEC beatdowns

2008-03-19T09:09:00.001-07:00

For months we’ve been led to believe that we all had a chance. For months fan bases tried in vain to discover the intricate details for this 18 year old’s mind. Unfortunately, it was never as close as he made it out to be. It had been Ohio State all along.Since the highly anticipated news conference where Pryor famously decided not to decide. He cited his willingness to take trips to State College and Eugene as reasons for his indecision to a national audience. Since that fateful February 6th news conference? A trip on February 24th to Columbus, home of the Buckeyes for yet another trip this time with fellow Jordan Hall who was offered a scholarship on that visit. Props to Jim Tressel and his coaching staff for a great strategic play.

So its now official. Pryor is a Buckeye and Nittany Lion fans have the pure joy of welcoming Pryor into the White House for at least a year if not 2 during his collegiate career. If we don’t challenge him, we can be sure the SEC will lay a beating on him consistently in the bowl games.

Breaking down the Madness Part V

2008-03-18T19:36:00.001-07:00

Part V of a multi-part series breaking down this year’s Madness.
Part I | Part II (East) | Part III (Midwest) | Part IV (West) | Part V (South)

SOUTH REGIONAL

Team	Record	Conference	Team	Record	Conference
#1 Memphis	33-1	Conference USA	#16 UT Arlington	21-11	Southland
#8 Mississippi State	22-10	SEC	#9 Oregon	18-13	Pac 10
#5 Michigan State	25-8	Big Ten	#12 Temple	21-12	Atlantic 10
#4 Pittsburgh	26-9	Big East	#13 Oral Roberts	24-8	Summit League
#6 Marquette	24-9	Big East	#11 Kentucky	18-12	SEC
#3 Stanford	26-7	Pac 10	#14 Cornell	22-5	Ivy League
#7 Miami	22-10	ACC	#10 St. Mary’s	25-6	West Coast
#2 Texas	28-6	Big 12	#15 Austin Peay	24-10	Ohio Valley

In the Southern bracket we have the Spartans of Michigan State carrying the Big Ten banner into the tournament. Their opponent? The Temple Owls from the Atlantic 10. Unfortunately for the Spartans, it will be the Temple basketball team and not their hapless football team they will be facing. These two teams have faced each other three times since 1980 with Temple winning twice in 1998 and 1997. The only time they’ve met in the post season was in 2001 at the Georgia Dome with Michigan State prevailing 69-62. Spartan fans shouldn’t get all too excited with this matchup however. The Spartans are only 4-5 against teams in the top 50 and the Owls are sitting at #47 in the RPI. This in addition to the the upset prone nature of this year’s Spartan squad when they tend to play to their opponents level. How else can you explain losing to Penn State and scoring a dismal 36 in a loss to Iowa. They haven’t exactly stepped up to the plate against tough competition either when they fell to both Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin to end the season when the Big Ten title was still up for grabs. But regardless, the Spartans will prevail over the Owls of Temple setting up a potential grind it out, physical matchup with the Pittsburgh Panthers.


Record	overall	25-8	21-12
	conference	13-7	14-5
	against tournament teams	4-5	3-4
Resume	RPI	15	47
	SOS	43	51
	Quality Wins	6	8
Team Stats per game	Points	71.3	72.6
	Turnovers	13.7	12.8
	Rebounds	41.1	35.5
	Free throw %	0.731	0.741
	3pt %	0.373	0.372
	Blocks	4.4	4.4

Breaking down the Madness Part IV

2008-03-18T17:28:00.001-07:00

Part IV of a multi-part series breaking down this year’s Madness.
Part I | Part II (East) | Part III (Midwest) | Part IV (West)

WEST REGIONAL

Team	Record	Conference	Team	Record	Conference
#1 UCLA	31-3	Pac 10	#16 Mississippi State	17-15	SWAC
#8 BYU	27-7	Mountain West	#9 Texas A&M	24-10	Big 12
#5 Drake	28-4	Missouri Valley	#12 Western Kentucky	27-6	Sun Belt
#4 Connecticut	24-7	Big East	#13 San Diego	21-13	West Coast
#6 Purdue	24-8	Big Ten	#11 Baylor	21-10	Big 12
#3 Xavier	27-6	Atlantic 10	#14 Georgia	17-16	SEC
#7 West Virginia	24-10	Big East	#10 Arizona	19-14	Pac 10
#2 Duke	27-5	ACC	#15 Belmont	25-8	Atlantic Sun

Representing the league in the West Regional we have one of the biggest surprises and youngest teams in the Big Ten. The Purdue Boilermakers far exceeded expectations being led by freshman forward sensation Robbie Hummel. Of the starting five, four are underclassmen with forward Nemanja Calasan the only junior exception. The Baylor Bears are led by junior guard Curtis Jerrells who pace the high scoring offense. The Bears have an advantage over the Boilermakers in depth with 3 point-threat guard LaceDarius Dunn and 7-foot shot-blocking center Mamadou Diene on reserve. But both these teams are balanced and able to put together a sweet 16 run. Unfortunately for the Bears, this is their first tournament appearance since 1988.


Record	overall	24-8	20-10
	conference	15-4	9-8
	against tournament teams	4-3	5-8
Resume	RPI	46	43
	SOS	114	49
	Quality Wins	5	7
Team Stats per game	Points	68.7	81.4
	Turnovers	12.9	12.6
	Rebounds	35.8	40.9
	Free throw %	0.706	0.742
	3pt %	0.37	0.382
	Blocks	4.3	4.4

Unfortunately for the Bears, they come limping into this contest having lost 6 of their last 10. Their last game prior to Selection Sunday? A loss to last place Colorado in the Big 12 tournament. Not exactly a hot streak to be playing upstart Purdue in their first round matchup. Baylor is one of those teams that literally live and die by the 3. The last team this reliant on the long range shots? Think Illinois the year they lost to North Carolina in the Championship game. So a cold spell could easily doom Baylor and turn their first round game into a nightmare. But this also gives them a good chance at an upset if the 3s begin falling. Look for a close contest between the Boilers and Bears but with Purdue prevailing in the last few minutes.

Breaking down the Madness Part III

2008-03-18T12:43:00.001-07:00

Part II of a multi-part series breaking down this year’s Madness.
Part I | Part II (East) | Part III (Midwest)

MIDWEST REGIONAL

Team	Record	Conference	Team	Record	Conference
#1 Kansas	31-3	Big 12	#16 Portland State	23-9	Big Sky
#8 UNLV	26-7	MWC	#9 Kent State	28-6	MAC
#5 Clemson	24-9	ACC	#12 Villanova	20-12	Big East
#4 Vanderbilt	26-7	SEC	#13 Siena	22-10	Metro Atlantic
#6 USC	21-11	Pac 10	#11 Kansas State	20-11	Big 12
#3 Wisconsin	29-4	Big Ten	#14 Cal State Fullerton	25-8	Big West
#7 Gonzaga	25-7	West Coast	#10 Davidson	26-6	Southern Conference
#2 Georgetown	27-2	Big East	#15 UMBC	24-8	America East

One would assume that Wisconsin has the easiest route in the tournament by virtue of their high #3 seed. But while they might not have any trouble dispelling CS-Fullerton, they face a tough USC squad in the second round. If they make it past that, and thats a big IF, they face the winner of the Georgetown/Gonzaga matchup. That’s no easy feat either. While Wisconsin has probably one of the toughest routes to the Final Four, I’d pick them to make it the furthest as long as they execute their well renowned defense cooling down hot shooting teams like USC. A Wisconsin-Georgetown matchup between the Princeton offense and Wisconsin’s defense would be excruciating to watch, but would be a great matchup nonetheless.


Record	overall	29-4	23-8
	conference	19-2	15-4
	against tournament teams	6-4	1-2
Resume	RPI	11	79
	SOS	61	199
	Quality Wins	8	1
Team Stats per game	Points	67.3	82.6
	Turnovers	12.1	13.5
	Rebounds	38.3	39
	Free throw %	0.709	0.706
	3pt %	0.359	0.386
	Blocks	3.3	1.6

This is an easy game to predict. Wisconsin has a knack for slowing down fast-paced offenses. The only team this season to penetrate their famous defense was Purdue who beat the Badgers twice. But CS-Fullerton with an RPI of 79 and a strength of schedule of 199 is no match for Wisconsin with an RPI of 11 and a SOS of 61. For CS-Fullerton to even sniff victory in this first round, they must score at least 70. In conference play, Wisconsin has only managed to score more than 70 three times, two of them came in blowout wins against Penn State and the third coming against a dominating effort over Illinois. So, 70 would be a good benchmark for CS-Fullerton to aim for. Unfortunately for them, 70 against Wisconsin’s defense would be like running into a brick wall blindfolded. Mark it down. A blowout unwatchable game for the Badgers in Round 1.

Breaking down the Madness Part II

2008-03-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

Duplicate Post of the original version at www.nittanywhiteout.com
Check out our current blog here.

Part II of a multi-part series breaking down this year’s Madness.
Part I | Part II (East) | Part III (Midwest)

EAST REGIONAL

Team	Record	Conference	Team	Record	Conference
#1 North Carolina	32-2	ACC	#16 Coppin State / Mt. St. Mary’s	16-20 / 18-14	MEAC / Northeast
#8 Indiana	25-7	Big Ten	#9 Arkansas	22-11	SEC
#5 Notre Dame	24-7	Big East	#12 George Mason	23-10	Colonial Athletic Association
#4 Washington State	24-8	Pac 10	#13 Winthrop	22-10	Big South
#6 Oklahoma	22-11	Big 12	#11 St. Joseph	21-12	Atlantic 10
#3 Louisville	24-7	Big East	#14 Boise State	25-8	WAC
#7 Butler	29-3	Horizon League	#10 South Alabama		Sun Belt
#2 Tennessee	29-4	SEC	#15 American	21-11	Patriot League

Lets start with the region with the top seed, North Carolina. Fortunately for the Tar Heels, they do not have to travel far from home playing only 20 miles from Chapel Hill. This in addition to the fact that the #1 seed has never lost a first round game, it does not bode well for Coppin State/ Mt. St. Mary’s. But here at NittanyWhiteOut we care little about the other conferences, especially the SEC so we’ll focus mainly on Indiana.

	Seed Favorites	Seed Underdogs
ACC	North Carolina
BIG 12	Oklahoma
BIG EAST	Notre Dame, Louisville
BIG TEN	Indiana
PAC 10	Washington State
SEC	Tennessee	Arkansas
mid majors	Butler	Coppin State/Mt. St. Mary’s, George Mason, Winthrop, St. Joseph, Boise State, South Alabama, American

Indiana will struggle just to get past its opening game with Arkansas who reached the SEC tournament final falling to eventual champion Georgia. Indiana lost to Penn State and Minnesota (middle of the pack Big Ten teams) entering the tournament. Though Indiana’s record and RPI are much stronger than Arkansas, don’t let those stats fool you. Since Kelvin Sanctions departure, Indiana posted a 3-3 record losing to Penn State and Minnesota to close out the regular season. Indiana’s record against teams in the RPI top-50? 3-5 which does not bode well for Hoosier fans considering Arkansas is sitting at #32 in the RPI.


Record	overall	25-7	22-11
	conference	14-5	11-8
	against tournament teams	4-5	6-6
Resume	RPI	23	32
	SOS	59	25
	percent	75.0	73.3
Team Stats per game	Points	75.1	73.6
	Turnovers	13.7	15.5
	Rebounds	40.8	39.5
	Free throw %	0.763	0.672
	3pt %	0.346	0.399
	Blocks	3.8	5.3

As for predictions for this game? Indiana is favored over the Razorbacks by an average of 1.5 and this will be a great 8-9 seed matchup. This Indiana team is good, very good. But they just haven’t been playing the same since the loss of their head coach. If they can simply get past the fact that he won’t be back and theres nothing they can do to bring him back, they will be able to run this Arkansas team out of town. More detailed breakdown of the matchup at The Hoosier Report for those interested. I will be rooting for the Big Ten teams to reach the Final Four. The committee made it just that much easier since they placed 1 Big Ten team in each region. So here’s to taking the first step and predicting a Hoosier victory over the Razorbacks. We’ll talk about the matchup with the Tar Heels when we cross that bridge.

Breaking down the Madness Part I

2008-03-17T10:54:00.001-07:00

Duplicate Post of the original version at www.nittanywhiteout.com.
Check out our current blog here.

Its tough for teams to just get past the first round of the tournament, like them we had to
fight our way through groups of small children just to make it into Disneyland’s California Adventure Park.

The first round games are always the toughest. Mid majors take advantage of this round where a first round victory can propel a team deep into the tournament. Need proof?

It was in the first round last year where #11 Winthrop beat #6 Notre Dame and #11 VCU took down #6 Duke.

In 2006, 6 underdogs took advantage of the first round when #12 Texas A&M beat #5 Syracuse, #14 Northwestern State upset #3 Iowa, #10 NC State beat #7 California, #13 Bradley beat #4 Kansas, #11 George Mason upset #6 Michigan State and #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee beat #6 Oklahoma.

In 2005, #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee beat #5 Alabama, #11 UAB upset #6 LSU, #14 Bucknell beat #3 Kansas, #10 NC State upends #7 Charlotte and #13 Vermont beat #4 Syracuse.

So there is no doubt that the big players are most vulnerable in the first two rounds especially if they are playing sloppy and looking past their first round opposition. For the mid majors, getting to the second round is a major achievement in itself and that deadly combination have left stunned powers in their wake.

With that said, of this year’s first round games, the ACC faces the least opposition to the second round. This is credited more so to the high seeds awarded to the 4 ACC participants like #1 North Carolina, #2 Duke, #5 Clemson and #7 Miami. But they face 1 team from the Big 6 (Villanova) and 3 mid major teams (Play-In, Belmont and St. Mary’s). Not exactly a tough slate of opponents. So chalk up 4 ACC teams in the second round.

Of the Big 6 conferences, the Big Ten received the middle finger from the selection committee.

ACC season and tournament winner North Carolina received the top overall #1 seed,
Big 12 season and tournament winner Kansas received a #1 seed,
Big East season winner Georgetown received a #2 seed and surprise tournament winner Pittsburgh a #4 seed,
Pac 10 season and tournament winner received a #1 seed,
SEC season winner Tennessee received a #2 seed and surprise tournament winner Georgia a #14 seed,
the Big Ten regular season and tournament winner, Wisconsin? A #3 seed despite having beaten a #2 seed Texas (at Texas) and Georgia (the SEC tournament winner)

I guess winning the Big Ten just isn’t that tough anymore despite Texas the #2 seed having lost to both Michigan State as well as Texas. Tennessee another #2 seed? They lost to that very Texas team. I whole heartedly believe that the regular season champions from the Big 6 conferences should automatically receive a #1 or #2 seed considering there are 8 of them to hand out. But here is a breakdown of the caliber of opponents teams from the Big 6 have to face to get past the first round.

	ACC	BIG 12	BIG EAST	BIG TEN	PAC 10	SEC	mid major
ACC	–		1				3
BIG 12		–		1	1		4
BIG EAST	1		–		1	1	5
BIG TEN		1		–		1	2
PAC 10		1	1		–	1	3
SEC			1	1	1	–	3
mid major	3	4	5	2	3	3	5

Is it also safe to say the selection committee likes the Big East? The Big East picked up 8 seeds in the tournament (most out of any of the Big 6) and 7 of the 8 teams are seeded favorites with Villanova as the only exception.

	Bids	Seed Favorites	Seed Underdogs
ACC	4	4: Clemson, North Carolina, Duke, Miami
BIG 12	6	3: Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas	3: Kansas State, Texas A&M, Baylor
BIG EAST	8	7: Georgetown, Notre Dame, Louisville, Connecticut, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Marquette	1: Villanova
BIG TEN	4	4: Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State
PAC 10	6	4: USC, Washington State, UCLA, Stanford	2: Arizona, Oregon
SEC	6	3: Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Mississippi State	3: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky
mid majors	30	7: UNLV, Gonzaga, Butler, BYU, Drake, Xavier, Memphis	23: Portland State, Kent State, Siena, Cal State Fullerton, Davidson, UMBC, Coppin State/Mt. St. Mary’s, George Mason, St. Joseph, Boise State, South Alabama, American, Mississippi State, Western Kentucky, San Diego, Winthrop, Belmont, UT Arlington, Temple, Oral Roberts, Ivy League, St. Mary’s, Ohio Valley

‘Hanging Ten’ with March Madness So Cal style

2008-03-16T23:02:00.001-07:00

Back from my much needed vacation to So Cal who would have thought so much could happen within a week.

First Penn State upsets then #17 ranked Indiana at home in overtime no less, then loses to the Illini in the Big Ten tournament, then Illinois goes on to make a run to the final of the tournament. If only we could have the first round game back.

And now Pryor has stirred up even more chaos by announcing that he is finally ready to announce.

Whats more, now banished ‘Michigan Man’, the coach of Stanford was apparently right when they discovered Michigan is as academically challenging as your local community college.

And on the day of my return? The NCAA announces their seeds and bracket for this year’s tournament.

So without further ado, heres a comparison of the best So Cal’s has to offer (pictures courtesy of Chris W. who was part our our entourage west) and the regional brackets.

Midwest Regional
Many would assume Wisconsin has the best chance out of the four Big Ten teams to make a deep run into the tournament due to their #3 seed, but like surfing, things are a lot harder than they look from a distance. When you are paddling out into the ocean, minute waves look ten feet tall and catching a good wave takes skill, determination and lots of luck. Wisconsin will need alot of luck just to make it out of this regional. Beating #14 CS-Fullerton will most likely bring a matchup with Pac 10, OJ Mayo led USC. If they even make it past USC, Georgetown will probably loom next and there is always Kansas to look forward to in this regional.

Team	Record	Conference	Team	Record	Conference
#1 Kansas	31-3	Big 12	#16 Portland State	23-9	Big Sky
#8 UNLV	26-7	MWC	#9 Kent State	28-6	MAC
#5 Clemson	24-9	ACC	#12 Villanova	20-12	Big East
#4 Vanderbilt	26-7	SEC	#13 Siena	22-10	Metro Atlantic
#6 USC	21-11	Pac 10	#11 Kansas State	20-11	Big 12
#3 Wisconsin	29-4	Big Ten	#14 Cal State Fullerton	25-8	Big West
#7 Gonzaga	25-7	West Coast	#10 Davidson	26-6	Southern Conference
#2 Georgetown	27-2	Big East	#15 UMBC	24-8	America East

East Regional
In our Eastern corner, standing at 25-7, we have Indiana seeded #8 simply because they’ve been struggling since the departure of Coach Sanctions. In my honest opinion, if the Big Ten had its pick of the four teams they would most like to send to the tournament, I would have replaced Indiana with Ohio State. Hear me out before I am banned from the Hoosier state. Ohio State beat #15 Purdue, and #17 Michigan State to end the season before falling to the revenge minded Spartans in the tournament. Indiana on the other hand lost to Penn State (who did not even make the NIT) and Minnesota in the first round of the tournament, not exactly a ‘hot’ streak to walk into the tournament with. They face an Arkansas team that made the SEC final by beating #4 Tennessee and #18 Vanderbilt before falling to eventual tournament champion Georgia. So one teams regressing, the others rising, odds are Indiana will struggle to even make it out of the first round. Like Shamu at SeaWorld, Indiana is a trapped team. Their reward for beating a hot Arkansas team? A second round date with North Carolina the top seed in the entire tournament. At least Shamu gets a break now and again between shows, Indiana faces a non-stop gauntlet of a tournament.

Team	Record	Conference	Team	Record	Conference
#1 North Carolina	32-2	ACC	#16 Coppin State / Mt. St. Mary’s	16-20 / 18-14	MEAC / Northeast
#8 Indiana	25-7	Big Ten	#9 Arkansas	22-11	SEC
#5 Notre Dame	24-7	Big East	#12 George Mason	23-10	Colonial Athletic Association
#4 Washington State	24-8	Pac 10	#13 Winthrop	22-10	Big South
#6 Oklahoma	22-11	Big 12	#11 St. Joseph	21-12	Atlantic 10
#3 Louisville	24-7	Big East	#14 Boise State	25-8	WAC
#7 Butler	29-3	Horizon League	#10 South Alabama		Sun Belt
#2 Tennessee	29-4	SEC	#15 American	21-11	Patriot League

West Regional
Anyone who has ridden the Tower of Terror in Disneyland knows the horror of being dropped repeatedly from a high altitude. The West Regional in our opinion is the toughest region of the tournament. Yes, many of the big hitters are all seeded in other regions, but the West is competitive across the board. The team with the worst record in this region? Georgia at 16 losses from the SEC. The very same Georgia that just won the SEC tournament. Then theres Purdue, surprise conference contenders from the Big Ten, UCLA beast from the West, UConn and everyone’s arch nemeses, Duke.

Team	Record	Conference	Team	Record	Conference
#1 UCLA	31-3	Pac 10	#16 Mississippi State	17-15	SWAC
#8 BYU	27-7	Mountain West	#9 Texas A&M	24-10	Big 12
#5 Drake	28-4	Missouri Valley	#12 Western Kentucky	27-6	Sun Belt
#4 Connecticut	24-7	Big East	#13 San Diego	21-13	West Coast
#6 Purdue	24-8	Big Ten	#11 Baylor	21-10	Big 12
#3 Xavier	27-6	Atlantic 10	#14 Georgia	17-16	SEC
#7 West Virginia	24-10	Big East	#10 Arizona	19-14	Pac 10
#2 Duke	27-5	ACC	#15 Belmont	25-8	Atlantic Sun

South Regional
When the Hollywood sign began to deteriorate in the 1940s, the city of Los Angeles decided it was a landmark and should be repaired with the help of famous donors. The new and current sign was unveiled in 1978 on its 75th anniversary. But like the top seed of the South Regional, Memphis, this Southern California landmark is overrated. When you go 33-1 in Conference USA play, it means exactly as it sounds. Granted their early season victories over Georgetown, Arizona, and USC were nice, it is just so much easier to cruise through a mid major conference than it is to grind it out game in and game out. And whats even more ridiculous is the lack of big hitters to impede Memphis’ way to the Final Four in this conference. Texas as the #2 seed? The same Texas that lost to both Michigan State and Wisconsin was the best the selection committee could come up with to challenge Memphis. You would think after the Hawaii debacle that Memphis should be facing the toughest road to the Final Four by virtue of their ridiculous conference simply to see if they are worthy. More to come on this ridiculous obsession with Cinderella mid majors, but Memphis is simply not that invincible.

Team	Record	Conference	Team	Record	Conference
#1 Memphis	33-1	Conference USA	#16 UT Arlington	21-11	Southland
#8 Mississippi State	22-10	SEC	#9 Oregon	18-13	Pac 10
#5 Michigan State	25-8	Big Ten	#12 Temple	21-12	Atlantic 10
#4 Pittsburgh	26-9	Big East	#13 Oral Roberts	24-8	Summit League
#6 Marquette	24-9	Big East	#11 Kentucky	18-12	SEC
#3 Stanford	26-7	Pac 10	#14 Cornell	22-5	Ivy League
#7 Miami	22-10	ACC	#10 St. Mary’s	25-6	West Coast
#2 Texas	28-6	Big 12	#15 Austin Peay	24-10	Ohio Valley

Sun, Sand and Surf

2008-03-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

We are officially now at www.nittanywhiteout.com so head on over there, but because the Big 10 blog feed reader is still not updated as of yet, we will duplicate posts here until it is fixed.

Sun, sand, sea and surf in LA. Can you imagine the Big Ten tournament at Staples?

Moving on up!

2008-02-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

Eventually we all hope deep down inside we all improve ourselves, and fortunately for us here at NittanyWhiteOut, we have. We are saying goodbye to nittanywhiteout.blogspot.com and saying hello to nittanywhiteout.com

So for those of you loyal reader, I welcome you to the new site and hope it is the beginning of great things. But for now, we are now moving to our new address. Update your bookmarks, feedreaders, links, etc. For the glory!

Hope Finds a Way

2008-02-24T16:52:00.000-08:00

Lions by the Numbers:

6,615,318.04 : dollars raised through THON this year demolishing last year's $5,240,385.17 record by $1,374,932.87
19,200 : bottles of Aquafina distributed throughout the dance marathon
1973 : year when the first official dance marathon began at Penn State, now the largest student run philathraphy in the world.
708 : dancers that participated in THON
46 : hours Penn State dancers had to stay awake and on their feet during THON this past weekend.
36 : 'th annual Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon held at the Bryce Jordan Center this past weekend
13 : Point lead the men's basketball team let slip away to the Golden Gophers in a 75-68 loss.
9 : game losing streak by the women's basketball team. The longest ever in Nittany Lion history
8 : runs by the softball team in their victory over Appalachian State
2 : The second ranked men's gymnastics team defeated #7 Ohio State by setting a season high score of 360.550

Just finished watching the Penn State-Iowa game at the bar tonight and boy am I depressed at our defense. The only reason why we won was because Iowa has a worse defense (which is saying quite a lot) than ours. There weren't even enough fans in the stands tonight to fill an AA meeting. But a wins a win. More on this to come tomorrow. I've been quite preoccupied lately and will get back to normal blogging in the following days.

A matchup for the ages...

2008-02-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

This is it.
People waited, complained, fumed for weeks over this match up but the time has finally come for the two to face off.

Penn State vs. the crows

And you thought we were going to talk about some basketball game between the Coach Sanction led Hoosiers and Matt Painter's railroad crew.

But unfortunately for everyone else who does not live in Indiana, there is another battle raging of epic proportions.

Clumpy, well-smeared bird droppings are just about everywhere at the northeast corner of East College Avenue and South Allen Street.

They started to fall like a daily shower sometime early last month. For reasons unknown, hundreds of crows began roosting in the trees there at night.

So far, they haven’t stopped. But they have left their mark — slippery and wet under foot, streaked across public benches and street lamps, a foul topping for new-fallen snow.

So what is deal ol State going to do about these foul mannered rivals invading Happy Valley?

OPP crews for the past few weeks have used power washers to scrub the
sidewalks clean. They also deployed biological cleaning agents to “remove debris and reduce odor,” Ruskin said. Penn State’s pest-fighting contractor, Terminix, is expected to deploy a thermal fogger over several days. The device sounds like a leaf blower and pumps out a nontoxic fogging agent, Ruskin said. He said it won’t hurt the crows but that “we hope to annoy them enough that they go away.”

Is there a more toxic version we can place in front of the football offices and 'fog out' Jay Paterno? There you have it, either Penn State will finally beat a pesky rival or we will continue to be held hostage by these beasts in the trees.

Before I go, I'm actually going to throw my premature support in favor of Indiana between the two rivals tonight. First of all, Indiana could use a pick me up. The Spartan win was good, but a win tonight means so much more. If Indiana manages to put away the Boilermakers late in the fourth, the Hoosier faithful will roar their approval to epic proportions if only just to vent off all the frustration they have felt over the past two weeks. I'm talking when Duke last played at Assembly Hall loud. I've visited Assembly Hall last year for the final home game against Penn State last year and the venue and its fans are a sight to behold. Unlike Michigan Stadium's uppity full of themselves fans, or the hell hounds of Ohio State, Indiana fans treated us with respect and even laughed when we tried to be rowdy. There's just no price you can put on classy fans these days. So for that, I have become a Hoosier fan second to Penn State and I shall be rooting for them to beat the Boilers tonight and carry the Big Ten's banner into the tournament.

B10 Bloggers Basketball Power Poll: Week 7

2008-02-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

	Team	Record (Conference)	Explanation
1	Purdue	21-5 (12-1)	They just keep on winning, its almost amazing. There is that big showdown at Indiana (#2) coming up this week though. Winner of of the IU-PU rivalry will probably determine Big Ten champion. Purdue gets the nod over the Hoosiers this week because they managed to beat the Badgers who in turn beat the Hoosiers.
2	Indiana	21-4 (10-2)	Indiana is a good team. Their dismantaling of the Spartans (#4) during a chaotic period in Hoosierland clearly proves it. But Michigan State also lost to Iowa (#6) and Penn State (#9) so how good are they exactly?
3	Wisconsin	21-4 (11-2)	Wisconsin managed to beat Indiana, but it was off of a Brian Butch game winning 3 so it exactly isn't a telling sign of their ability to beat the Hoosiers 9 out of 10 times. Indiana did blow out Michigan State at home and that is why they get the nod over the Badgers.
4	Michigan State	20-5 (8-4)	Michigan State is on a slippery slope downhill with 2 loses this week to Purdue (#1) and Indiana (#2). With Penn State up next at home however, they will easily get back on track. Can the Lions pull off a bigger upset of the Spartans in East Lansing?
5	Ohio State	17-9 (8-5)	Ohio State is and continues to be on the tournament bubble but the loss to Michigan was crippling. The Big Ten looks to be a 5 bid tournament conference at best and Ohio State continues to provide reasons to critics as to why only 4 should qualify.
6	Iowa	11-15 (4-9)	Iowa marks the start of the 'bad' tier of teams from the Big Ten. 2 losses this week to Minnesota (#7) and Michigan (#8) does not exactly scream NIT tournament worthy either.
7	Minnesota	15-9 (5-7)	Minnesota beats Penn State (#9), Penn State beats Illinois (#10), Illinois destroys Minnesota by 24. How exactly can we begin to rank teams at this point.
8	Michigan	8-17 (4-9)	Michigan gets the #8 spot for their upset of the Buckeyes and having beat Penn State earlier in the season.
9	Penn State	12-12 (4-8)	Penn State gets a 1 point win against the Illini. The last time the Lions swept the Fighting Illini in one season? Never since their inception into the Big Ten. Their week gets tougher with games @ Michigan State (#4), and @ Minnesota (#7).
10	Illinois	11-15 (3-10)	They beat Minnesota by 24 then they lose to the Lions by 1. Go figure.
11	Northwestern	7-16 (0-12)	Utterly hopeless...

BTB Roundtable... Recruiting Bonanza

2008-02-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

Lions by the Numbers:

14 : consecutive wins by the #2 men's volleyball team after beating Princeton 3-0 on Saturday to remain undefeated
9 : out of 10 bouts won by the #9 wrestling team against Purdue in their last home match of the season
7 : game losing streak by the Lady Lions; the longest in Penn State history. What do we expect when we take coaches from the Irish
6 : goal difference in the 2 wins by the Penn State Icers over Navy and Delaware
1 : First time the mighty Fighting Illini have been swept by the Lions in basketball

1. As a general question, evaluate your recruiting class. Is it more or less what you expected, were you pleasantly surprised or horribly, horribly disappointed? Were your team's needs adequately addressed or will you be starting a two star running back at center next year?

First off, Penn State hasn't had a recruiting class with less than 15 commits since 2001 when they had 11. This year we hauled in 14 with a potential jewel of a 15th in Pryor so I am satisfied but not excited with this year's recruiting class.
I would have definitely preferred a few more wide receivers seeing as we lose Williams and Butler to graduation and/or NFL next year, but with the limited amount of scholarships we could have offered this year, we got what essentially were the basics. Great linebackers and a decent running back in Brandon Beachum will carry Penn State a long way in the following years.

2. Who were the big catches in your recruiting class? Name two players matriculating to your school whose existence everyone else in the Big Ten will curse for the next four years.

Michael Mauti will make his mark in the linebacking lore of Penn State. And it would be a lie to say Big Ten coaches haven't had nightmares of Penn State linebackers since their inception into the conference. Mauti will simply be another name they will curse the night before playing Penn State. It was simply shocking to see that Penn State actually recruited Mauti from Louisiana considering our track record with Southern recruits NOT from Florida. But Mauti actually turned some heads when he played in the US Army All-American game.

A second would be Jack Crawford. Penn State has always been adequate in developing defensive ends and with 4.5 speed, Jack Crawford should be a beast coming around the corner flushing quarterbacks out of the pocket. With offers from Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan, Rutgers and Boston College, Crawford was a good steal out of New Jersey.

3. You can't win them all. Maybe some slick talking carpetbagger schmoozed his way into your living room, sold you a set of ginzu knives made out of tin foil, and walked off with your wife and your star recruit. Perhaps an in-state lock who grew up with [Insert University Here] posters on his wall and your coach's face tattooed on his arm decided to go elsewhere for reasons no one seems to understand? Did your recruiting class lose someone big on signing day, who was it, and was your school able to yoink someone else to cover his loss?

This one's easy. The loss of Michael Shaw to Michigan hurt. More so than most Lion fans will admit. But with junior Evan Royster, sophomore Stephfon Green (an all star recruit last year), and junior Brent Carter waiting for their turn, Penn State should be set at the position for next year, but the loss of a big name, highly ranked recruit always hurts.

But surprisingly the biggest recruit we lost out on simply because we didn't go all out on this kid was Darrel Scott. This might seem contradictory seeing as I just mentioned that we are not desperate for a running back recruit, but a 4.4, 200 pound running back who scored 45 touchdowns his junior year is always good for any program. He was actually considering Penn State in addition to his final two choices of Colorado and Texas, but as usual Penn State rarely puts forth any effort in recruiting out of the Northeastern zone and we fell out of his radar rather quickly.

4. There's been a spirited debate about this whole "Coaches' Code" among the members of the Big Ten coaching fraternity. Do you believe this exists or is it a line being floated by the guys who couldn't keep their recruiting classes together? Bonus points for declaring your coach a poacher or a poachee in creative fashion!

I made it clear how I felt about Rich Rod in a recent post for stealing 2 recruits from fellow conference members and was simply dismissed as sour grapes by fellow bloggers. But lets face it, stealing recruits from conference members is in fact much worse than taking them away from other schools out-of-conference. Why? Because these are the same people you have to meet, greet and hang out with annually and more often than once. Its like the idea of not taking a shit where you sleep. But Brian at Mgoblog pointed out instances where coaches have 'stolen' recruits and I'd like to note that all of Penn States' steals have been from out-of-conference rivals so at least Joe Paterno can look at his fellow conference coaches in the face at the Big Ten banquet without his peers feeling the need to punch his face in. What Michigan fans point out is true, anything goes when it comes to recruiting, but there is indeed an honor code which has in turn been translated into 'coaches code' between Big Ten coaches. This is the same honor code that coaches honor when they punt the ball being up by at least 2 possessions and begin running the ball when they're up by a bit in the fourth. Its not a written contract, its just a show of respect. Rich Rod obviously did not get the memo when he fled West Virginia in the dead of the night, a classic move by a classy guy.

5. Finally, who's the slickest, smoovest, most Billy Dee Williamsesque recruiter in the Big Ten? Who's the worst, most incompetent, "trip over the flat tire on his Yugo" recruiter in the Big Ten?

The slickest has to be Jim Tressel. Do not tell me winning the Big Ten recruiting wars 3 years running is not a testament to his ability to recruit. Yes the 2 national title trips have helped, but he needed recruits to get him there, and he obviously got them prior to the last 2 title debacles. With two title trips in 2 years now on his resume, the only way he could possibly elevate his ability to recruit is if he rolled up in an Aston martin.

On the opposite end of the spectrum has to be (drumroll...) Kirk Frentz. Yes, he gets the most out of his recruits, but after a successful few years in the early years of this century, he was still unable to keep the momentum going. And you can't tell me Iowa is a much harder place to ask football players to attend than Illinois, frigid Minnesota and Northwestern. Yet those coaches seem to haul in a few big name recruits while Iowa just seemed to have plateaued. Hell even Iowa State is doing better than Iowa.

When you sell your soul to the devil...

2008-02-14T21:56:00.000-08:00

You've got to feel bad for the Indiana basketball program. Penn State fans have never been accused of, or even mentioned in the same breath as any violations minor or major, but Indiana basketball deserves so much better. When they forced Mike Davis out the door in 2006, Indiana basically sold their soul to the devil. Mike Davis was a man of integrity and character but in the end, those did not translate into wins and Hoosier nation had enough of mediocrity.

Instead of promoting from within the program, the Hoosiers were desperate for a man to bring quick success to a once proud program. They took a risk in hiring Kelvin Sampson from Oklahoma where he guided the Sooner program to eight 20-win seasons and 10 NCAA appearances. Kelvin Sampson had no ties to the tradition rich Hoosier basketball program, and his hire screamed desperation by Indiana University. Unfortunately Kelvin Sampson was already in trouble with the NCAA for breaking the rules during his time at Oklahoma. By hiring Sampson, Indiana was clearly more desperate than they should have been.

Now they are suffering the consequences. Kelvin Sampson is a serial rule breaker and can't weasel his way out of this one. I take no pleasure in the beaten state of the Hoosier program, but I do feel a 'I told you so' is on order. I was not happy with the way they forced out Mike Davis simply because he wasn't winning as much. Coincidently his forced resignation came the day after losing at Penn State in 2006, giving the impression that it was such a low point in Indiana basketball that he could no longer continue coaching.

Penn State's Ed DeChellis has never been associated with winning, but he will never be accused of any NCAA violations during his tenure here simply because he represents the Penn State way. Joe Paterno might not be winning like he used to, but he too will never be accused of any violations as long as he is the head of the football program.

So the question now, is it worth the risk to go after a shady character of a coach simply for the wins and risk embarrassing your athletic program or continue to accept mediocrity as long as integrity is involved? Indiana clearly made its choice of the former by hiring Kelvin Sanctions from Oklahoma when they could have gone with a safer choice. But Kelvin Sampson was a winner, his record guaranteed it and Indiana was so starved for wins that nothing else could stand in its way. With Kelvin Sampson's firing imminent, where does Indiana go from here?

More importantly, with all the talk about Joe Paterno's retirement, how does Penn State learn from this Indiana fiasco. There is no doubt Penn State is starved for another title shot, any title shot, but are we as a fan willing to go to the depths of hell and give away our soul simply for a coach who will do everything at any cost to get us back there? Or do we stick to tradition and promote from within, most likely Galen Hall or Tom Bradley. Both are exceptional assistant coaches, but if we can't get to a title game with them already on the staff, what are the odds we will once they take over? Its time for Penn State to make their decision, and lets hope we don't pull an Indiana on this one.

Let it snow, let it snow

2008-02-13T19:21:00.001-08:00

We've been getting snow and lots of it here at State College the last couple of days. And when you mix snow, lots of snow and Penn State you get:

Penn State students know how to deal with snow

in-bred trash from the backwards state of West Virginia

In a recent post, I managed to make mention of the state of West Virginia in referring to the backhanded ways of Rich Rod, the state's native son. The way I made mention of the state however, was intended to be more descriptive of the dirty man himself, but in a vent of fury, tossed the entire state into the blender. That was clearly not a fair assessment on my part and the state deserves better than such whimsical criticism or to be associated any longer with a man like Rich Rod.

Congratulations to Purdue for beating the Spartans. I was at the Penn State upset of the Spartans a few weeks ago, and they seemed to have the same bewildered look at the end of the game when they slowly lost control. This Michigan State team won't be making it deep into the tournament this year but I fear that Purdue won't either. I'm glad they are doing really well this year in the Big Ten, but their youth will show come tournament time when they face good quality teams day in and day out in grind it out matches. But I'll still be rooting for the Big Ten as always come March. (Explains why I never win the betting pool).

Did everyone already forget?

2008-02-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

In 1987, Southern Methodist University, a WAC conference team was handed the NCAA 'death penalty' because 21 players received approximately $61,000 in cash payments from a booster while they were on probation for another violation. The penalty was downright shocking. A loss of 55 new scholarships over 4 years, loss of 3 coaching positions for 2 years, cancellation of the 1987 season and a limit of only 7 games (all on the road) for the 88' season, and a 2 year bowl, TV ban. The consequences of the penalty was so severe that the school voluntarily canceled the 88' season as a lost cause.

Now fast forward to 2008. 21 years after the dreaded SMU 'death penalty', the NCAA is faced with yet another possible headache. After an eight month investigation by Yahoo! Sports, it has been revealed that USC Heisman winning running back Reggie Bush has been receiving improper benefits during the 2 years he attended the university, 1 of which when they won the national championship. This was not one isolated incident where Reggie Bush was given money, but a 2 year long history of improper benefits for Reggie as well as his immediate family members. Documented records show:

$595.20 in round-trip airfare from San Diego to Oakland in November 2005 for Bush's stepfather, LaMar Griffin, his mother, Denise Griffin and younger brother to attend the USC-California game at Berkeley. The fees were charged to the credit card of Jamie Fritz, an employee of Ornstein. The document detailing the charges was provided by Lee Pfeifer, an estranged business associate of Ornstein's.
$250.65 for limousine transportation from the Oakland airport to the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco that November weekend for the Bush family, charged to Fritz, according to a document. Ornstein acknowledged both he and Bush's family stayed at the luxury hotel.
Suits for Bush's stepfather and brother to wear during the Dec. 10, 2005 Heisman ceremony in New York, a makeover for his mother for the event and limousine transportation;
Weekly payments of at least $1,500 to the Bush family.
$623.63 for a hotel stay by Bush at the Venetian Resort & Casino in Las Vegas from March 11-13, 2005, charged to Michaels, according to a document signed by Bush.
$1,574.86 for a stay by Bush at the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego from March 4-6, 2005, paid for by Michaels, according to a hotel document, a hotel employee and a source.
Approximately $13,000 to Bush from New Era to purchase and modify a car, three sources said.
As reported by Yahoo! Sports in April, $54,000 in rent-free living for a year at Michaels' $757,500 home in Spring Valley, Calif., according to Michaels and San Diego attorney Brian Watkins.
Also from previous Yahoo! reports, $28,000 from Michaels to help Bush's family settle pre-existing debt, according to Michaels and Watkins.
Thousands of dollars in spending money to both Bush and his family from the prospective agents, according to multiple sources.

So why the hold up? This has been in the news and even redocumented in the book 'Tarnished Heisman' in even greater detail and Reggie Bush still cannot be forced to talk. The NCAA isn't exactly a beacon of consistency when it comes to handing out sanctions for similar crimes which is also why the outcry of anger from fans across the country alleging bias by the NCAA towards USC and protecting their modern dynasty. Such allegations may actually be based on some truth.

In 1989, Oklahoma State was levied with a 2 year TV ban, 3 year bowl ban, and loss of 5 new scholarships for 3 years for 1 athlete receiving cash payments and a sports car at no cost during his first 2 years with the team.

Then in 1996, Florida State was given no sanctions when players were taken by prospective agents on a documented $6000 shopping spree at Foot Locker including dinner outings and small cash payments. The difference? The NCAA found little evidence of the school's knowledge or participation during the violations.

Well that makes sense, Florida State knew nothing of the violations when they happened if they found no evidence of it many of you will say. Well, in USC's case, it is well known that sports agents wander Heritage Hall where USC's athletics offices are located:

according to a Los Angeles Times story that documented the rampant presence of agents at USC during the 2005 season.

In January, according to the Times, USC offensive line coach Pat Ruel surveyed the lobby outside the football offices and saw more than a dozen unfamiliar faces.

Furthermore, sources told Yahoo! Sports that representatives of a fledging marketing firm from which Bush and his family allegedly received improper benefits were allowed in the USC locker room during the 2005 season.

Sources also said USC running backs coach Todd McNair knew of Bush's involvement with the marketing firm before last season's national championship game against Texas.

So once again I ask. WHAT's THE HOLDUP?

NCAA by-law 12.3.1.2 states that an athlete shall be deemed ineligible if he or she accepts benefits from agents or marketing representatives. The rule further states that student-athletes, their family or friends cannot receive benefits or loans from agents. Additionally, NCAA by-law 12.1.2.1.6 states that athletes cannot receive preferential treatment, benefits or services because of the individual's athletics reputation or skill or pay-back potential as a professional athlete, unless such treatment, benefits or services are specifically permitted under NCAA legislation.

The rules are clear, there is obviously financial records available if Yahoo! Sports can find them, how is the NCAA unable to find sufficient evidence of wrongdoing? I am not rooting for the death penalty (though because they are not already under probation, it does not apply), but I am asking for a fair sanction, any sanction to be handed down. Why should anyone be bent up over something that happened a few years ago? Because while everyone had to win by the rules, USC reaped the benefits of an athlete being pampered and basically paid during his years at USC. He may single handedly be the reason why they won some of the games they did, Fresno State 05', Notre Dame 05', etc. So while everyone was running the marathon in their standard sneakers, USC took a taxi to the finish line. So you better bet that I'm pissed and want blood.

Rich Rod is a traitor and a snake

2008-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

Whatever happened to respect and just common courtesy?

SEC

Recruit	Original Verbal	Signed LOI with	Head Coach
Enrique Davis	Auburn	Ole Miss	Houston Nutt
Joe Adams	USC (Pac 10)	Arkansas	Bobby Petrino
Brian Christopher	Texas Tech (Big 12)	Arkansas	Bobby Petrino

Big Ten

Recruit	Original Verbal	Signed LOI with	Head Coach
Keith Wells	Florida State (ACC)	Ohio State	Jim Tressel
Michael Shaw	Penn State	Michigan	Rich Rodriguez
Roy Roundtree	Purdue	Michigan	Rich Rodriguez
Ricky Barnum	Florida (SEC)	Michigan	Rich Rodriguez
Patrick Omameh		Michigan	Rich Rodriguez

Big East

Recruit	Original Verbal	Signed LOI with	Head Coach
Antonio Wilson	Vanderbilt (SEC)	Georgia Tech	Paul Johnson

ACC

Recruit	Original Verbal	Signed LOI with	Head Coach
Ramon Buchanan	Florida (SEC)	Miami	Randy Shannon
Dwyane Allen	Georgia (SEC)	Clemson	Tommy Bowden
Lee Butler	Georgia Tech	Duke	David Cutcliffe
Christian Wilson	Michigan (Big Ten)	North Carolina	Butch Davis

Big 12

Recruit	Original Verbal	Signed LOI with	Head Coach
Brandon Garrett	Oklahoma State	Baylor	Art Briles
Sedric Johnson	Texas A&M	Iowa State	Gene Chizik

Pac 10

Recruit	Original Verbal	Signed LOI with	Head Coach
Jamaar Jarett	Oregon	Arizona State	Dennis Erickson
Uona Kaveinga	BYU	USC	Pete Carroll

From the stats compiled from Letter of Intent day, we can officially state that Rich Rod is a snake and has as much genuine respect for his state, his fellow coaches, and his former employers as a rusty doorknob. First of all, lets define 'stealing'. When a recruit verbals with a school and its made public through all the recruiting websites as well as common general knowledge, a coach can call them up, ask them if they're sure and leave it be.

"There has been an unspoken rule that if a guy commits and you've been recruiting him hard, you always call them up and say, 'Are you sure about this?' If he says, 'Yes,' you back off," Tiller told the Indianapolis Star - Joe Tiller

But what you get when you implant in-bred trash from the backwards state of West Virginia into what used to be a honor thy opponent but beat their asses when you play them conference, you get an astounding 4 de-commits running to Michigan. Stealing recruits from your own conference members was something of the Big 12 or SEC, apparently Rich Rod sees no problem in going after recruits that had an understanding with their originally schools. Wolverine fans might laugh and say "Whats the big deal, coaches chase recruits all the time before LOI day." Yeah, but when a kid verbals to a school, the school may keep in contact, but begins to move on with a gentleman's assurance that the recruit will not be pressured as heavily after the verbal. To go heavily after a recruit who has verbaled especially to a fellow conference member is like sleeping with your neighbor's wife.

Rich Rod's staff stole more de-commits by themselves than the entire conferences of the SEC, Big East, Big 12 and Pac 10. He can rest assured that the entire conference of the ACC with its 2 divisions have the same de-commits stolen as the great institution of Michigan. The Big 10 used to be 'the' conference that didn't dwell in petty jabs in press conferences, or back room dealings or even stealing recruits from one another. It seems like the ship has now been infested with rats and its only time before everyone else in the conference might have to purge themselves of the problem once and for all. I wouldn't be surprised if Rich Rod DID shred documents on his way out of directional Virginia just out of spite. He is a sleazy, tell-you-whatever-you-want-to-hear type of guy and I'm glad Pryor was never considering them. By pushing back the announcement, Wolverine fans can rest assured that Pryor has officially pushed them back into third.

I look forward to Ohio State, Purdue, Penn State, Wisconsin and Minnesota giving them lots of hell in their transition years to that gimmicky works-in-the-no-defense Big East offense. I hope he loses that lawsuit of his against West Virginia and decades of futility against their bigger brother down south, Ohio State. I am more angry that this is the start of things to come in the following years than actually losing a recruit to the Wolverines. This behavior is unacceptable in the Big Ten and Rich Rod's word is as good as the paper I wipe my ass with.

Sufficient, but Not spectacular haul

2008-02-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Recruit	Position	Position Rank	Hometown
Brandon Beachum	LB/RB	4	Youngstown, OH
Michael Mauti	LB	16	Mandeville, LA
Mike Yanich	LB	17	Washington, PA
Mike Zordich	LB	7	Youngstown, OH
Jack Crawford	DE	26	Richland, NJ
D'Anton Lynn	DB	29	Celina, TX
Pete Massaro	DE	45	Newtown Square, PA
Deon'tae Pannell	OL	57	Birmingham, MI
Matt Stankiewitch	OL	6	Schuylkill Haven, PA
Mark Wedderburn	TE	17	Springfield, PA
A.J Price	WR	NR	Reston, VA
James Terry	DT	NR	Brandywine, DE
Mike Farrell	OL	NR	Pittsburgh, PA
Brandon Ware	DT	NR	Harrisburgh, PA

Only 14 recruits for the Nittany Lions today, with the prospect of Terrelle Pryor possibly joining this class. This class isn't reason for panic yet because the Lions are actually filled at the skill positions (WR/ QB/ RB/ LB). I was expecting the staff to pursue more wide receiver recruits this year seeing as most of our receiving corps will be lost to graduation and/or the draft next year. But unfortunately we only signed a 2-star recruit in A.J. Price.

The biggest shocker came from a verbal from Ohio, Michael Shaw who was supposed to be another gem in this year's limited class, but like the traitor Chad Henne, decided to commit to the Wolverines instead. Heres to hoping he gets planted into the ground often by Lion linebackers.

We tested with 'Live Blog' today at NittanyWhiteOut and it was a smashing success with participation beyond what I imagined. I'm glad to have them here and hope they visit often. But throughout the live blogging, the main area of concern was Terrelle Pryor's press conference held to announce that he will not announce. (Weird isn't it?) But basically he has thrown Penn State to the fore front of the competing schools and that he was basically going to be a Buckeye today if it had not been for his father who is pushing for Penn State. Theres nothing wrong with listening to your dad, Pryor!

But the second point of concern with this recruiting class is the lack of height in our receiving corps which is a legitimate concern seeing as we don't have Williams to depend on after next year. Overall it was great fun all around and may the Michael Shaw effigy burning begin!

I am sick so I'll comment more on the live blogging and our recruiting class in the near future.

LOI Live Blog

2008-02-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

Why the world doesn't need Pryor

2008-02-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

Before I get into Pryor, I would like to thank Gopher Nation for picking our Power Poll this week as the most interesting read. I am insulted that we were deemed 'not exactly funny', but neither is supporting cancer , so I am fine with it.

With just under 24 hours to go, it almost feels as if the cities of Columbus, Ann Arbor, and State College are bidding for the summer Olympics and the announcement will be made tomorrow at noon. The fan bases will be thrilled, sending the winning town into a frenzy, and optimism for the next four years will never be higher.

EXCEPT, this is not a competition on any global scale, nor does it affect anyone outside of the Big Ten (except for possibly Oregon).

So what could possibly send hundreds of thousands of fans into a frenzy and leave thousands more in agony? The words of an 18 year old football player from Jeannette, Pennsylvania. Sounds kind of ridiculous doesn't it? Its true many have already dubbed him the next Vince Young with even faster speed and greater athleticism, but didn't Texas only win 1 national championship during the 3 years Vince Young graced their campus? Even the year they beat USC in the Rose Bowl for the championship, they barely escaped Texas A&M who was playing with a backup quarterback. So lets calm a bit down and put things into perspective. Yes, Pryor will be a great addition to any program, but not really worth all this hoopla. Granted I'll still jump up and down if he does pick up the Penn State cap tomorrow at noon, but I am honest enough to admit that it takes more than 1 player to bring back a national championship. I am not criticizing Pryor's abilities at all, there is a reason why he was chosen to be Parade magazine's top player this year, but lets not act like fools and treat this 18 year old like the next coming of Jesus either.

Michigan attempted to throw him a 'block party' when he went on his official visit to Ann Arbor in sub-freezing temperatures. People are wearing Lion, Buckeye and Wolverine jerseys to his basketball games and then theres the question of the corvette. Does this kid remind us of someone else entering college? A kid by the name of Marcus Vick whose fame exceeded his accomplishments at Virginia Tech. Yes, Pryor does not have an older brother who is running his own doggie Auschwitz, but he is in the same situation where college will be his first chance to be away from home. So lets see some production on the field before we allow Pryor's head to swell any bigger.

Theres no question that Pryor is a good kid, hell he can't even say no when people mail him stuff to sign. MAIL! As in chuck in the wastebasket and never hear back from them again. But in my honest opinion, Pyror is a smart kid. He has known where he wanted to go for a while now, and always had despite all the vacillation Rivals and Scout would like us to believe. A decision this big is not reserved for a one night sleep-on-it evaluation. He has talked to his parents, his friends, even his guidance counselor and because he is the nice kid he always is. He doesn't want to say no to Joe Paterno, Jim Tressel or Rich Rod until he absolutely has to. I don't want to assume that he will pick the Buckeyes (2 national championship trips in 2 years) for a quick easy ride to the National Championship where as he would work twice as hard if he picks the Wolverines or even the Nittany Lions, but if I had to put money, thats the spot I would place my chips.

Tomorrow will be a momentous day. But not for Buckeye, Wolverine, or Lion fans who despite what they believe have relatively little influence on the on-field accomplishments of their favorite teams, but for a young 18 year old who will decide where he will matriculate for the next 3, possibly 4 years of his collegiate career. Here's to hoping he picks close to home for his family and friends to be able to actually watch him play most of his games. If not, I'll just be glad that I will enjoy watching Penn State linebackers introducing Pryor to the turf many-a-times.

Even in the NFL, 'Michigan Man' Tom Brady has to face Penn State pressure
(Way to go Jay).Update: As of 10:00 pm on Tuesday night, Rivals.com reports that Pryor will not be signing on LOI day and will take an official to Penn State before announcing.

B10 Bloggers Basketball Power Poll: Week 5

2008-02-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

	Team	Record (Conference)	Alpha (last week)	Explanation
1	Wisconsin	18-3 (8-1)	+2 (3)	Wisconsin leapfrogs to the top spot with a win over the Hoosiers (#2) and @ Minnesota (#7)
2	Indiana	18-3 (8-1)	NC (2)	A win over Northwestern is a step back in the right direction, but their losses to Wisconsin (#1) and UConn (which doesn't look all too bad considering they beat Pitt) still lingers.
3	Purdue	17-5 (8-1)	+1 (4)	Purdue is on a roll. How good are they exactly? No one really knows with wins over Illinois (#9) and Iowa (#5). But they do face a Penn State team that just upset the Spartans this coming week.
4	Michigan State	19-3 (7-2)	-3 (1)	First it was Iowa, but with Iowa upsetting teams left and right (including the Buckeyes (#6)) and Penn State that many considered to be a competitive team, the losses aren't exactly devastating. This should still be a quality tournament team, but for now they have to make sure they avoid more upsets along the way.
5	Iowa	11-12 (4-6)	+1 (6)	A 1 point loss to Purdue (#3) (at Purdue) and an upset of the Buckeyes, Iowa isn't playing as bad as their record indicates at this point.
6	Ohio State	15-7 (6-3)	-1 (5)	The Buckeyes should be glad they do not have to play Penn State again after the Spartan upset. Their loss to Iowa isn't too devastating enough to drop them in the poll.
7	Minnesota	13-7 (3-5)	NC (7)	Minnesota beat Michigan, but who hasn't. And a loss to Wisconsin (#1) was expected. So therefore they sit pretty at #7 just like last week.
8	Penn State	11-10 (3-6)	NC (8)	I attended a Penn State basketball game for the first time in a long while and I was treated to an upset. And standing there watching the crowd mob the court, you just had the feeling that this team finally realized that their season is not over with the loss of Claxton. They can actually beat quality opponents. With games against Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern in the next few weeks, there are plenty of wins the Lions can pick up for a NIT spot.
9	Illinois	10-13 (2-8)	NC (9)	Another week, another loss for the Illini. A sad season for a proud program.
10	Michigan	5-16 (1-8)	NC (10)	Their only win in the last 11 games? A Northwestern team thats playing worse than they are.
11	Northwestern	7-12 (0-8)	NC (11)	Sometimes I wonder why the Big Ten isn't considering dropping the deadweight Wildcats from the conference. They holding the conference back in basketball as well as football.

Sparta Burns to the Ground!

2008-01-31T21:39:00.000-08:00

College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com

TAKE THAT Spartans, now we've officially avenged our losses to the Illini and Spartans in football this year.

11,159 fans witnessed a landmark in Nittany Lion basketball yesterday night as the underdog Penn State carrying a 6 game losing streak beat the leading torch bearer of the Big Ten, Michigan State. The significance? The last home win against any team ranked in the top-25 was in 2001. Thats 7 years since the Lions last beat #6 Illinois on their home court. Thats 7 years of ranked AND unranked teams marching into Bryce Jordan Center and stomping all over the Nitts. 7 years since the student section even had the opportunity to rush the court so there was no doubting the emotion that erupted on the court after last nights win.
And I was fortunate enough to actually see this one in person.

I'd have to admit, the real reason why I was actually in attendance was because all the student ticket sales were being donated to THON and who doesn't support curing cancer. You might as well admit you hate America right now if you don't want to cure cancer. But I was treated to something much better.

Our group never even made it to the game by tipoff, having pre-gamed in the parking lot until we were 10 minutes late and then made our way into Bryce Jordan Center. By then the Lions were leading 17-15 marking the start of a surprising night for the Lion faithful. More stunning was when we walked over to Portal 30 (where the student section has to walk into), the usher told us the section is actually full and we need to head over to Portal 8 and fill up the student section in the upper deck. Wow, honestly? The student section is 'full'? I've been randomly attending basketball games for the last 4 years and I have never heard the word 'full' and 'basketball' used in the same sentence.

Although, in that 4 year span, the only basketball victory I was in attendance for was against an equally lowly Northwestern squad. Unfortunately there are some of us who aren't too thrilled with heights. There really isn't a bad seat in Bryce Jordan Center but you really are looking straight down causing a little height anxiety. But right before halftime, Penn State hit back to back 3s and made defensive stops on the other end sending the majority of the 11,000 in attendance into a frenzy. I have not heard a roar like that since the THON finale last year.

Who could have expected the Lions to be leading the #7 Spartans at halftime. Not everyone was overly excited though, it was 3 days ago when Penn State was tied with the Buckeyes at halftime before being blown out down the stretch.

In a very un-Nittany Lion like fashion, the basketball team came roaring out of the gates and extended the lead to 10, winning 53-43 with 16 minutes to go. As if following the same Hollywood script, the Spartans chipped away at the 10 point lead and retook the lead by 2, deflating the palpable emotion that swirled inside the BJC.

But who knew, the Lions just kept fighting back point after point, and with clutch free throw shooting to end the game, the Lions did the unthinkable. They upset the conference leaders in a Spartan upset.

What a game. Boy I haven't been this excited at a basketball game since watching the George Mason upset 2 years ago in the NCAA tournament. Hopefully they can take this momentum on the road against an equally impressive Purdue squad. This young Nittany Lion team needed a game like this to prove to themselves they can win without Claxton and against the odds. Way to go Nittwitts! A well fought win.

Theres the Ohio State upset in 2005 when it comes to football, and now theres the Michigan State upset in 2007 for basketball. If only this Lion squad didn't give up after the Claxton injury, we could be sitting in the upper echelon of the Big Ten today with this upset.

The crowd was amazing, not only do you have the most faithful and loyal crowd on hand for a game no one expects a win out of, they actually introduced the Spartans to a small degree of home court advantage possibly for the first time at the BJC. Who knew the place could rock when the basketball team moved to the BJC from Rec Hall and endured a decade of futility. With 30 seconds to go, many of the students that were forced into the upper deck student section began to make their way down to the lower concourse lining the walkways anticipating a court rushing. It was a sight watching all the walkways of the lower concourse begin to fill up rather than empty out with fans ready to explode with a fury of emotion.

Notable Quotes:

"It's just one of those feelings that you can talk about forever. When you are done playing the game and everyone storms the court and are holding people up." - Talor Battle

"We have had some crazy things happen and our kids hung in there and fought and made some plays tonight and made some free throws when we had to. Hopefully we got a little confidence back and you know, it was great for our fans and for our students. The students were tremendous. People came out even though we lost a bunch in a row. Our kids laid it on the line and we were able to win a game. So, I am very happy for our players and the fans." - Ed DeChellis

"Really, when I get home there will be a lot of blame for Michigan State, but the credit should go to Penn State, what they did, how they played, and the energy they played with." - Tom Izzo

Talk about a classy guy. Tom Izzo is the standard bearer of class all the way.

Say hello to my winning combination.
This will be my A squad for now until we break this winning streak.

When you can't beat em. Buy em.

2008-01-31T08:18:00.000-08:00

Promotional poster handed out to Pryor by the Buckeye coaching staff.

A date with Joe Paterno

2008-01-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

This is it! If the legend himself can't close the deal, then the hell with it, he really wasn't really considering the Nittany Lions anyways. But all the talk about Joe Paterno being too sickly, old, [insert your complaint], to visit top recruits better be prepared because the legend himself is going to meet face to face with one of the most highly touted recruit out of Pennsylvania in a long time.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is expected to travel to Jeannette, Pa. tomorrow to visit Terrelle Pryor, the nation's No. 1 overall high school recruit, according to a team source.
The 81-year-old icon will be joined by defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, who has recruited Pryor since he was in the ninth grade. A 6-foot-6, 235-pound quarterback, Pryor has pared his choices down to four schools: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Oregon.

State of the State address

2008-01-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

Bloggers, readers and my fellow Nittany Lions,

Over the last 8 years since the turn of the century, we have endured 4 losing seasons, 2 futile quarterbacks at the helm, and have not tasted victory against our hated rivals up north. Yet we are still here today standing side by side, resolute and determined.

We faced adversity only to rebound with 3 straight bowl wins in the last 3 years, 1 BCS victory over an equally tradition-rich rival in the Seminoles and 1 Big Ten title. This year, in our inaugural State of the State address we also must be aware of the decisive months that lie ahead.

You and I serve our Penn State program in a time of great consequence. We not only have the duty to ensure opponents take a second look just to find out if they are playing in dreaded Happy Valley when facing the Lions, but have the opportunity to save State from the same fate that has befallen our traditional rivals Nebraska, Alabama and Syracuse.

We will do our part in maintaining State's fiscal security, and we will answer every danger and rival that threatens Penn State's recruiting class. The coming months and years will be hard, but we will remain resolute.

During the last three years we have seen what we can do together. Introducing 'Zombie Nation' to the Nittany Nation has in return put fear in our enemies' eyes, trembled the very earth our troops battle on, and returned Beaver Stadium into the top 5 venues opponents fear most.

To protect our claim on ingenuity, we reformed the old unused concept of the 'White Out' into the 'Penn State White Out' marking a new era of prime time college football television with color coordinated fans.

To not only maintain fiscal security for our Nation, but to ensure it will never be threatened by enemies local or regional, we delivered the largest infusion of donations making State the 13th most valuable college football programs headed into 2008.

To most, this might indicate a good record. I call it a good start.

Tonight I ask my fellow Nittany Nation to join me in the next bold steps to serve our good program.

Our first goal is obvious: We must be able to haul in recruiting classes that ensures a stream of quality athletes that fit our program. After the Mills debacle of 2003 and 2004, the inability to win the Big Ten since our inaugural year, our program has rebounded with an Orange Bowl win over the Seminoles and a #3 ranking, the program has shown signs of life once again, and it is recovering. Yet it is not recovering fast enough, or strong enough.

With parity rising, our program needs more elite athletes to carry on our vision, more boosters to invest in our flat lining program and for the offense to show any sign of life against an enemy with a heartbeat. Programs are resurrected with new blood; a stagnant coaching staff breeds still water and still water kills all signs of life. The best and fairest way to make sure Nittany Nation have any sort future is not to allow this program to fall into obscurity.

I am proposing that Joe Paterno announce his intentions for the coming year or years if he plans on coaching any further. There are those among us who believe this is sacrilegious and will only aid to embolden our enemies.

Under my plan, Joe Paterno will be able to decide when to retire, but the key point is that he will have to decide when to retire. A year by year scenario breeds insecurity among the staff, coaches, players and future recruits and insecurity leads to defections. We have already weathered the loss of assistant coaches Fran, and Norwood, and it is time we circle the wagons and protect our home turf.

Our second goal is to reverse the exodus of home grown talent to our enemies.

Pennsylvania is a state of skill, talent and innovation, with enough athletes to satisfy any powerhouse program. Yet for Penn State, these athletes spurn the program for greener pastures across state lines, and many don't bother considering the program at all.

These problems will not be solved by modifying our conference affiliations that many among us have attributed to this increasing exodus. Instead, we must work toward a system in which all high school coaches in Pennsylvania not want to send their best talent to Happy Valley, but feel an obligation as Pennsylvanians to do so. We must renew our commitment for a strong State by providing Pennsylvanians with a sense of civic duty, and pride that has not been seen for too long. Ohio and Michigan can no longer be viewed as just neighbors but a warring rival states. Pennsylvanian parents whose children choose to spurn their Keystone brethren for the despicable and lowly people of our rivals should feel a sense of shame. Fellow Pennsylvanians should react with disgust at people like Chad Henne's parents. At the supermarket, the movies or a restaurant, children and citizens of all ages should feel obligated to gawk simply at the sight of such traitorous people. Within years, a new commitment to protecting our home will be established and our neighboring enemies will no longer be able to count on bleeding our proud state dry of talent. Only when we feel secure within our own borders can we reach from coast to coast bleeding other states of their talent stockpiling what we already have at home. This not only ensures our future, but will determine its growth.

Tonight I'm proposing a two-year 'Protect the Keystone' initiative that will outline the exact steps we as Nittany Nation must do to ensure the success of our state. I call upon the Lion faithful to participate and entrench this state that has provided us with so much over the years. Those of Nittany Nation are a resolute people, who have risen to every test of our time. Adversity has revealed the character of our state, to our enemies, and to ourselves. The state of the State is weak, but we will strengthen it.

A direct spoof of the State of the Union speech given in 2003.

B10 Bloggers Basketball Power Poll: Week 4

2008-01-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

Another week, and another Penn State loss, this time to the Purdue Boilermakers and Iowa Hawkeyes:

Officials: Ted Hillary, JD Collins, Lamar Simpson
Technical fouls: Purdue-None. Penn State-None.
Attendance: 6287
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Purdue........................   39   25  -   64
Penn State....................   18   24  -   42

College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com

And the worse part? The losses no longer phase me. You could have easily said the Penn State's fencing team lost their match to the Boilermakers and that would have raised a couple more eyebrows. But thats not all, with football done for a while and only basketball available, this is becoming a tough stretch for a Penn State blogger.

But it could be worse, yet ANOTHER USC violation, this time with OJ Mayo and the basketball program. Is the NCAA in recess or something this time of year? First, Reggie Bush CLEARLY violated NCAA regulations and he can be solely attributed to several USC victories during their championship season, then now OJ Mayo?

But before we move on to the ranting, its time for week 4's Big Ten Basketball Power Poll.

	Team	Record (Conference)	Alpha (last week)	Explanation
1	Michigan State	18-2 (6-1)	NC (1)	Michigan State remains in the poll position over undefeated Indiana only because they have managed not to lose even to their rival Michigan even if the Wolverines would struggle beating a high school squad right now.
2	Indiana	17-2 (6-0)	NC (2)	The top 3 remains unchanged. But Indiana's home loss to a not so great Big East team at home as well puts them at #2.
3	Wisconsin	16-3 (6-1)	NC (3)	Their loss to the Boilermakers are nothing to get all worked up about. The Boilermakers are good, they're young, but good. To have to struggle against the Wolverines however, may cause a few sweat beads down Badger fans' foreheads, but if Bo Ryan can continue to grind out wins, they will be dancing come March.
4	Purdue	15-5 (6-1)	NC (4)	Purdue has done it again with an "not-so-upset" win over the Badgers. Almost everyone called that upset, so is it really an upset? Sort of like everyone knew LSU would trounce the Buckeyes, but because they are ranked #2, was it really an upset?
5	Ohio State	13-6 (5-2)	NC (5)	Ohio State picked up 2 key wins this week against Illinois and Minnesota. In this league, a win means absolutely everything when upsets happen like its their business. Considering the Big Ten may be a 4 bid team this year for the Big Dance, Ohio State might be fighting Purdue for the last spot on the gravy train.
6	Iowa	9-10 (2-4)	+3 (9)	The biggest mover was Iowa in Week 4. Though they really only beat Penn State (#8) which is not that great a feat any longer, they just seem to be between decent and horribly bad which are the only two all Big Ten teams fall into this season.
7	Minnesota	12-6 (2-4)	-1 (6)	The Gophers drop below Iowa not because of their 16 point loss at Ohio State, but because Iowa managed to actually win a game while the Gophers only played once this week. They will have ample time to move back up the Power Poll.
8	Penn State	10-9 (2-5)	-1 (7)	Last week I fumed at the people leaping off the Penn State bandwagon and this week I have sore ribs from doing the exact same thing. This team is clearly not a a decent team or even a competitor with the loss of Claxton. They have not lost by single digits since the loss of their senior leader and things can get only worse from here with Ohio State headed to the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State is offering a 'Target 10' campaign. If they can get 10,000 students for the Ohio State ESPN game, they will donate all the ticket earnings from the Michigan State game to THON. Its a worthy cause, but I fear with the way the Nitts are playing, they will have trouble getting 10,000 people to watch the game.
9	Illinois	10-11 (2-6)	-1 (8)	The Illini managed to pick up a win this week. The bad news is, its against Northwestern so it means absolutely nothing.
10	Michigan	5-15 (1-7)	NC (10)	Losses against Wisconsin and Michigan State is nothing to be ashamed of in the Big Ten. Problem is, they have wins against nobody so yes, the Wolverines are ashamed.
11	Northwestern	6-11 (0-7)	NC (11)	Once again, horribly pathetic. But I fear the Nittany Lions are about to compete for this very spot.

B10 Bloggers Basketball Power Poll: Week 3

2008-01-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

Its that time again. Our vote is not to reflect the presumed standings at the end of the season, but their relative strengths compared to their Big Ten brethren. That being said, I know Michigan State lost to mediocre Iowa last week. But no one has stepped up more on their game than the Spartans and they take the top spot especially because of the way they were able to rebound to the Hawkeye loss against a good Buckeye and Gopher team. Indiana can also make their case as a team playing well especially since they are undefeated in the Big Ten, BUT their inability to dominate a Claxton-depleted Penn State team especially in the friendly confines of Assembly Hall squeezes them out of the top spot followed closely by the Badgers who are also undefeated in conference play. That will soon be resolved when the Badgers meet the Hoosiers. So without further ado, here is NittanyWhiteOut's Big 10 Power Poll for Week 3:

	Team	Record (Conference)	Alpha (last week)	Explanation
1	Michigan State	16-2 (4-1)	+2 (3)	It was hard awarding the top 3 spots in the power poll this week. The Spartans, Hoosiers and Badgers all have a good case for top dog in the Big 10. BUT, that being said, Michigan State has been most impressive simply of the way they rebounded from an upset loss to the lowly Hawkeyes last week. And they did it not against other lowly competition, but against a quality Minnesota team (away) and Ohio State team thats #5 in the power poll. So as the best team in week 3, the Spartans gets to carry the crown.
2	Indiana	16-1 (5-0)	-1 (1)	Indiana is a quality team. There is no doubting that. But their inability to squash a Penn State (#7) team who is without their top scorer and rebounder until the final 10 minutes in Assembly Hall is quite a wake-up call. But they get the bump over the Badgers by beating an improved Minnesota (#6) team at the Barn.
3	Wisconsin	15-2 (5-0)	-1 (2)	The Badgers are only #3 because they are still undefeated. They proved nothing this past week beating Penn State (#7) and Northwestern (#11), teams that draw bigger crowds for wrestling matches than basketball games. The scheduling is however not their fault, so they sit at #3 above the Boilermakers and Buckeyes.
4	Purdue	13-5 (4-1)	NC (4)	Purdue is making noise again in the Big 10 having beat the Hawkeyes and Illini, but they are #4 only because the Badgers are undefeated. Should the Badgers lose, Purdue gets to join the top 3.
5	Ohio State	12-6 (3-2)	+1 (6)	The Buckeyes loses to the Spartans (#1) and then falter once again against the SEC losing to Tennessee. They however can still very much beat the Gophers so they are above them.
6	Minnesota	12-5 (2-3)	-1 (5)	The Gophers are improved, but it seems just not enough to put them in the upper echelon of the Big Ten teams. After an impressive start, they lose to the Spartans (#1) and Indiana (#2), though it is nothing to be ashamed of. As the lower ranked team, they ARE expected to lose aren't they?
7	Penn State	10-7 (2-3)	NC (7)	Everyone's so quick in jumping off the Penn State bandwagon, its almost fashionable. Its easy to see that Penn State has suddenly lost its two games after losing G. Claxton, but who to? Ranked Wisconsin and ranked Indiana at Bloomington (where they were neck and neck till the final 10 minutes). Sure they might not be the beast that could possibly contend for the post season, but don't write them off so soon. Their week is not going to get any easier. They face a Purdue team I put as fourth in the Power Poll and at Iowa where they upset a ranked Michigan State team. But this team will be fine.
8	Illinois	9-10 (1-5)	+1 (9)	The Illini have faced a tough slate of early games which may explain their losing conference record. With losses against the Boilermakers (#4), @Wisconsin (#3), and @Indiana (#2) it may seem the Orange Krush aren't all that excited this year. But if I may be so bold as to be optimistic for this team, having played all those tough early games, only means they are out of the way and this team can still climb back to an even record. A win against an even more pathetic Wolverine sqad is a step in the right direction.
9	Iowa	9-10 (2-4)	-1 (8)	Iowa is bad, but not Wolverine or Wildcat bad, so by default they sit at #9. Their Spartan upset was great, but that alone does not make them a great team. They did however beat up on the Wolverines, but it seems as if everyone in the league may do that at least once this year except for the Wildcats.
10	Michigan	5-13 (1-5)	NC (10)	This team is in the shitter. With 1 win over a worse Wildcat team, they were beat this past week by the Hawkeyes (#9) and Illini (#8). This leaves very little room to move up the power poll seeing as the two teams just above it beat them, but theres no time to fret, they face the Badgers (#3) and Spartans (#1) this week.
11	Northwestern	6-9 (0-5)	NC (11)	Horribly pathetic. The Dolphins of the Big Ten, just without the tradition.

Shrine Bowl was a microcosm of Morelli's career

2008-01-19T23:27:00.000-08:00

The following post is not mine, but was discovered in a Penn State forum written by someone under the title 'FireJayPa'
I usually refrain from actually posting anything from forums, but the following post had to be the most effective way anyone has ever described the disappointment that is Anthony Morelli. So enjoy:

Tonight's performance in the East/West shrine game was a pure microcosm of Morelli's career in the world of College Football. His lackluster performance of 2 complete passes out of 10 attempts for 10 yards with 2 interceptions was nothing new for Morelli.
Clearly tonight showed the nation , what most realistic Penn State fans have realized since Michael Robinson left. Morelli had the arm of Peyton Manning and the brain of the Scarecrow. When big passes were needed from the "unsung hero" of PSU , he came up short throwing behind receivers into double coverage. Late in the fourth quarter; with the game on the line and a 4th and 13 Morelli decided to run and came up a yard short; which is the story of his career...just a bit short.
I actually feel bad for Anthony, at any other program he would have been benched last year in the OSU game and could have began focusing hard on his academics upon realizing his shots of an NFL career were about the same as you or I. He could have focused on academics in relation to his major and looked towards new adventures and challenges; however due to the nepotism at Penn State; where a 3rd string highschool QB is now the guy that calls the passing plays, Morelli could not be benched. You see, because Jay Paterno is the QB coach; failure of Morelli would reflect in a negative light on the QB coach; so benching Morelli was never an option.
In any other program, either Daryl Clark or Pat Devlin would have had a real shot at being the starter this year; but as the story always goes at Penn State; Morelli "waited his turn...." so he gets the starting job by proxy. Just like an injured Zach Mills played over Robinson; Morelli played over Devlin and Clark.....
The last 2 years of Morelli ball were unfortunate; but it was to be expected with Jay Paterno at the helm. A 3rd string quarterback from State High, that never started a single game; yet managed to play at Penn State on the scout team is now coaching NFL capable talent. Jay Paterno, the same person whom would hide inside the Lasch Building during the "dark years", and then after the orange bowl said the critics could "kiss his bumm" , sat by and never really helped Morelli develop. Never was improvement seen; the game never seemed to slow down; he just ran around aimlessly , folding under the slightest of pressure.
In 4 years at Penn State he threw behind receivers; in front of receivers; into double and triple cover; didn't check down; didn't call audibles; and ran like a man in moon boots. He used games against the bottom feeders of division one to pad his stats, all the while struggling against every team in the big 10.
But it's ok , nepotism will continue to live in happy valley; despite being in the bottom 1/5th in respect to passing numbers since Jay Paterno became the QB coach; there will be no change... because well "it wouldn't be fair"

Well done FireJayPa, couldn't have said it better myself.

Fergie-licious!

2008-01-19T18:26:00.000-08:00

Fergie is coming to town April 18 for what sponsors are dubbing the 'Gridiron Bash'.

"The bash, organized by MSL Sports and Entertainment, is a multi-campus event featuring concerts and entertainment at roughly 20 different Division-I universities across the country, according to a press release.
In addition to the concerts, the press release states the events will also feature pep rallies, team introductions, autograph sessions and a fan component that allows fans to win money for their school's general scholarship fund. The Gridiron Bash will take place simultaneously at all participating schools on April 18."

In other words, its a money making scheme for Penn State to make even more money from its Blue-White mini-game. There is no official word as to whether they will still hold the annual Blue-White game because of this, but this 'Gridiron Bash' is almost the exact same thing.

Recognized!

2008-01-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

The mess I left behind at my former job.

Excuse this post if it's not exactly a winner, but my trip to Mexico with Jessica Simpson is partly to blame.
All the amazing data that were planned for this post has also mysteriously vanished after a visit from new Michigan Head Coach, Rich Rod and the only clue of their whereabouts are the thin strips of paper that are strewn on the floor. We are hard at work with crazy glue and tape to salvage them.

But in a rare self-congratulatory post, we here at NittanyWhiteOut has finally been recognized. No, not by some other blog, but by an actual sports behemoth Sports Illustrated in their Campus Clicks article under "Apology Long Overdue".

Apology Long Overdue
Remember those two Penn State students who caused a ruckus a few months back by dressing as Virginia Tech shooting victims for Halloween? One has finally come forward and apologized for the tasteless costume.

It just seems with the rantings and the raving, it can sometimes feel as if I am just venting into open space with the occasional visitors. It was just a really refreshing sense of recognition for a starting blogger. I am thankful for whoever brought that post to their attention.

Now if only I can find out how ball hype works and actually get moving up the rankings. I'm pretty sure I post more than 5 times a week and yet I keep hovering at the 100 range with no hype from anyone else whatsoever. So I'll just keep plugging away and vent until I'm blue in the face. I'm having fun so I guess that's all that matters.

Home Humiliation

2008-01-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

Officials: Donnee Gray, Terry Wymer, Steve Skiles

Technical fouls: Wisconsin-None. Penn State-None.
Attendance: 8600
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Wisconsin.....................   40   40  -   80
Penn State....................   24   31  -   55

Final Score: 80-55 (35 point margin for the Badgers)

I was at the Wisconsin game and I can tell you that Penn State should not and probably will not make the tournament and/or NIT. Here are some of the shots I took of the game. If they do make the NIT, they are certainly not a tournament caliber team. The team could not make shots, were inept on defense and were trailing by 30 by the time me and my buddies left the game. By the time we decided to leave, a majority of the fans had already deserted the sinking ship. What a way for Ed DeChellis to thank the fans that have finally begun to make their way into Bryce Jordan Center.

Glaring stat of the game
Wisconsin Free Throw Shooting:

F Throw % 1st Half:  4-5  80.0%   2nd Half:  4-4  100 %   Game: 88.9%    0

Penn State Free Throw Shooting:

F Throw % 1st Half:  5-8  62.5%   2nd Half:  0-3   0.0%   Game: 45.5%

When will Ed DeChellis teach the basic fundamentals to his team. Free Throw Shooting and careful shot selection is high school stuff. The Badgers did not use any fancy footwork or dribbling to win this game, they played a grind-it-out, back door cut, basic type of offense and it worked to perfection. The Badgers are a quality team and might dethrone Indiana for the top spot in the Big Ten poll this coming week.
Once again, Penn State padded its stats with inferior opponents, showed some improvement and fell flat on its face against a quality, ranked team. Hey, this only means another contract extension for DeChellis seeing as his last extension came after two 1-win seasons in the Big Ten. He already double that so job security must be through the roof this season.

Updated

Race for the Criminal Cup

2008-01-14T17:56:00.000-08:00

Even with the Big 10 Bloggers Basketball Poll heating up, there is another race that is just about to get started for the new season (thanks to Run Up the Score for bringing this to our attention). The Fulmer's Cup crowns the least-behaved student athletes among college teams. The Fulmer's Cup is now in it's third year with Marshall taking the Cup in 2006 and Big Ten's very own Illinois winning in 2007. For those of you who are unaware of the rules and award system, here is a recap:

Points are awarded for player arrests. These have to be current football players and verified charges, so if Uncle Jimboridicus calls and tells you that he swears he saw someone being stuffed into the back of a squad car…no dice unless we’ve got a wire report or an arrest record. Also, if it’s a graduated player, or someone who’s already declared for the draft…no go there, either. Coaches can count, but relatives of players do not.

The rules for scoring are as follows, but are not limited to:

* Murder: 5 points.

* Rape: 4 points. Downgraded to one if either participant is wearing a clown mask.

* Bestiality: 4 points. It’s a form of rape, really, no matter how much the goat has had to drink. High point value justified further by the fact that it involves having sex with an animal. You could say this was unthinkable, but in the past year alone two stories involving college athletes and at least the association with barnyard bonhomie of a most intimate degree have been reported, including the EDSBS Official GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD: the arrest of Oregon State player Ben Siegert for stealing a sheep used in a study on homosexuality in sheep.

* Grand Larceny: 4 points. We use this as a catchall for players being involved in crime so outrageous and well-planned it can only be described as ‘nefarious,’ ‘professional,’ or ‘legislation.’ Applies to large drug rings, chop shop operations, and the Haitian human trafficking ring that’s been run out of the Miami locker room since ‘93. (We kid! They didn’t get that thing humming ’til ‘95 at the earliest.)

* Hitting Girls: 3 points. We’ll downgrade this to 2 if the girl can hold her weight and requires daily medication to prevent her from gouging her own eyes out (since those were the ones we always ended up dating, and we understand); or we’ll upgrade to 4 points if the damage includes intensive care. Dad always said never hit girls, so we take this one seriously. Dad also said always double down with split aces, too, but we’ll be damned if we didn’t end up selling bone marrow in Macau the last time we followed that bit of advice.

* Car theft/Assault/Driving through houses drunk/Drug possession of the Tyrone Biggums variety: 3 points. “Drug possession” never sounds all that bad until you add in ‘crack cocaine,’ which is society’s signifier that your life has gone from that of high functioning simian in a complex society to that of a rat with electrodes in your brain’s pleasure centers hitting a pedal in a glass box in a lab. Weed? Par for the course, especially if you’re NFL-bound. Crack? Break out the Sports Century ‘Weepy Sonata’ music, because the story of your descent from boundless potential has just begun, and they haven’t even begun to show the grainy shots of 130-lb you huddled in a shelter on Skid Row.

* Fightin’ in ‘da Club/Weed Possession/Standard DUI: 2 points. Any scenario involving group fighting of a thugged-out, ‘we run this place’ variety, and marijuana possession of the nickel bag level. Possession of 100 pounds of marijuana is a totally different thing, and takes you right back up to the 4 point ‘nefarious’ level.

* Drankin’/Suspended License/Assorted petty misdemeanors: 1 point.

And with that, the new season is underway and the lucky team to collect their first Fulmer Cup Points for 2008? SEC's very own Tennessee Volunteers with 4 points when 2 wide receivers were busted for possession of marijuana (2 points) after being pulled over for a busted tail light. So congratulations, once again the SEC is ahead of the Big 10 headed into the new season.

Anyone with updates of student athletes and their antics are encouraged to contact us here at nittanywhiteout.blogspot.com and we'll keep an updated Fulmer Cup's standing throughout the season.

B10 Bloggers Basketball Power Poll: Jan 14, 2008

2008-01-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

Before we move on to the more pertinent issues, a few updates are in order:
1. Justin King has announced he will be headed for the NFL next year effectively breaking the recent successful track record of Nittany Lions that stayed for their senior years (Paul Poz, Dan Connor). King will be the first entry into the NFL since LaVar Arrington was the second overall pick in 2000. That's 8 years of successfully retaining Nittany Lions which we should commend Joe Paterno and his staff

Penn State junior cornerback Justin King has played his final game for the Nittany Lions. Terry Smith, King's stepfather and the head coach at Gateway High, told FightOnState.com and Scout.com that his son intends to enter the 2008 NFL Draft.
...
"The decision was ultimately Justin's to make," Smith said. "We sat down as a family and discussed his options and we just felt the timing was right and it was time for him to move on to the next step in his life.
"He notified [PSU defensive coordinator] Tom Bradley of his decision Tuesday," Smith continued. "He is out in Arizona at API right now, working out and preparing for the draft."

Eventually King listened to the almighty dollar, but we are happy for all that he has given to Penn State and wish him the best of luck.

2. Penn State (10-5) put a hell of an effort against an equally improved Minnesota (12-3) squad in a 76-73 loss at the Bryce Jordan Center. The loss can be attributed to horrible free-throw shooting on Penn State's part allowing a 16 point lead to slip away with an 8-21 free throw shooting (38%) in the 2nd half. This is still a lot better than being blown out in every single game so I commend the Lion basketball team for a great effort.

Officials: Sid Rodeheffer, Dan Chrisman, Dwayne Gladden
Technical fouls: Minnesota-None. Penn State-None.
Attendance: 10934
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Minnesota.....................   35   41  -   76
Penn State....................   38   35  -   73

Points in the paint-MINN 32,PSU 30. Points off turnovers-MINN 24,PSU 11.
2nd chance points-MINN 3,PSU 9. Fast break points-MINN 8,PSU 14.
Bench points-MINN 29,PSU 8. Score tied-8 times. Lead changed-11 times.
Last FG-MINN 2nd-03:14, PSU 2nd-03:35.
Largest lead-MINN by 4 1st-09:59, PSU by 16 2nd-12:58.

Now on to the important stuff:
NittanyWhiteOut is a proud participant of the Big Ten Bloggers Power Poll run by fellow Big Ten blogger Gopher Nation. So without further ado, here is NittanyWhiteOut's Big Ten Bloggers Basketball Power Poll for the week of January 14th, 2008:

1. #10 Indiana (3-0): This is the real deal, a potential Final Four team with the way they are playing. They earned a closer-than-should-be win over rival Illinois, but because Illinois isn't fielding much of a squad this year, it is not as impressive as it actually sounds. The wins away at Iowa and Michigan are important because we all know how hard it is to earn a win away from home in the Big Ten.
Quality Wins: @Iowa, @Michigan
Bad Losses: none

2. #21 Wisconsin (3-0): This was a tough decision between Wisconsin and Michigan State. But Wisconsin managed to get the win against Iowa that Michigan State could not. So by default with the conference race just heating up, they take the early lead over the Spartans.
Quality Wins: @Michigan (+16)
Bad Losses: none

3. #6 Michigan State (2-1): Michigan State has more quality wins against Big 10 opponents especially against a Minnesota squad that is clearly much improved over last year, but with just 3 games into the season, their loss to Iowa puts them just a notch below Wisconsin which managed to beat the same Hawkeye team.
Quality Wins: Purdue, Minnesota
Bad Losses: @Iowa

4. Purdue (2-1): While the Boilermakers aren't making statistical noise, their win against the Buckeyes and Wolverines are impressive enough to put them just about the improved Golden Gophers squad. Even their 3 point away loss to the #6 ranked Spartans is quite impressive.
Quality Wins: Ohio State
Bad Losses: none

5. Minnesota (2-1): The Gophers are clearly improved from last year's dismal squad, but how good are they exactly? Even after a close win over a good Penn State team at the Bryce Jordan Center, we can't exactly say if they are a quality team ready for the Big Dance.
Quality Wins: @Penn State
Bad Losses: none

6. Ohio State (3-1): This is clearly not the Oden led team from last year, but at 3-1 they are in a prime position to make noise in the Big Ten.
Quality Wins: @Illinois, Iowa (+31)
Bad Losses: none

7. Penn State (2-1): Surprising 2-1 start to the Big Ten with 2 wins away from Bryce Jordan Center which hasn't happened in half a decade for the Lions basketball program. This squad is rising and if it wasn't for a dismal 31% free throw shooting in the second half against the Gophers, they would be sitting at 3-0 entering their match up with a top tier Wisconsin team.
Quality Wins: @Illinois
Bad Losses: none

8. Iowa (1-3): Iowa is one of those squads that can be just good enough to compete with the best in the Big Ten, or horrible enough to lose to the bottom feeders. This will be a rough year for Hawkeye fans.
Quality Wins: #6 Michigan State
Bad Losses: @Ohio State

9. Illinois (0-4): The Illini have fallen on hard times for a proud basketball program. This has not been a great month for Illini fans. They were humiliated on the West Coast in the Rose Bowl where they clearly did not belong and now an 0-4 start including a 3 game losing streak. That is unacceptable considering the incredible Orange Krush support they get at home.
Quality Wins: none
Bad Losses: Penn State

10. Michigan (1-3): Shockingly bad for a team that fired it's last coach and stole West Virginia's. Wolverine fans everywhere are hoping their inaugural year with a new Mountaineer head coach in football won't be as humiliating as basketball.
Quality Wins: none
Bad Losses: Wisconsin (-16)

11. Northwestern (0-4): Dismal, absolutely dismal once again.
Quality Wins: none
Bad Losses: @Minnesota (-19)

Beat the gophers!

2008-01-12T09:55:00.001-08:00

Even the Ohio State cheerleaders couldn't get a thing right in the championship game.

So with the hiatus of Penn State football, we are now enjoying a healthy dose of college basketball. Fortunately for Lion fans this year, the basketball team isn't playing to make its fans vomit like years past. They actually have an undefeated record in conference play headed to a 2pm match up with an equally improved Gophers team at the BJC today. (With that, I have probably just jinxed the team and are going to go winless for the remainder of the season) But the Lions haven't really beaten anyone of significance as of yet other than impressive rare road wins and beating the Hokies in the Big Ten-ACC challenge. So this game will actually determine which squad is on their way to respectability. A win in this game, despite both teams being very much unproven can go a long way towards earning conference heading to the heart of the conference schedule.

Go State! Beat the gophers!

"I am speaking for myself"

2008-01-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

Remember the two students who made the mistake of dressing up as Virginia Tech victims for a Halloween party? The girl in the photos, Jessica has contacted us by email and issued the following statement which she has allowed me to share and hopefully help the healing process:

I wanted to tell you, that I am apologizing for wearing the costume. I am deeply
and sincerely sorry. I am sorry for hurting the families of the victims, Va
Tech students, Penn State students, and my family and friends. Sorry.

After a long conversation with my pastor, I came to the realization that it was
a horrible and tasteless idea—if I could take it all back I would … Turn
back time and wear an other costume I would.

I would like to apologize to anyone who was offended. I am sorry.

It was a really bad decision, I was not thinking clearly, and I do not agree
with what Nathan Jones thinks and says about his actions. I am sorry for
offending people and I am sorry for wearing the costume. I am speaking for
myself.

We at NittanyWhiteOut commend her for stepping up to the plate and apologizing for her actions. As 18-23 year olds, there is no doubt students make mistakes, some more evident than others, but it takes guts and courage to simply say "I'm sorry" which Jessica has done. The guy in the picture with her continues to argue his case under the delusion that people will warm up to his act of 'free speech'.

With fake bloody bullet holes in his head and Virginia Tech polo shirt, Nathan Jones knew his Halloween costume this year was controversial, and he doesn’t intend to apologize — “never ever ever.”

“I will die before I do,” he said.

We wish Jessica the best of luck following this ordeal and hope she can get her apologetic message across to those directly affected.

Too Easy

2008-01-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

Too Easy

reads the first line of the local Myrtle Beach paper reporting on the national championship. Last night, anticipating a better game, I dragged my buddy to a local sports bar to catch the game rather than plant myself on the couch which I should have done instead. Down here in South Carolina, we are on the cusp of SEC country so I anticipated strong support for their SEC brethren LSU. To my surprise, we were actually surrounded by people rooting for the Buckeyes. One was a Penn State fan which probably like me is sick of hearing about this SEC speed. The others were Buckeye fans decked out in Ohio scarlet and gray.

By jumping to a quick 10-0 lead which included a Beanie Wells sprint down the sidelines which the 'speedy' LSU defenders couldn't catch up to and a wheel route down the sidelines which eluded more speedy LSU defenders, we were pretty content with ourselves. But that's when it just went downhill. LSU point after point and hester run after run only sucked the air out of the Buckeye support and soon even before the fourth quarter began I had to leave the bar. Turning to the Buckeye fans next to me, I handed them the pitcher of beer we could no longer finish because I had to get out of there and said "I've watched the game last year and I just can't watch it again." By the time I returned home, Ohio State had cut the lead to two touchdowns but threw yet another interception.

And it begins all over again:

Ohio State is now 0-9 in bowl games against the SEC -- not a reasonable stat when you consider the two leagues, the prestige and quality of athletes and coaches at Ohio State. - ESPN

Because next year's BCS National Championship Game will be played in Miami, and the Ohio State Buckeyes aren't invited. Especially if the Southeastern Conference champion is invited. - Pat Forde

The Big Ten, by contrast, has been the baby's crib. Ohio State has coasted through that league 15-1 the past two seasons, only to collapse in the face of an SEC champ with a lower BCS standing and a worse record... he should know not to bring that weak Big Ten stuff back to the BCS National Championship Game again next year. - Pat Forde

Indeed, Monday's beatdown hatcheted straight through the core of Ohio State's program and the Big Ten conference. Both carried iffy reputations into the BCS championship – the Buckeyes because of their lack of wins against high-quality opponents, the Big Ten because of its 5-10 record in bowl games the past two seasons. - Jason King

It was another listless BCS mismatch, Louisiana State not even needing a truly great performance to beat Ohio State 38-24 in a game with little drama after the second quarter - Dan Wetzel

Georgia's president is hooting and hollering for an 8 game playoff because they were fortunate enough to go on a hot streak to end the season and clearly called out the Rose Bowl:

"If one of those bowls chooses not to participate, another game could be found to fill the void,"

This would therefore most likely mean leaving behind the Pac-10 and Big-10 champions behind in this proposed 8 game playoff and would almost never happen despite what all the SEC fans believe should happen following another Ohio State disaster.

Everyone else should form their Plus One and let the Big Ten and Pac-10 return to an era gone by and compete solely in the Rose Bowl if they so please. Yes, the Rose Bowl conceivably could produce a better matchup – say if Ohio State and USC entered unbeaten – but that would be a worthy risk for everyone else. Most years the Rose Bowl would be marginalized by the real tournament. - Dan Wetzel

So let the bashing continue for yet another year. And for all those Michigan fans who thought their 'rivalry' is more important than the interest of the Big Ten as a whole? If Michigan goes undefeated next year, they better be begging for a spot in the title game because they won't be handed one. So much for protecting their 'rivalry'.

Orange KRUSHED!

2008-01-06T18:33:00.000-08:00

With the Big Game approaching fast lots of vacation time available, I needed to keep my mind occupied. With bowl games in Toronto and the G-Mac match up on, I expected it to be a quiet lead up to the championship game in the sports world. But lo and behold I was wrong. Surprisingly, it was the Lion's basketball team that provided the biggest shocker entering Assembly Hall and knocking off the mighty fighting Illini in their Orange fortress. They might not be the championship caliber squad of the last few years, but the Illini are almost invincible at home and Penn State usually plays like a girl's high school squad on their road games so trust me when I say, this is a shocker.

The Nittany Lions faced a hungry Illinois team that had lost its last two at home and was playing for a loud, sell-out crowd of 16,618.

Way to help avenge our upset loss to the Illini in football this year. It was Penn State that upset the Illini on Feb 4, 2006 when they ended the Orange Krush's record 33-game home winning streak knocking them off 66-65. They come back 2 years later and deliver another gut punch to the Illinois faithful.
So what's the big deal beating a mediocre Illini team this year?

The 7 game win streak is the longest since 2000-2001. (Thats 8 years ago)
This was the first consecutive road win since 1999. (Thats 9 years ago)
With the win, Penn State starts off 2-0 for the first time since 2004 (Thats 4 years ago)

So congratulations to the Lion basketball squad. They've been perennially beaten up on since joining the Big Ten so its nice to see them enjoy some success.

Why we need to root for a Buckeye victory

2008-01-05T11:31:00.001-08:00

Over the last week we were treated to bowl games ranging from the snoozers in the BCS to near classics in the Capital One, Las Vegas and Chick-fil-A bowls. Your team might have won convincingly or lost in a last second heartbreaking fashion. Your coach might have abandoned your team for greener pastures somewhere else or your school just hired a new coach destined to take your team to the holy grail of the title game. From the hardwood crazies of Hoosier and Illini fans and the ice rink fanatics in Badger and Gopher land to the tradition rich pastures of Wolverine and Lion country, we all have a common goal. We must root for the Buckeyes Monday night.

But how is it possible for fans of teams the Buckeyes have beaten up on in recent years to turn a blind eye and root for them? Same way a fan who married a spouse from a rival school can stand living under the same roof. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Desperate times? What in the world am I talking about. This is the Big Ten, the one steady conference that survived the chaotic conference realignments of the 90s, the conference almost everyone dubbed the Big 2 and little 8 prior to Penn State's addition. There is no way the conference of NFL athletes, Heisman winners, mega stadiums and national titles is in jeopardy. Is there?

stuff about how Ohio State didn't beat a quality team this year ... how Ohio State backed into the national championships game ... how Ohio State doesn't deserve another shot at the crown after getting UNCEREMONOUSLY DUMPED in last year's title tilt. - Sporting News

Did Ohio State earn its title bid? Show me a single win that demonstrates Ohio State's prospective merit as national champions. What's more, imperfect is better than untested. It addition to wins over Virginia Tech (3) and Tennessee (16), LSU beat Florida (12) and Auburn (23). I look forward to my vindication on Jan. 7 in New Orleans, where the second-ranked team will finally win a game. - Fox Sports

The Buckeye's "only" had one loss; but they also had a weak schedule. In fact they only beat one top-25 team all year – Wisconsin. And, the Big Ten has no Championship game. So, they didn't have to play that extra, presumably tough, game. - SEC Sports Fan

Please, please, please…don’t let it be Ohio State. They are 10-1, have not beaten a single team in the top 20 all season and their conference doesn’t have a title game to make them earn the top spot in their division through head-to-head competition as in other divisions. Actually, I would rather see Hawaii play Ohio State and kick their ass…though Kansas could probably do it.

Getting the picture?
While most Wolverine fans take pleasure in all this criticism of their hated rivals, in doing so aren't they laughing at themselves? For all the mockery of Ohio State, most of it is based on their 'weak schedule' that they beat up on with the exception of Illinois. This weak schedule argument is both an indictment of the Buckeyes as well as their opponents. That would be you Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan fans. The fact that every living soul outside the Big Ten region believes Ohio State didn't beat anyone with a pulse is an insult to every man, woman and child who calls themselves a fan of a Big 10 school. What makes Death Valley, Neyland and The Swamp so much tougher to play at than Beaver, Michigan, Ohio and Camp Randall stadium? Must be their cooler, more spruced up names. Don't tell me Ohio State did not play the same trap games that LSU lost in. At Penn State in a prime time night game, Wisconsin which has no trouble winning in the Horseshoe, at Purdue and Minnesota at night, the list goes on. But critics continue to berate the easy schedule Ohio State had to navigate basically dismissing any of the aforementioned teams as quality opponents. The Big Ten has basically become a version of the Big East circa 2005 when nobody believed they even deserved an automatic berth in the BCS. How did we fall so far, so quickly?

It's true Ohio State gave us a stinker last year against Florida, but Michigan didn't exactly light up USC in the Rose Bowl either. And all that, in addition to Michigan's debacle against Appalachian State this year contributed to this media myth of SEC superiority and speed. So hate the Wolverines, Gophers, Badgers, Spartans, Lions, Wildcats, Hoosiers and Illini as much as you want 364 days a year, but we need a Buckeye victory. LSU has been dubbed the poster child of the mega-super dominant SEC even before the season started when everyone short of the Pope called a USC-LSU national title match up. So in order to effectively bury this Big Ten weakness, there is no better team to beat than the 'team of destiny' from the SEC. It doesn't help that LSU is effectively playing a home game for the national title, but I am so sick of this SEC superiority. Think one Ohio State loss to the Gators was bad last year? Now imagine two. For years the respect for the Big Ten has propelled its teams into title games and BCS spots because people knew if you did well in the Big Ten, you were good enough for the big match up. But that respect is slowly dwindling. The Big Ten needs a victory for the sake of its future. So suck it up Illini, Hoosier, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Spartan, Gopher, Wildcat, Lion, Boilermaker and Badger fans and root for a Buckeye victory, your teams' futures may depend on it.

Fields of Green and Gold

2008-01-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

Forbes just released the top 20 most valuable college football programs and while most of the data is to be expected, there are some staggering details:

	Value	Conference	2007 Bowl Destination / Record
1. Notre Dame	$101 million	Independent	Not bowl eligible (3-9)
2. Texas	$92 million	Big 12	Holiday (10-3)
3. Georgia	$90 million	SEC	Sugar Bowl* (11-2)
4. Michigan	$85 million	Big 10	Capital One (9-4)
5. Florida	$84 million	SEC	Capital One (9-4)
6. LSU	$76 million	SEC	National Championship* (11-2)
7. Tennessee	$74 million	SEC	Outback (10-4)
8. Auburn	$73 million	SEC	Chick-fil-A (9-4)
9. Alabama	$72 million	SEC	Independence (7-6)
10. Ohio State	$71 million	Big 10	National Championship* (11-1)
11. Oklahoma	$70 million	Big 12	Fiesta Bowl* (11-3)
12. South Carolina	$69 million	SEC	Not bowl eligible (6-6)
13. Penn State	$69 million	Big 10	Alamo (9-4)
14. USC	$53 million	Pac 10	Rose Bowl* (11-2)
15. Arkansas	$53 million	SEC	Cotton (8-5)
16. Texas A&M	$50 million	Big 12	Alamo (7-6)
17. Washington	$50 million	Pac 10	Not bowl eligible (4-9)
18. Nebraska	$49 million	Big 12	Not bowl eligible (5-7)
19. Michigan State	$44 million	Big 10	Champs Sports (7-6)
20. Wisconsin	$43 million	Big 10	Outback (9-4)

Penn State at #13 is more valuable than USC at 14? USC the annual national title contender is $16 million less valuable than a team that has yet to beat Michigan in 9 straight tries?
Notre Dame is college football's most valuable team?! I thought the Catholics were a very giving and sacrificial bunch? Oh wait, that's right, what was I thinking. Though I bet NBC's thrilled with this year's Irish bunch.
8 SEC teams and 5 Big 10 teams make up the 20 most valuable college football teams. Boy its not even a question as to what 2 college conferences define college football does it. The Big 12 comes in third with just 3 teams, Pac 10 with 2 teams, and Independents with 1.
Not a single ACC or Big East team made the top 20. Surprising especially with teams like Florida State, Miami and Clemson in the ACC and historically relevant Syracuse and Pittsburgh in the Big East.

Way for Notre Dame to prove what douche bags they are once again. Like the Yankees of baseball, they have the most money to invest in the program and produce as little as humanly possible without completely falling apart. But luckily for the Golden Domers, at least the MLB requires the Yankees to play themselves into the post season and if they don't they save themselves the humiliation. The Irish are handed a spot in the BCS the moment they qualify like the spoiled brat who feels entitled to all that holy on God's green earth. The only thing an Irish fan should be thankful for this season is that they finally are bad enough to not humiliate themselves in the post season. Hey, that's more vacation days for Charlie Weis to count the undeserved money he's stealing from the almighty 'Catholic' institution.

Head games

2008-01-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

First 3 minutes of a 10 minute Ohio State's motivational video the players were given to watch prior to this Monday night's match up with LSU in Death Valley South:

Apparently this wasn't available at the time:

I'm not one to question Jim Tressel's motivational ploys, but the video is kinda morbid, its like watching someone berate you over and over again. But hey, if it works... In the interest of Jim Tressel's motivational regiment for the Buckeyes, heres a video with a similar strategy for those Buckeye fans who need to make themselves heard in what will basically be a home game for the Tigers.

Rosy Tradition

2008-01-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

The Rose Bowl did nothing wrong and doesn't need to apologize for their decision. What decision was that you ask? Their decision to invite Illinois to play the Pac-10 champion USC instead of the more popular Georgia or Missouri.

First off, I myself would have enjoyed the USC-Georgia match up and jokingly blamed Hawaii for ruining the possibility, but let's put to rest the ridiculous "why weren't we treated to a USC-Georgia match up" debate. It wasn't going to happen EVEN if the Rose Bowl committee felt compelled to provide college football fans a great match up, which they aren't. The Rose Bowl, having lost their Big Ten champion tie-in Ohio State to the national championship, are entitled to pick anyone who qualifies (top 14 in the BCS) to replace them. But wait, LSU is in the title game too, so doesn't the Sugar Bowl with the SEC champion tie-in get to do the same? You're absolutely right. But because Ohio State is number 1 and LSU is number 2 going into the title game, Rose Bowl gets to pick over the Sugar Bowl. So now the Rose Bowl is faced with the decision of who to face USC.

And in comes the hordes of mindless football fans who claim Georgia should have been the pick. But in order for the Rose Bowl to do so, they must receive permission from the Sugar Bowl because they have the SEC tie-in even if LSU is in the national championship. Think of it as the Bowls owning the rights to each conference. So the Rose Bowl can either go through the difficult process of negotiating a release of the SEC by the Sugar Bowl for a USC-Georgia match up or go with someone else. So the chances of the USC-Georgia match up were slim to none.

So Missouri? Hawaii? or Illinois? Sure the Rose Bowl could have picked Missouri to face USC to create an odd Pac-10/Big-12 match up or undefeated Hawaii for an even odder Pac-10/WAC match up, OR stick to their century long tradition of Big 10/Pac-10 that has built the Rose Bowl into the premier bowl in the nation. So it really wasn't a hard decision. With Illinois eligible, the Rose Bowl could spurn the Big 10 with whom they've had a century long partnership (and hence ruining the shot of the Big 10 in collecting 2 BCS bowl payouts) and feel the wrath of James Delany and go with a 'reach for the moon' shot of satisfying the mythological entitlement of a good match up football fans feel, OR stick to what has been so successful for nearly a century and live to play another day. So it's not surprising the Rose Bowl made the right decision without a bit of hesitation.

With all the backlash following the aftermath of the Rose Bowl blowout, it almost seems as if the Rose Bowl committee committed college football blasphemy when in fact they are the one remaining steady, shining beacon of tradition left in college football. Coaches come and go, Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino proved that quite well, players only get 4 years of eligibility and uniforms can be changed like diapers. But we always have the Rose Bowl and their traditional Big 10/Pac 10 match up and pageantry. Talking heads like Stewart Mandel, Lee Corso and Mark May threw the Rose Bowl under the bus this season and the blowout only seemed to validate their whining as if every single Rose Bowl game in its 106 year history have been classics. So get over yourselves. Obviously more people want to watch the Rose Bowl even despite the backlash than the Sugar Bowl or a classic Fiesta Bowl last year without a backlash.

Mid Major Disaster

2008-01-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

Congratulations BCS, you have given us exactly what most of us expected when you tossed Hawaii into the BCS mix. Why do I say that? We have Hawaii to thank for a USC-Illinois matchup instead of a more evenly matched USC-Georgia matchup.

ABC/ESPN officials, mindful of the southern TV markets that would tune in to watch SEC players do situps, pushed for the Bulldogs to receive strong consideration.

But Georgia really wasn't an option after Missouri lost in the Big 12 title game, boosting LSU into the BCS championship. Without LSU, the Sugar Bowl lost its Southeastern Conference anchor.

The Rose Bowl retained the first at-large selection because Ohio State finished ahead of LSU in the BCS standings. But Rose Bowl CEO Mitch Dorger said he would have had to ask the Sugar Bowl for permission to release Georgia.

Dorger wasn't about to do that because the Sugar Bowl is its partner in the BCS. And with Hawaii in the game, the Sugar Bowl needed a SEC opponent to fill seats in New Orleans.

So once again, in the interest of allowing this 'mid major' phenomenon to fester like a bad odor you just can't seem to find the source of, we are going to get an annual dose of the 'can they actually pull it off matchup'. Hell if not, try again next year. I am sick of the mid-majors trying to crash the party. If they want to be taken seriously, invest the money, the infrastructure and gain the fan base like every other power has, hell even South Florida did it in less than a decade. Quit whining and earn your way in like everyone else instead of asking for your free ride. Don't think Penn State would have gone through Hawaii's schedule undefeated?

Congratulations are in order for Oklahoma on becoming the new Notre Dame of bowl games. To be beaten by West Virginia is one thing, to be dominated and humiliated is another. Way to not make yourselves look like jackasses when you wanted the national championship game because you beat an overrated #1 team in the Big 12 championship.

On a lighter note, reason why the Rose Bowl continues to uphold their Big 10-Pac 10 tradition? A whopping 12.0 nielsen rating despite a blowout compared to 7.9 in the SEC annual tie-in BCS game. Even the Capital One bowl with Michigan and Florida earned a 9.9 nielsen rating higher than last year's Oklahoma-Boise State Fiesta Bowl classic. Numbers talk people, if people around the country don't give a rats ass about your team, don't whine and cry about missing out in the Big Party.

Chances are the Virginia Tech-Kansas matchup should be more intriguing. Hell they've had 4 shots at this, odds are they've gotta get one right. Lets go State!

Update: I have to admit I was prematurely stressed over the idea that Bradley would be whisked away to Morgan town but thanks to the West Virginia domination of the Sooners, we can effectively bury that rumor.

Hail to the Victors!

2008-01-01T14:09:00.001-08:00

Never have I rooted so anxiously for another Big Ten team but I am bustling with pride that the Wolverines have beaten the 'blazing speed' of the SEC. Florida went 4 and out in their last 2 possessions in a row. What happened to all that speed? Shouldn't you be blazing past those slow Michigan defenders? Congratulations to the Victors. Chad Henne had a record day slicing up the vaulted SEC defense in Florida. Here's to Illinois putting up a fight against USC in the Granddaddy of Them All.
Hail! Hail! Michigan! The Victors of the South!

Fumbleitis

2008-01-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

So much for Wisconsin not being able to compete with Tennessee. They had them on the ropes the entire game, luckily for the Volunteers, Wisconsin made the bone headed coaching decision to go for it instead of kicking the field goal because they were back in field goal range with time expiring which would have won it. But well played by both the Volunteers and Badgers.

Now what is going on with the Wolverines?! Mike Hart? Fumbling? TWICE in the end zone? The lead against Florida would be 3 touchdowns at this point but they let the Gators back in. Someone should smack that smile off of Mike Hart's face after his fumbles. Last I checked, a fumble is not a good thing even if you haven't experienced it all season.

Let's Rock and Roll

2008-01-01T09:04:00.000-08:00

This is it! It's do or die time. Penn State and Purdue has done their job even if it was ugly, they managed to pull of the Ws. Michigan State put a valiant effort losing by a field goal to a Boston College team that managed to beat Virginia Tech at Blacks burg in the final 3 minutes and rose as high as number 2 in the country. Indiana lost by a touchdown to Oklahoma State. Valiant but commendable for a team that stressed 'Play 13' throughout the year. Too bad their motto wasn't 'win 13'.

But this is it! Tennessee v Wisconsin, Florida v Michigan and the big one next weekend Ohio State v LSU. I won't be listing the generic breakdowns for each game but the bottom line is this:
- All 3 Big Ten teams are underdogs, and BIG underdogs.
- Big Ten teams supposedly are a step slower than those from down south.
- Its time to win or die trying. Go State! Beat the SEC!

Happy New Year

2007-12-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

I know blogging has been brief, but I'm spending my time in good ol' South Carolina for the warm weather thanks to a good buddy who's got a place by the beach. So until after the new year, it will continue to be brief. But before I retire my blogging before the 2007 calendar year, here's a list of Big Ten new year resolutions:

Illinois - The Illini New Year's resolution is to avoid the Wisconsin syndrome. Yes Illini faithful, we know you're all excited about doing great this year, but have we all forgotten Wisconsin in 2006, or Penn State in 2005, or Purdue and Iowa in 2003 and 2004... The list is endless. Every year, there is one team that exceeds expectations, the media defines it as the first stepping stone to an era of greatness, but all too often teams simply simmer to mediocrity and fade into insignificance. Unfortunately for the Illini faithful, they are the 'it' team this year, and like a comet, they will simply pass us by. That's not to say they won't be a bowl team next year, but like Wisconsin they better relish their Rose Bowl trip this year.

Iowa - to bleed as much value out of coach Kirk's annual contract as possible. Common guys, he's getting the highest base salary in the Big Ten's collection of future hall of fame coaches (Jim Tressel, Lloyd Carr, Ron Zook, Joe Tiller, Barry Alvarez, and now Rich Rod) and you guys can't put together a good season since his 2 Big Ten championship runs? Luckily for Iowa, Minnesota is getting an even worse deal with their one win coach this year.

Michigan - Hey at the rate you're going, here's to the new Block M at Michigan. I know someone else probably already thought of that, but I am not claiming to be original here guys.
Common guys, there are over 100 universities around the nation and your 2 new coaches at the two highest profile sports in your university are from the same university. And West Virginia, no less? I know Rich Rod was a good hire, but its like asking a hibachi chef run a gourmet Italian restaurant. You're Michigan, what are you guys doing trying to employ a gimmicky spread type offense. At least it'll make for some great laughs next year watching the Wolverine faithful act like they're thrilled with the spread.

Ohio State - Hey, nothing will propel Ohio State into the new year more than a win against LSU in their backyard. I was watching the Penn State game here in Myrtle Beach at a Sports Bar and an Ohio State fan walks in with his buddy, a Notre Dame fan. Surprisingly, throughout its decade of existence, all this criticism of the Big Ten's weakness and alleged lack of speed has galvanized Big Ten fans across the board to come together and he was actually rooting for Penn State. I've never been a 'conference' guy due to Penn States' years of independence. It was more of a root for Penn State and hope everyone else loses type mentality. But surprisingly since last year, I've found myself rooting for Big Ten teams to punish their bowl opponents and anyone else playing a SEC team. So when the clock counts down to 0 and the champaign is flowing this year, here's to hoping for Buckeye, Wolverine, and Badger victories.

Penn State - To add a few more pages into the offensive play book. Penn State actually showed a sign of life in their offensive play calling with the infusion of Daryl Clark's running ability. And with news that D. Clark will have 2 more years of eligibility, this could be the future of Penn State football especially with strong arm Pat Devlin waiting under his wings. Think back to Penn State in 2005 and I am already giddy for next year. If you can put points on the board, Penn State's defense will usually finish the job.

Purdue - Whatever happened to that famed Boilermaker D? It seems that the last 2 years, the Boilermakers have been great on offense and dismal on defense. They have become the Big East team in a Big Ten conference and hence are unable to win more games. Here's to hoping they pick up their D and become bowl eligible next year.

Wisconsin - And boy did Wisconsin lay two goose eggs this year. Ranked as high as #5 until they were gut punched by Illinois and then destroyed by Penn State (yes, they were both great teams this year, but Wisconsin entered the year as a favorite to win the Big Ten). Seems like the Bret B's love fest is about to fizzle real soon. I'm still sore about his decisions to run offsides TWICE to kill time off the clock back in 2006 and I think that's highly disrespectful as a coach (especially in his rookie season) to show such disdain for what's great about college football. It is what makes us better than those southern teams in the SEC. We play tough, we play hard and we play fair (referees aside), coaches in the Big Ten have the greatest amount of respect for one another. Rarely do you see coaches jump ship from one team in the Big Ten to another and in comes this rookie hotshot wannabe coach and he takes advantage of a loophole that no other coach in the country wanted to exploit even after he did it successfully two consecutive times. Here's to hoping Bret B. learns some class in 2008.

Michigan State, Minnesota, Indiana and Northwestern should all have the same new year resolutions - WIN MORE GAMES.

Busted!

2007-12-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

Just revealed at Rivals

A Big Ten football officiating team that came under scrutiny for its performance in two conference games last month was led by a crew chief with a history of bankruptcy, casino gambling, child abuse and allegations of sexual harassment, a Yahoo! Sports investigation has revealed.
He and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2002 after the couple amassed $429,407 in liabilities, and two of the creditors were casinos.
• He allegedly has gambled at casinos as far back as the 1980s, and a sister-in-law said gambling losses incurred by Pamon and Pamon's wife led to the couple filing for bankruptcy.
• In 1997, he was charged with repeatedly beating three of his girlfriend's four sons with an electrical cord. He told authorities he beat the boys three times.
• He allegedly was fired by the Chicago Police Department in 1996 after two female officers accused him of sexual harassment, according to published reports that cited law-enforcement officials as sources.
• One of Pamon's former wives accused him during a court hearing in 1994 of striking her and sexually assaulting her 19-year-old niece, according to court records.

This was the very crew that officiated the supposed controversial Penn State-Purdue game this year. After Joe Tiller filed a grievance with the Big Ten, the crew was supposedly suspended but later everyone found out they officiated the Ohio State - Illinois upset the following week. Even in that game, Jim Tressel pointed to several bad calls during the game. So much for that suspension. But while details are starting to unfold, it is no secret to Penn State fans that we have horrible officiating in the Big Ten (Yes, even in games we win, some of the crews are either blind or blatantly idiots). Big Ten policy is that they do their own background checks on the officiating crews, but as we have mentioned earlier, they can't even keep their word when they 'suspend' a crew, how trustworthy are they when they conduct their own 'investigations'. Hell even Michigan used ineligible players against Penn State this year which went unpunished (not that it would have made a difference, but rules are clearly more like guidelines in the Big Ten). But it is about time outside sources like Yahoo Sports are keeping an independent eye on whats really going on. They are also the ones who broke open the Reggie Bush story.

Glad to see the Big Ten putting their personnel to good use.

Coaches in Waiting

2007-12-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

It seems the Bradley rumor is only starting to heat up with other blogs picking up on it and the Patriot Times reporting a telephone conversation between Bradley and West Virginia on the first day of the post-Rod era.

According to a source intimate with the situation, Bradley was contacted on Sunday morning by an intermediary sent by West Virginia University. This person asked him if he would be interested in talking about the WVU top job just vacated by Rich Rodriguez. And Bradley, understandably, waited about a nanosecond before responding, well, yeah, he would.

With this, the scramble for a succession plan has officially begun. Forums, blogs and news outlets everywhere are now demanding a plan they can look forward to perhaps in the next 5 years. For years, Penn State fans were only certain of 2 things, First, we would run first, run second and then pass third if a run would not get us a first down. Second, the next Penn State coach would be someone who is already currently sitting in the coaching box or pacing the sidelines. With that said, the front runner for many years for this elusive post-Paterno coach was Tom Bradley. He is the reason if not the sole reason for Penn State's dominance on defense so why wouldn't the Penn State faithful be thrilled to embrace one of their own who has brought them so much pride over the years. Then there was Joe Paterno's broken leg last year. This was the real clear indication which of his assistances was hiding a golden ticket in his wallet all these years and lo and behold, it was Tom Bradley and Galen Hall, not L Johnson, or Jay Paterno that were named interm co-head coaches. In the only game that Joe was unable to attend, Tom Bradley and Galen Hall coached Penn State to victory.

So you can imagine why the idea of Bradley abandoning Penn State for West Virginia is so upsetting for the Lion faithful. Bradley was not only an accomplished assistant, recruiter and member of the Penn State family, but he was basically the next coach in waiting even if he wasn't awarded the official title. Fans could see it, the administration accepted it. Even Tom Bradley recognized it when he rejected temptation from Temple and Illinois in 2005 for coaching positions there.

So why the sudden panic of Bradley leaving for West Virginia? In 2005, Bradley along with other assistants were aware of the new lease on life Paterno was given after a few losing seasons which limited Paterno to 2008. And in 2005, with a Robinson-led team, Joe achieved an 11-1 season with a victory in the Orange Bowl against his 'best friend' Bobby Bowden. Many felt Paterno had finally satisfied his desire to go out on top and would finish out his 2008 contract and call it quits. This was evident in recruiting as recruits were now informed of who the next coach would be should Joe leave. But turn the page t0 2007 and the end of another disappointing Morelli led year and Joe basically telling the world that he will stick around on a year-to-year basis. His main reason? Because he cannot imagine life not coaching hence he will continue to do the only thing he is familiar with.

So for Bradley, Galen, Johnson and even Norwood, what do you do? You were all banking on being able to take more control of this historic program and now the coach is not giving up and tells you he basically has no idea when he will ever retire. 1 year, 5, years, hell even 10 years if Penn State is willing to allow a funeral procession to step onto the field. And this is why we have seen Norwood reluctantly leave Penn State despite his son still on the roster and the panic growing for Bradley leaving Penn State. Because now, it is entirely possible. We can only pray that Bradley's loyalty to Penn State is stronger than Joe's stubbornness. Joe might not be hurting the program by sticking around, but he is destroying the post-Paterno era. The less he reveals to the world, the more chaos will rain in Happy Valley when he does decides to go. Let's only hope he has something up his sleeves.

Bradley on his way out?

2007-12-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

This has started gaining steam and it is really going to be a problem if it is true. I pray it is not, but at least we should be informed of the possibility of a Bradley-less Penn State. This was reported by David Jones of the Patriot Times (the same glory whore of a reporter who believed that Joe Paterno's salary was a matter of national security) so I wouldn't put too much into it until it is backed up with other legitimate sources. But at least there is the possibility of this:

Penn State defensive coodinator Tom Bradley has been contacted by an intermediary at West Virginia University regarding the Mountaineers' coaching vacancy, The Patriot-News has learned.
Bradley, who has been a Penn State assistant coach for 29 years and defensive coordinator since 2000, indicated he is interested in talking to West Virginia officials for the job, a source told The Patriot-News.
Bradley did not return two calls made Monday by The Patriot-News.
The Mountaineers are seeking a new coach to replace Rich Rodriguez, who was introduced Monday as the head at the University of Michigan.

I see no reason for Bradley to leave because it is almost a certainty that he is the next one in line for the Penn State coaching position. The only problem right now, is Joe Paterno has become so stubborn he is basically holding onto the job on a year to year basis leaving no room and peace of mind for Bradley and his assistants to plan their own futures. Do you think Bradley wants to stick around with West Virginia dangling in his face if he believes Joe Paterno will stick around for another 5-8 years which he very well could? Larry Johnson? There is no doubt Joe Paterno deserves to decide his future, but at this point, he keeps pointing to his age and whether he feels up to coaching as the determining factor of whether he comes back, and to the detriment of this program, it is not acceptable.

Sack Sandwich

2007-12-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

I can't control myself, I am still chuckling at the sight of Ryan Mallet running the spread option. I know Rich Rod is a great hire especially away from a school ranked higher than where he eventually ended up, but common Michigan. Its like hiring a sushi chef to take over a high class Italian restaurant. Sure you can slowly change your system into a spread attack, but didn't your little brother try that with inconsistent success just as recently as last year? I know, I know, you're Michigan and basically defy the laws of physics, but ask Nebraska how switching to a new system (though they tried the West Coast-style offense) overnight turned out for them. Hey, Rich could work out and dominate the Big Ten a la Jim Tressel style. But how successful was Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State and Indiana in a smash mouth league. Yeah, Illinois had its year this year, but how consistently successful can you be if you basically run a gimmicky offense.

Hope you enjoyed the sight of the winged helmets trying the spread option as much as I have.

Quarantine the athletic department!

2007-12-13T19:14:00.001-08:00

Seeing the trend?

	Non-Conference Quality Opponents
Florida Gators	Southern Miss (9-5), @ Florida State (7-6)
Texas	@ Ohio State (10-2)
Southern Cal	Virginia Tech (10-3), Notre Dame (6-6)
LSU	@ Arizona (2-10),
Ohio State	@ Texas Tech (9-5), Washington St. (10-3), Cincinnati (7-7)

There is something to be taken from the last 5 BCS champion. They all scheduled quality opponents from other BCS conferences. In this day and age of needing to almost go undefeated to make it to the championship game (except this year), schools are shying away from scheduling other BCS opponents taking the easy way out and paying for that easy W. This is why Coastal Carolina and Temple serves absolutely no purpose being on our schedule. If we win, great, no one outside of Happy Valley cares and there is not a chance in hell voters will move the Lions up the rankings for beating Coastal or Temple. If we lose however, oh, break out the ear-muffs because the laughter will be heard all the way from El Paso. So scheduling these useless matchups are not only unattractive to ticket holders, but is a no-win situation.

Recently some prominent alum have threatened to withdraw their contributions to Penn State if the two idiots who wore Virginia Tech victim costumes for Halloween were not expelled prompting the university to actually issue a memo asking the students to conduct an 'impromptu' show of support. It is not the irony of requesting an 'impromptu' show of support which interests me, but rather the fact that the administration felt compelled by the threat of the dollar that they actually responded. I hereby call upon alumni and graduating students to issue monetary threats against the school. If we see Coastal Carolina or Temple on the schedule next year, we will keep those dollars tucked away in our wallets instead of headed over to dear ol' State.

That'll make em listen. Money always talks.

We're moving on up...

2007-12-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

Oregon State is coming to town next year replace Arkansas State. And no offense to the Indians but the Beavers are much more useful BCS computer stats wise, and competition wise for the Nittany Lions. Oregon State is (8-4), third in the Pac-10 behind only USC and Arizona State. The Indians are from the Sun Belt, is 5-7 and plays more directional schools than the SEC. So you can see how the Nittany faithful is overjoyed with the replacement even if its not a major opponent. Losing to Oregon State isn't exactly the same backbreaker as losing to a Sun Belt school. The Beavers did beat #2 Cal at Cal so they aren't exactly the pushovers people put them out to be.

Oregon State is 8-4 this season under Coach Mike Riley, finishing third in the Pac-10 standings with a 6-3 record. The Beavers won six of their final seven games, including a 38-31 overtime win over No. 17 Oregon in the Civil War, as well as a victory at then-No. 2 California. Oregon State is playing Maryland in the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 28.
In 2006, Oregon State knocked off No. 3 Southern California en route to a 10-4 record, culminated by a 39-38 win over Missouri in the Sun Bowl.

Now that would make 2 interesting opponents on the Lion's schedule next year. With the Beavers coming to town and the Syracuse Orange game scheduled, we just moved a few spots up the toughest schedule list. Don't feel too bad for Arkansas State. They replaced Penn State with Alabama which should be a much more even matchup.

Now how do we get Penn State to kick Coastal Carolina off our schedule next year?

Train Wreck watch

2007-12-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

"I was only assisting them in their search for a coach. I have a great job at a wonderful place, a place that my family calls home. It's time that Michigan goes on with their search for a football coach. I'll say it again, I'm going to be the coach at LSU next season." Les Miles

Man, its almost getting sad to watch at this point. Its like the bad breakup between a desperate girlfriend and a guy who's moving on. You can kick, scream, cry and throw as many tantrums as you want, but its just not going to happen. Common Michigan, you missed your chance, and Les Miles clearly is in a better situation at LSU than returning to your mecca of Ann Arbor. It serves him no good, creates even more pressure, and your fans will drive him out faster than Lloyd Carr if he does not quickly return to the national championship. That IS why fans are deeming Les Miles as the next savior of Michigan football isn't it? Because he is back in the BCS national championship and Michigan is making their annual trip to 'We-lost-to-ohio-state-so-we-are-here.com' bowl. Its time to move on or actually pony up more money to entice coaches. This is like the ugly high school chick who thinks shes hot stuff and gets frustrated when there are no takers. Heres to seeing Appalachian State's coach at Michigan next year.

Inflated Egos

2007-12-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

It took long enough, but someone out there had to finally say it. The football world does not revolve around Michigan football. Yes, they are important. Yes, they are one of the winningest programs out there, but just like how Notre Dame can completely disappear from the face of the earth like this year, the college football world can become even more exciting and flourish. Can you remember a season of more memorable games and exciting upsets in your lifetimes?

"if the guy from Rutgers turned it down, why can't Les?" Skip Bertman (LSU athletic director)

I can already see the hordes of Wolverine fans headed to their local hardware stores for pitch forks and torches, but you had to have seen this coming. Lloyd Carr might have voluntarily 'resigned' following the Ohio State loss, but even my grandmother can see he was basically forced out. There was no option A or B for him. To be the first ranked team to drop out of the polls in losing to a subdivision Appalachian State team was the first of many signs of the eventual resignation. It was the loss to Oregon however, that placed the nail in his coffin. There was no turning back, I would not be surprised if he gave his 2-months' notice following the Oregon loss to Michigan.

But this is exactly the problem with Michigan football. They believe they are the center of the college football universe. The only fans that might be even more pompous would be Notre Dame fans, and they are a whole different animal. It is one thing to want a victory, it is another to demand it. Even as we speak, Wolverine fans are flooding forums and blogs demanding Bill Martin's head for blotching the Les Miles situation. Not once, do most of them actually consider the possibility that Les Miles would have eventually stayed at LSU. Yes, I've read the rumors about backdoor gestures towards Michigan that went unreturned, but even that did not guarantee Les Miles on the next flight to Ann Arbor.

Michigan, like their fans exist in their own bubble of self glorification. Simply the word Michigan can evoke a smug grin on their faces. And because of it, they expected coaches to line around the block in the cold with resumes in hand dying for the new opening in this mecca of college football. But eventually, the cold hard truth has Wolverine fans dismayed and angry. Even the coach at Rutgers, whose only 3 bowl appearances are under the current head coach in its program's existence, has turned down the job Wolverine fans deemed unattainable by mere mortals. The process is only going to get tougher on these Wolverine traditionalists. Eventually the athletic department will realize, that the word Michigan is not as powerful as they believe and cold hard cash is the way to go if they expect to lure a big name coach from either the NFL or another football program. They better learn it quick or soon we will see Wolverine fans headed for the nearest ledge of the highest bridge. To hear their holy grail is actually just another ordinary goblet will lead to mass panic in Ann Arbor.

Hey, I know the critics will point out that Penn State's resounding 'Joe Must Go' chant was heard just as recently as 2 years ago, but they must realize that while those doing the chanting might be short sighted morons, they did have a valid point. Joe Paterno came off his second losing season in a row and 4 in 5 years at that point. Lloyd Carr has been the definition of stable success in the Big Ten. He might not have been able to win the 'big one' but ask Alabama, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Miami if they won't be happy to have the success Lloyd Carr has had prior to his resignation. If Lloyd Carr couldn't cut it, boy does the next Wolverines coach have his work cut out for him.

WE ARE! ... Ashamed!

2007-12-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

I did not intend to blog during the weekends, but recent events have not only disturbed me, but jolted me out of my weekend hiatuses.

I could stomach football players making boneheaded decisions. Its definitely unacceptable, but not as sickening as the two idiots who dressed up as shooting victims from Virginia Tech for a Halloween Party. I refuse to post the images simply because they do not deserve further recognition. The two, a male (Nathan Jones) and female (Jessica M*), decided it would be a good idea to dress up as dead students from a massacre just as recently as last year. I have always deemed myself Penn State proud, but after finding out about these images in a phone conversation with someone in Boston who saw the images on television, I was starved for words. These two morons were unable to make the right decision a two year old could make when deciding to dress up as either the 'good guys' or the 'bad guys' for Halloween. I am ashamed to call them students at Penn State and understand any of the backlash that people around the country will soon shower upon this university. But do remember there are 90,000 of us. These two might not be the only idiots in town, but they are definitely not the majority. If I had my way, I would have them both expelled and tossed out on their rear ends in the freezing weather, but unfortunately 'free speech' gives them a wall to cower behind.

WE ARE! ... Ashamed!

*Updated (1/08/2008): I was contacted by Jessica with an apology to those affected and upset over the incident and parts of her email is posted. We at NittanyWhiteOut commend her for stepping up to the plate and apologizing for her actions. As 18-23 year olds, there is no doubt students make mistakes, some more evident than others, but it takes guts and courage to simply say "I'm sorry" which Jessica has done. We wish her the best of luck and time will heal all things.

Big Ten vs SEC : The North - South divide

2007-12-05T22:24:00.001-08:00

"Big 10 football is having a very down year, and they're living in the past to gain respect today."

I've officially been accused of being a pompous Northerner despite growing up in the West. But that's for another day.

There has been numerous accusations about the Big Ten living in the past and not modernizing like the SEC is in terms of upgrading their middle to lower tier teams. Teams like Mississippi State and Kentucky, perennial punching bags early in the century have now risen to respectability in the SEC and because of the "you're as strong as you're weakest link" type of argument, the SEC must therefore be tough if their weakest teams are now mediocre.

But teams like Illinois and Indiana very much the equivalent of the Midwest version of Kentucky and Mississippi State for years have become bowl eligible for the first time in years with wins against ranked opponents. Illinois even came close to knocking off Missouri which was ranked number 1 entering the last weekend of the season. But you have to admit, Ohio State's drubbing by Florida last year definitely left a foul taste for the Big Ten in the rest of the country. With the Buckeyes almost running the table again this year, it only seemed to give critics more firepower because a team that was humiliated last year by Florida is once again dominating the conference up north.

That's understandable, but not ultimately not reasonable. Any of the Big Ten's strengths only appear to be weaknesses through those Southern beer goggle lenses. Buckeye fans can point to their top ranked defense, but will only be met with laughter from SEC fans who claim the Big East is slow and inept on offense leading to that inflated statistic. To claim that playing away at Washington, Spartan Stadium, Beaver Stadium under the lights and Michigan Stadium in a rivalry game and walking away with dominating victories is tough will lead to screams of blasphemy and how Death Valley, the Swamp, Neyland and Sanford stadium are so loud, they could blind deaf players. So honestly, who are we kidding here. You're better off convincing me to send my kids to Michael Jackson's summer camp than SEC superiority. Though, don't get me wrong, I have the most respect for the SEC other than the Big Ten. There is no conference outside this Northern-Southern bloc that even comes close, even during the years USC is paying the entire offensive line of the New England Patriots to play for them. How many fans are realistically excited about their bowl matchups against the Pac 10 or the Big 12. Yeah, wins against them would be great, but won't earn you as much pride and berate the other conference as much as the Big Ten - SEC matchups. Its just a shame these inter-conference matchups aren't scheduled more frequently during the regular season.

To claim the SEC is having a great year of parity is one thing, to berate the Big Ten and call them weak is another. They might not be as flashy on offense, or take Les Miles type risks on fourth down, but that is just a different brand of football, and not necessarily a worst one. The Big Ten and the SEC are not just two conferences, but two ways of life. The Northern conservatism and the Southern chest-thumping don't always see eye to eye. And that is what makes the intersectional bowl matchups so exhilarating. This is why the BCS works. Even if Michigan defeats Florida and Illinois gets pounded by USC, we shall never know who would win in a Florida - Illinois matchup. And what's more conducive in stirring far greater passion than uncertainty. And how is passion not great for college football?

James Carville puts foot in mouth

2007-12-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

In an interview on ESPN concerning the BCS, James Carville (a political pundit and a LSU grad) had this to say:

"But the reason that we're watching Southern Cal and Illinois, a game which no one wants to see as opposed to Southern Cal and Georgia a game which everyone would want to see is because the Rose Bowl has to do the Big Ten thing because thats the only way the Big Ten can make money is by being in the Rose Bowl because nobody wants their stinkin' team after the champion"

You might be the Democratic version of Karl Rove, and successfully put Bill Clinton into the White House, but you are a bone fide idiot in my book. When you say "nobody wants [their] stinkin' team after the champion", you do mean Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State, the biggest draws when it comes to national ratings and ticket sales right?

Just as we speak, Michigan and Florida sold out the Capital One bowl in less than 13 hours in the fastest sellout in the bowl's history. This remark came as Carville touched base on why the BCS should be eliminated for a playoff.

In 2005 Ohio State's Fiesta bowl drew a rating of 12.9, Penn State's Orange bowl game drew 12.3. Guess what Georgia's Sugar bowl drew? A whooping 9.0

In 2004 Michigan in the Rose bowl drew 12.4. The SEC's Auburn in the Sugar? Another eye popping 9.4

In 2002 Ohio State's national championship game drew 17.2, Iowa's Orange bowl game drew 9.7. SEC's representative Georgia drew an amazing 9.2 for the Sugar Bowl.

Get the trend Carville?

But no, as stubborn about the SEC as you are about the playoff, it is people like you who have stirred moderate fans from the Pac-10 to the Big East against this southern entrenchment of inbred ignorance. What if, and there a big if.. Hawaii (corrected by a commenter) wallops Georgia (which might not happen because of the huge letdown against Pitt) and Illinois wins the Rose Bowl against USC? Boy, you better have an apology prepared Carville.

Look Ma! They're swaying!

2007-12-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Legend has it, when the Texas A&M crowd sways to Aggie Hymn, visiting quarterbacks are known to get nauseous and even puke at the sight. How can you not be impressed.

Or even more so by this. I thought convincing the white hairs to don white for a Penn State White Out was impressive. Try asking them to dress according to their seating section. Mind blowing!

Exposed

2007-12-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

	School	Number 1	Number 2	Voted his own school
Frank Beamer	Virginia Tech	LSU	Virginia Tech	2 / 5
Mike Bellotti	Oregon	Ohio State	LSU	25 / NR
Bret Bielema	Wisconsin	Ohio State	Oklahoma	13 / 15
Larry Blakeney	Troy	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Bobby Bowden	Florida State	LSU	Ohio State	- / NR
Tommy Bowden	Clemson	Ohio State	LSU	14 / 16
Jeff Bower	S. Mississippi	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Art Brines	Houston	LSU	Oklahoma	- / NR
Mack Brown	Texas	Ohio State	LSU	17 / 17
Bill Callahan	Nebraska	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Neil Callaway	Alabama at Birmingham	Ohio State	Georgia	- / NR
Lloyd Carr	Michigan	Ohio State	LSU	21 / NR
Mario Cristobal	Florida Int.	LSU	Oklahoma	- / NR
Mark Dantonio	Michigan St.	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Butch Davis	North Carolina	LSU	USC	- / NR
Bill Doba	Washington St	Ohio State	USC	- / NR
Randy Edsall	U Conn	Ohio State	Georgia	23 / NR
Dennis Franchione	Texas A&M	Ohio State	USC	- / NR
Phillip Fulmer	Tennessee	Ohio State	LSU	14 / 18
Jeff Genyk	E. Michigan	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Joe Glenn	Wyoming	LSU	Oklahoma	- / NR
Jim Grobe	Wake Forest	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Dan Hawkins	Colorado	LSU	Oklahoma	- / NR
Pat Hill	Fresno State	LSU	USC	- / NR
Steve Kranthorpe	Louisville	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Mike Leach	Texas Tech	Ohio State	Georgia	22 / NR
Rocky Long	New Mexico	LSU	Ohio State	- / NR
Sonny Lubrick	Colorado State	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Bill Lynch	Indiana	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Doug Martin	Kent State	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Les Miles	LSU	LSU	Ohio State	1 / 2
Shane Montgomery	Miami (Ohio)	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Hal Mumme	New Mexico State	Hawaii	Ohio State	- / NR
Joe Novak	Northern Illinois	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Houston Nutt	Arkansas	Ohio State	LSU	17 / 24
Tom O'Brien	North Carolina State	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
George O'Leary	Central Florida	Ohio State	LSU	17 / NR
Gary Patterson	TCU	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Chris Peterson	Boise State	Ohio State	LSU	14 / 22
Mark Richt	Georgia	Ohio State	Georgia	2 / 4
Mike Riley	Oregon State	Ohio State	LSU	24 / NR
Rich Rodriguez	W. Virginia	Ohio State	LSU	8 / 9
Greg Schiano	Rutgers	Ohio State	Georgia	- / NR
Howard Schnellenberger	Florida Atlantic	Ohio State	Kansas	- / NR
Mark Snyder	Marshall	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Frank Solich	Ohio	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Steve Spurrier	South Carolina	Oklahoma	LSU	- / NR
Rick Stockstill	Middle Tennessee	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Bob Stoops	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Ohio State	1 / 3
Jeff Tedford	California	Ohio State	USC	- / NR
Joe Tiller	Purdue	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Bob Toledo	Tulane	Ohio State	Georgia	- / NR
Dick Tomey	San Jose State	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Jim Tressel	Ohio State	Ohio State	LSU	1 / 1
Tommy Tubberville	Auburn	LSU	Oklahoma	19 / 21
Charlie Weis	Notre Dame	Ohio State	Georgia	- / NR
Tyrone Willingham	Washington	Ohio State	USC	- / NR
Ron Zook	Illinois	Ohio State	LSU	9 / 13

The final ballot of the coaches poll is made public and that is how things should be. There should be no secrecy with the coaches ballot in my opinion. If you're part of the 60 voters of the coaches' poll that can eventually affect teams on the other side of the country, your ballot should be public throughout the year. There's only really one reason why the ballots would be kept secret. To save the coaches from humiliation. Think Ohio State's Jim Tressel wouldn't want to keep his final ballot for last year secret when he voted Florida ahead of Michigan?

The lone coach who voted for Hawaii was Hal Mumme of New Mexico State. Who gave HIM a ballot? Other than that, the votes weren't really all that surprising. Coaches tended to vote along conference lines: SEC coaches placed Georgia or LSU in their top two, sometimes both, Pac 10 coaches supported USC and Big 10 coaches didn't really have much of a choice with Ohio State awarding the buckeyes the top spot and LSU second. Then there was Frank Beamer who felt he deserved a shot at the buckeyes despite having lost horribly to LSU earlier in the season.

On the Ball reward
	Delta
Jim Tressel (Ohio State)	0	voted the Buckeyes #1 and they were ranked #1 in the BCS
Mack Brown (Texas)	0	voted his Longhorns #17 with a delta of 0 from the actual BCS poll.

Drank a little too much kool aid award
	Delta
Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech)	+3	Thinks he deserves to leapfrog the LSU Tigers that dismantled them earlier in the season by voting himself #2 when in fact he was #5.
Mike Bellotti (Oregon)		This one is even funnier, the Ducks that fell apart with the loss of their star quarterback getting shutout by UCLA (that lost to Notre Dame) and in overtime to Oregon State, still thinks he should be ranked #25 despite not making it in the top 25 of the BCS poll.
Houston Nutt (Arkansas)	+7	That was a nice win against LSU Nutt, but that doesn't make you #17 in the nation. BCS believes you are #24 and thats more reasonable.
Chris Peterson (Boise State)	+8	"Oh oh Livin' on a Prayer" A win against Oklahoma last year doesn't make you #14, 8 spots higher than your actual BCS ranking. Nice try for BCS eligibility (need to be in the top 14 to be eligible), but maybe next year.
Ron Zook (Illinois)	+4	Hey buddy, nobody and I mean NOBODY in the top 10 should lose to Iowa. The Ohio State win was nice, but so was Appalachian State's win against Michigan but you don't see them in the top 25, let alone the top 10. So nice try for #9 Ron, but try #13.

Tried for the brass ring but fell on my ass award (need to be in the top 14 to be BCS eligible)
	Delta
Bret Bielma (Wisconsin)	+2	maybe you're new, or just trying to skirt the rules again. But getting dismantled by Illinois and Penn State means you shouldn't be BCS eligible. Try #15 instead Bret.
Tommy Bowden (Clemson)	+2	It might not be your father's year, but doesn't mean its yours either. Nice win against South Carolina though.
Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee)	+4	"I would like to go to the Rose Bowl. How about that?" Fulmer responded after being asked if there was a bowl he preferred. Well, you might not be going to the rose bowl, but losing the SEC championship shouldn't make you BCS eligible either, try #18 instead. Welcome back to the Outback bowl.
Bob Stoops (Oklahoma)	+2	Playoff this, playoff that, you didn't get the job done against Colorado or Texas Tech (far worse losses than LSU's), so enjoy yet another BCS bowl and try again next year.
Mark Richt (Georgia)	+2	Mark might have the most valid case of any coach to vote his team higher than the BCS standings indicate. There is no hotter team other than USC than Georgia at the moment, but doesn't that Tennessee loss sure sting now? Nice attempt at getting into the big game, but a bowl berth against W Virginia can be another statement for what could have been.
Les Miles	+1	Lucky things turned out the way they did Les. After this season, there might be no luckier coach in the nation than the one pacing the sidelines at LSU. A miracle catch to win against Auburn, 4 fourth-down conversions in one drive to win against Florida. To be able to reach the big dance after losing the number 1 spot TWICE in a season. Boy, you remember to take that rabbit's foot with you down to New Orleans. Or you could just have your wife drive it down to you the day of.

What were they drinking?!

2007-12-03T17:23:00.001-08:00

The Big Ten will have their work cut out for them:

	Big Ten team	Conf. Record (Conf. standing)	Opponent	Conf. Record (Conf. standing)
National Championship	#1 Ohio State	7-1 (#1)	#2 LSU	6-2 (#1 SEC West)
Rose Bowl	#13 Illinois	6-2 (#2)	#7 USC	7-2 (#1 Pac 10)
Capital One Bowl	Michigan	6-2 (#3)	#12 Florida	5-3 (#2 SEC East)
Outback Bowl	#18 Wisconsin	5-3 (#4)	#16 Tennessee	6-2 (#1 SEC East)
Alamo Bowl	Penn State	4-4 (#5)	Texas A&M	4-4 (#4 Big 12 South)
Champs Sports Bowl	Michigan State	3-5 (#7)	#14 Boston College	6-2 (#1 ACC Atlantic)
Insight Bowl	Indiana	3-5 (#8)	Oklahoma State	4-4 (#5 Big 12 South)
Motor City Bowl	Purdue	3-5 (#9)	Central Michigan	6-1 (#1 MAC West)

In the 8 bowl matchups involving the Big Ten, you can make the claim that Purdue is the only favorite to win their game. Ohio State, even though they are ranked #1 playing against #2 LSU is obviously the underdog playing the national championship in New Orleans (LSU's home away from home). Which idiot came up with that idea? Why don't we play the national championship next year in Cleveland instead? There is absolutely no way you can make the case that Ohio State is the favorite in any sense, way, shape or form going into that game.

Then take a look at the other matchups. Illinois plays USC in... lo and behold, Southern California at the Rose Bowl. This isn't exactly the Big Ten or the Pac 10's fault, they've been doing it for decades now, but my point being its also a home game for the Trojans who are on their A-game lately.

Then theres #18 Wisconsin facing #16 Tennessee in the South at the Outback bowl where the Volunteers lost last year to Penn State. Keep going through the list and you'll see unranked Michigan matched up against #12 Florida, Penn State against Texas A&M in... you guessed it, San Antonio, Texas. And theres the head scratcher of a matchup between below average Michigan State and #14 Boston College.

The only matchup I can see which would be favorable for the Big Ten is the Motor City Bowl where its the only matchup against a non-BCS foe. So can anyone explain to me how winning a good majority of our bowl matchups in the past is not a feat just in itself. There is nothing that will bring me more pleasure this post season than to watch Big Ten teams kick the SEC in the teeth in games they are clearly supposed to be underdogs in. No excuses, throw out the stats, shut those media types up once and for all and bring glory back to the north.

Bowl matchups

2007-12-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

	ACC	Big 12	Big East	Big Ten	Pac 10	SEC	other
ACC	-	2	1	1	1	2	1
Big 12	2	-	1	2	1	2
Big East	1	1	-	0	1		2
Big Ten	1	2	0	-	1	3	1
Pac 10	1	1	1	1	-		2
SEC	2	2		3	0	-	2
other	1		2	1	2	2	6
	8	8	5	8	6	9	14

Anyone remember the Big East's perfect bowl record last year? Well they play no games against the Big Ten and none against the SEC. With only 5 bowl games, 2 of which are against non-BCS competition, its no wonder they have such polished bowl records.

The Big Ten plays 3 against the SEC this year (LSU, Florida, and Tennessee), the most between any two conferences. Last year the Big Ten won 2 out of 3 matchups against the SEC and yet those hard headed fans from the South point to the Big Ten's only loss by Ohio State to Florida as their holy grail of superiority. But you'll have better luck convincing SEC fans of evolution than their non-superiority.

SEC East
Georgia	10-2	Gets the SEC at-large BCS bid without even having won the division or playing in the SEC championship game.
Tennessee	9-4	Tennessee (#1 SEC East) gets beat by #12 Cal (Pac-10) ends up playing in the SEC championship game
Florida	9-3
Kentucky	7-5
South Carolina	6-6	South Carolina (#4 SEC East) loses to Clemson (ACC #2) yet beats Kentucky (which beat LSU) and Georgia (#1 SEC East).
Vanderbilt	5-7	Vanderbilt (#6 SEC East) lost to Wake Forest (ACC #2) yet beats South Carolina and loses to Tennessee by 1.

SEC West
LSU	11-2	Loses twice when they were number 1 to Kentucky (who lost to Mississippi State) and Arkansas (who lost to Alabama)
Auburn	8-4	Auburn (#2 SEC West) gets beat at home by South Florida (Big East) and ends up beating #4 Florida
Arkansas	8-4
Mississppi St	7-5
Alabama	6-6	Alabama (#3 SEC West) loses to Florida State (ACC #4) and loses to Louisiana-Monroe (Sun Belt #3) ends up beating Tennessee that played in the SEC championship game.
Mississippi	3-9	Mississippi St (#3 SEC West) loses to West Virigina (Big East #1) yet beats Auburn, Kentucky and Alabama.

The list goes on.
People will say parity, people will say the conference is so tough teams can't get through without a loss, but what makes the SEC so much harder than any other conference, when the intersectional matchups show that teams from the SEC are losing to teams from the Big East, Pac 10 and ACC. So clamor down, we are sick of hearing about Southern speed. Take the time you rant and rave about the SEC and actually educate your student athletes. How bout that? Its time for the intersectional bowl matchups to determine the cream of the crop. There are 3 chances for the Big Ten and the SEC to duke it out and SEC fans, I know math is tough. But if you lose 2 out of 3 like last year, even if the 1 game you won was the national championship, you still aren't tougher. 2 out of 3 is over 50 percent. Get a calculator for Christmas.

BCS madness

2007-12-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

And the selections are officially in:

	Home	Away
National Championship	Ohio State	LSU
Rose Bowl	Illinois	USC
Sugar Bowl	Hawaii	Georgia
Fiesta Bowl	Oklahoma	West Virginia
Orange Bowl	Virginia Tech	Kansas

No real surprise with the national championship game. Say what you want about LSU or Ohio State, but the fact of the matter is, they knew how the system worked and did things right. LSU played one of the toughest schedules and despite 2 losses, it was eventually that strength of schedule that propelled them in. Ohio State on the other hand might have used the backdoor into the title game, but they won and eventually luck propelled them in. Are they the two most deserving? Probably not. Are they the best teams? Possibly. But even before the BCS, a national championship required talent, wins, and most importantly luck. There was no shortage of that this season for Buckeye and Tiger fan.

And Penn State will be facing the Aggies of Texas A&M. That's a scary matchup for the Lions. Their secondary could barely hold on against Michigan State's aerial attack, just imagine the Aggie's high flying offense.

Remember the Alamo

2007-11-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

"Nittany Nation, pack your backs, lock up the children, and get your tickets cause we're headed west to San Antonio!"

Its official, the Alamo Bowl has offered its invitation to Penn State marking the second time ever the Nittany Lions will be headed to the Alamodome for a showdown against a Big 12 opponent (either Texas Tech or Texas A&M). The last time Penn State went to the Alamo Bowl, it was against Texas A&M shutting them out 24-0 in front of the second largest crowd (65,380) in the bowl's history. Theres no wonder why they didn't hesitate to invite the Lions back.

So tickets sales will begin Saturday, December 9th at 9:00 am with 7 possible ticket prices available:

Club level	$87.00	*1
Lower level - Big Ten (best available)	$67.00	*1
Lower level - Big 12 (best available)	$67.00	*1
Upper level sideline-Big Ten (rows 1-20)	$52.00	*1
Upper level sideline-Big 12 (rows 1-20)	$52.00	*1
Upper level endzone (rows 1-20)	$52.00	*1
Upper level endzone (rows 21-28)	$32.00	*1

Just hours before the announcement I was going through possible scenarios on how we would make a January 1st bid. Seeing as how thats out of the question now, something more interesting resulted. The Big Ten has multiple bowl tie-ins but there is no rule that requires the selection of teams in order of their standings in the Big Ten. After the BCS and the national championship game has selected its share of Big Ten teams, the bowls then get to pick whoever they want in the following order:

#1 - Capital One Bowl - Illinois (Big Ten #2) or Michigan (Big Ten #3)
#2 - Outback Bowl - Wisconsin ( Big Ten #4)*
#3 - Alamo Bowl - Penn State (Big Ten #5)*
#4 - Champs Bowl - Illinois (Big Ten #2) or Michigan (Big Ten #3)
*Team already invited

Well this is why with the selection of Penn State, things have gotten interesting. With Ohio State locked in a BCS bowl, that leaves Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State as the prime candidates for the top 4 non-BCS bowls. In the event that Illinois does not make the BCS (they could still very will sneak into the Rose Bowl. 9 out of the 14 teams above the Illini play this weekend, they have to end up in the top 12 to qualify for a BCS at-large), that would mean with Wisconsin locked up in the Outback and Penn State now headed to the Alamo bowl, Illinois and Michigan would be vying for the Capital One Bowl or end up relegated behind 2 teams that are lower in the Big Ten standings than both of them.

Interesting how that works out. If the Capital One selects the Illini (the most likely scenario for a non-BCS Illini to pit a matchup against Ron Zook's former school Florida), then Michigan will drop all the way to the Champs Sports Bowl behind Penn State who they beat, and Wisconsin who has one more loss than the Wolverines. Talk about a snub.

Pick Us!

2007-11-30T10:07:00.001-08:00

We've got this hilarious post by fellow Iowa Big Ten blogger "Black Hearts Gold Pants" demanding a boycott of the Tampa area and the Outback chain of restaurants. They might be onto something here. Seems like Penn State is most likely going to end up in the Champs Sports Bowl, but the Capital One Bowl (which has first pick of Big Ten teams after the BCS selections) still has Penn State in the running with Illinois and Michigan. Penn State fans should hope for a Missouri or West Virginia loss so Ohio State will end up in the National Championship. This will open the door for the Rose Bowl to select Illinois leaving the Capital One Bowl with the choice between Michigan or Penn State seeing as the Outback simply salivated at the thought of inviting the badgers which got routed in Happy Valley.

Penn State				Michigan
Year: Bowl (# Rank)	Opponent	Attendance		Year: Bowl (# Rank)	Opponent	Attendance
06: Outback Bowl (NR)	Tennessee # 17	65,601 / 65,657	99.9	06: Rose Bowl (# 3)	USC # 8	93,952 (13.9) / 92,542	101.5
05: Orange Bowl (# 3)	Florida State # 22	77,773 (12.3) / 72,230	118.8	05: Alamo Bowl (# 20)	Nebraska (NR)	62,016 (5.41) / 65,000	95.4
02: Capital One Bowl (#10)	Auburn # 19	66,334 (5.9) / 65,438	102.0	04: Rose Bowl (# 13)	Texas # 6	93,468 (12.4) / 92,542	101.0
99: Alamo Bowl (#13)	Texas A&M # 18	65,380 (5.2) / 65,000	100.6	03: Rose Bowl (# 4)	USC # 1	93,849 (14.4) / 92,542	101.4
98: Outback Bowl (# 22)	Kentucky (NR)	66,005 (4.8) / 65,567	100.7	02: Outback Bowl (# 12)	Florida # 22	59,693 (4.2) / 65,657	90.9

It seems over the last 5 bowl games, Penn State and Michigan's fan base has traveled well. But overall, it may seem Nittany Nation just seems to flock to their bowl games more so than Wolverine fans. Granted, Michigan has sold out 3 of its last 5 bowl games (compared to 4 of 5 by Penn State), but notice how all 3 sold out games were the Rose Bowl? When the Wolverines don't end up in a BCS bowl, their fans just don't seem to have enough motivation to follow their team to lower-tier bowls.

So it would be wise for the Capital One bowl to select Penn State over Michigan this year. Who knows, we here at Nittany White Out could also declare our own boycott of Orlando in retaliation.

Underpaid and overachieving

2007-11-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

Theres no wonder why Penn State will never get rid of Joe (not that we want him to go, he deserves to retire when he wants to), but losing no matter means anything to the university for the bargain they are getting with this hall of fame coach.

"Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno is being paid about a half-million dollars a year, state officials said Thursday, ending one of the most closely guarded secrets of college sports in Pennsylvania." - Centre Daily Times

That is absolutely stunning. For a man who has 371 victories in Div-I (Bobby Bowden can kiss my left ass cheek for the 20+ wins he compiled coaching Samford in a lower division, hell Joe Paterno should be able to count the victories he has compiled on the xbox against his online competition while we're at it then), half a million is not only a bargain, but its a freaking steal for a football program of this nature. Iowa pays their underachieving coach $2.8 million to lose to rival Iowa State 3 times out of the last 4 games they've played. That is a 560% increase from Joe Paterno's salary.

Say what you want about the man, but greed is definitely not a word you can use to describe him. How many coaches with just 1 national championship have earned an annual salary increase into the millions let alone a man with 2 national championships and the most bowl appearances and victories barely demanding time off. Just because he comes cheap, does not mean he shouldn't still be winning. Since the 2005 11-1 Orange Bowl season where his team ended #3, he has churned out two 9-win seasons. There are plenty of programs who would die to stay in that position, just ask Nebraska or Miami. But this is an image of a man with class no matter what the critics say.

So Long Morelli

2007-11-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Indiana and Michigan State for becoming bowl eligible for the first time in a long while. We know how it feels to be successful coming off horrible stretches of seasons (2005 was memorable). And also to Ohio State for dominating the team up north for the fourth time in a row. I know Penn State has an 8 game losing streak and all to that team up north, but they aren't really our rivals, we just find them more annoying and a guaranteed loss in seasons we play them, but couldn't feel any worse about it at this point. But it must really suck to be dominated for 4 straight years by a real rival. I'm not putting jabs, but I'm just imagining losing to Pittsburgh for 4 straight seasons, man there would be riots.

But only more angry venting Before we analyze the Michigan State game, which in retrospect they thoroughly outplayed us in the second half because we once again went conservative and did the infamous soft prevent-like bend but don't break defense. Common, even I can break the zone defense on the Xbox, don't you think an accurate passer like Hoyer could rip us apart? But aside from that heres my take on Morelli.

THANK GOD HE IS GONE. I know theres a good chance I'll regret saying that if for some reason our quarterback next year which seems to be Clark at this point, turns out to be even more inaccurate and inept than Morelli and we end up with Zack Mills 4-7 era seasons again, but at least I'll know early on in the season that we'll be consistently bad. Morelli has the swagger of a Heisman quarterback yet makes decisions like a drunk chick at a fraternity party. Why would you throw 4 straight passes into the end zone when you are on the 20 where you can pick up another first down and get 4 more shots at it with just less than 2 minutes to go in the game? Why would you, knowning you only have 1 play to run, throw a short-of-the-first-down-line pass (down the middle no less) with 80 yards ahead of you to the end zone? Even if you did complete it, you have no timeouts and the clock runs.

Its decisions like this that has defined this player's (I can barely even call him a quarterback) career at Penn State. He is the only quarterback to ever silence a raucous night crowd at Beaver Stadium. If the game was on the line and you had to drive down the field for even a field goal to win or tie the game, you know deep down inside, Morelli is not the guy to do it. You pray, you hope and you rub on your rabbit's foot until you wear it out, but you know already even before he takes the field on offense, that it will either be a 3 and out, overthrown pass, interception, sack or a combinations thereof. Oh and of course, a fumble if he decides to use his 6.2 speed running 10 yards for a first down. You know as well as I do, if we are holding onto a 3 point lead and we have the ball with 2 minutes to go, there is little to no chance we are able to move the sticks enough with him to keep the other team's offense off the field. And after 2 seasons, all these have been true. Many have called Michael Robinson a playmaker, but I believe to Penn State he was more important as a leader. You see him on the sideline animated and talking to players, his supporting cast and keeping them hungry. Morelli goes three and out and struts back to his sideline and slumps onto the bench. No communication, and basically no leadership. I might not be down on the sideline within the midst of things, but it is clear that the receivers and Morelli do not have the chemistry Robinson and his receivers had. Yeah, I know Morelli broke the record for most pass completions and yards and what not. But when the majority of those completions are flats and screens (even he can't do those right overthrowing or underthrowing them), its nothing to cheer about. Even Zack Mills holds the record for the only player to throw, catch and run for a touchdown, but he will be remembered as a blemish in Penn State's lore.

I am glad this team has reached a bowl no matter which bowl it will be. It will give them 20 more practices to prepare for next year. But I beg you Joe Paterno, please let our starting quarterback the chance to start and play the entire bowl game. Morelli is done, his NFL stock is as popular as Enron, the only chance he might get drafted is if a team is desperate enough to want a powerful but inaccurate arm (wait the Dolphins might be looking). Because despite what the media says, Morelli can't be coached to throw better or use better mechanics. He just isn't smart enough. There I've said it, his tribal tattoo with his name on it is probably to remind himself what his name is when he gets drilled into the ground on a sack. Morelli is done and over with and I am glad I never have to see him again or have him ruin my Saturdays. We might end up with worse seasons in the years to come, but at least I'll see effort from other quarterbacks, more pride, more passion and hungry for a win. Goodbye Morelli and I'll see you at the nearest car dealership.

Jay Pa Must Go!

2007-11-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Michigan State game was horrendous. How do you let a team come back from a 17 point deficit? How!? And with less than 10 seconds to go and you're on the 20 yard line with 80 yards to the end zone, WHY in hesus' name would you throw to short of the first down expecting it to go 80 yards to the end zone? There is just so many questions I can't answer simply because I've become brain dead watching this Penn State team led by (I honestly can say Morelli might be a more accurate version of Zack Mills with better receivers) and an obviously inept offensive coaching staff. Jay Pa Must go! Yes, I've said it, and I probably will keep saying it until it happens. Jay Pa must go.

But right now I need to watch some other team get their rear ends kicked in and focus my thoughts. I am SO glad the Morelli dynasty is over. I couldn't care less which bowl we may get into. Which by the way, we would have most likely ended up in the Alamo Bowl because Ohio State had beaten Michigan to grab the Rose. And with Illinois win, they have locked in the Capitol One bowl and that means the Outback Bowl (2nd in line to pick) would have to pick between a Michigan team that travels as well as Penn State or Penn State which already played there last year and their fans were outnumbered by Tennessee fans. So honestly, we would have been relegated to the Alamo Bowl even if we had beaten the Spartans and ended on a 9-3 record simply because we were unfortunate enough to be just as mediocre last year with Morelli. So it was a nice practice tune-up for the Alamo bowl, but this game would not have affected our bowl picture in any way despite what the television personalities kept repeating during the broadcast. With a 9-3 record, Nittany fans would have been louder in screaming for a New Years Day bowl but still wouldn't have gotten it. Now the fans will just be a little more quiet and plan their vacations in Texas this December (thats if you still want to see this Morelli team one more time before we bury it and throw away the key).

More analysis on the stunner to come, but I need an advil.

Here we go BCS, Here we go!

2007-11-14T16:25:00.000-08:00

There is still a month before the first bowls kick off and there are already screams around the country against the BCS.

ARE YOU NUTS?! There are about a million reasons people cite for instituting some sort of plus 1 or a playoff system in college football. That is all nice and well, but no one seems to realize long term ramifications this would have to the sport that has peaked in national interest in the last decade. Not only will a plus-one or a playoff be the start of a slow death for the intense passion that is college football, it will in effect be eliminating one of the greatest traditions in college football, the bowl games. Yes, I know we can rotate the big BCS bowls and have them host different seeded matchups in a playoff system thereby we are still honoring the bowl tradition right? If you asked that, you are definitely not a traditionalist and see nothing pure in college football and should begin looking for season tickets to the NFL immediately.

The bowl games are not only a tradition, they defined college football. Back in the good ol days when we didn't have 20 useless bowl match ups like the 'International Bowl', which isn't even held in this country for gods' sakes, there was the college football season, and then there was the bowl. National champions were declared as a result of the outcome of the bowls (Again, I must breath because Nixon declared Texas national champions over Penn State who were much superior before even watching Penn State play their bowl game the next day. I hope he doesn't do anything else as stupid in his time in office... oh wait). And what we have today is a bunch of commercialized bowls that basically rewards mediocre teams with a reason to drag the rest of their families to cities and states that otherwise would be quite empty during bowl season. Is there really a reason to have the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco? Most of you young'ins would not know, but back in the day, the Cotton Bowl was a big deal. Today its just the remnants of what once was BBCS (Before the BCS). Imagine what would happen to the significance of the Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar bowl if we went to a playoff. Sure we could use them to rotate hosting the different seeded match ups, but that basically makes them all stepping stones to something else. What would be the difference between using the Rose bowl in hosting a playoff semifinal and using the International Bowl (in Toronto by the way) instead? Other than the location of course, there would be absolutely no difference, thereby forcing the major traditional bowls into insignificance. How does that benefit college football? It is a privilege to play at the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl garners memories of #1 Miami and #2 Penn State. What nostalgia can you conjure up thinking about the Motor City Bowl?

It should be hard to get to the title game. If college basketball did not have a playoff, do you think there would be empty seats when your team plays St. Lucia's handicapped institution during the regular season? You should have to go all out every single game, hold nothing back and let the fans roar their passions onto the gridiron every Saturday. Sometimes a fumble or interception goes your way, other times it doesn't. College football is just about skill and coaching as it is about luck. The last second fumble return for a touchdown or the blocked field goal to save the undefeated record is the thin line between collegiate and NFL football.

But my point being, it is because of the new BCS however that college football has the dedicated and passionate legions of fans that bleed their school colors. People can argue that the BCS is the reason why teams such as Hawaii and a few one loss teams (like Ohio State) does not have a shot at a title simply by losing a game or because they are a mid-major program. But ask yourself, isn't that exactly the way it should be? If we had a playoff and if Michigan didn't lose to Wisconsin last weekend, then they would have almost assured themselves of a playoff spot if they win out the rest of the season despite suffering the biggest upset in Div-I college football history and losing to Oregon only to pull out consecutive wins afterwards. Doesn't this basically make the regular season pointless? Every game won't matter. Lose to Appalachian state? Oh well, at least we can win the rest of the games and go on a hot streak to win the title. That is absurd. The reason why Michigan only has a Rose Bowl title to fight for since the third week of the season is what makes college football right. If you lose, you sit and wait behind the line vying for a title spot like everyone else that loses.

Oh, here comes the screaming from SEC country about going through a tough conference and schedule and how they invented college football and why they must be declared best fans in the land, oh wait thats just the fire alarm going off next door. But honestly SEC fans, enjoy these few years of dominance while you can, there will be years when your conference will be considered weaker than R Kelly's will power at a high school prom (just ask Auburn fans), and yet even then, you will want a national title game spot. Isn't this exactly why we as college football fans pounce on ever BCS bowl the moment it is released and actually care if another team on the opposite side of this country loses or does badly? Its because we don't have a playoff and their fortunes affect our fortunes. Hawaii is not even located on this landmass and people want them to lose just to free up a BCS spot. If you play a weak schedule, you'll be sitting in the back of those that play a stronger schedule (talk to Kansas and Hawaii). Voters and computer polls actually consider schedule strength so lets let that argument die. Undefeated Ohio State would have been ahead of 1 loss of LSU even if they played everyone in the top 10 before ending the season with 1 loss. Its just how the system works, LSU knows it, its not some big secret. If you want a good shot at the title game and forge your own destiny, make sure you don't lose. Its not that hard. Great teams have lost their shot at a championship because of it, but thats why we keep coming back like an abused spouse. The more you keep harassing us fans, the more we want.

So guys, take a long hard breath before you demand a playoff that is obviously not going to happen and I am glad it won't. The BCS keeps you attending games because even games against St. Mary's school of the blind affects your title hopes. A playoff will catalyze a slow death for the passion we have for this sport that makes it so much different from the pro game which has a meaningless regular season other than to win the required amount of games to give it their real shot in the playoffs.

Philly Excursion

2007-11-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

I am back from my first ever trip to Philly and boy was it an experience. There is nothing quite like taking the subway to get to a college game and seeing the subway filled with fans in blue and white and the home team scarce to be found. But after this weekend, I am certain Temple, for as bad as they are, is definitely a growing program. They have the facilities (Linc) and the fan base (Philly fans) to grow with.

First off, the Linc is an impressive venue. I have been to several collegiate stadiums and seen a few NFL venues, and the Linc is nicely designed to allow for maximum foot traffic to flow around the facility in as little time as possible. The worst designed stadium so far in my experience is Michigan where the concourse packs fans in like cows and even then foot traffic comes to a standstill where you almost have to leave early just to beat the crowd. The Linc however allows you to stay till the end of the game and still move relatively with ease out of the stadium with little pushing and shoving unless you are trying to crowd into the express escalators.

The game itself was predictable, Temple would put up a fight for a while and simmer away because of the lack of depth. This is why I am always amazed when overmatched foes actually pull off upsets in college football because to do so, they have to fight through their lack of depth which is amazingly hard to do. Try running down the field on routes for 4 quarters with almost no one to relieve you for a few plays to catch a breather. So Penn State eventually broke through and once again shut out the owls for the second consecutive time. Also as I predicted, the Linc because Beaver Stadium East and the roars of 'We Are... Penn State' rang through the stadium like Temple's never heard before. What was depressing however was Morelli's interception and fumble but other than that, it was a typically coached away game for Penn State. And to those who keep complaining of the Lion's roar that is piped into Beaver stadium, then I'm glad you are not around to hear the Owl screech that is blasted into the Linc at a ear piercing decibel.

The game was fun, chilly, but fun and the city of Philly was interesting to say the least. DO NOT miss Jim's Steaks if you are ever in Philly. Its located on South Street and there was a line around the block in the chilly temperature just to grab a piece of those amazing cheese steak sandwiches. I am salivating just thinking about the steak and mushroom sandwich I was lucky enough to try on my way down. And also a shout out to the great people of Temple who put up with the Penn State crew this weekend. Most were gracious and I'm glad we got a chance to shack up for a weekend. Hopefully Temple will grow and we can begin a new instate rivalry since our last one with Pittsburgh has been suffocated to death.

Go State! Beat the Spartans!

Baptism by Fire

2007-11-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Remember this?

Oh sweet joy. Point in my posting that amateur video is the amount of white in the Orange Bowl against a team actually FROM Florida being cornered into one crimson block of the entire stadium. This is going to be another opportunity to invade someone else's back yard Penn State. As of yesterday, the 70,000 seater Linc (where the Eagles, Temple, and Army play-- only the Eagle games has ever sold out) is sold out.
This is the first sell out in the history of Temple (who was once in the Big East just a few years ago, guess Pittsburgh fans don't like to travel to Philly).

I'm getting ready to head East to Philly in a few hours. It'll be my first trip to the city of brotherly love and I am pumped. Temple should put up a half of fight, knowing Joe Paterno's conservative play calling, it'll be close for a while, then the Lions will break open the flood gates. Last year the owls were shut out at Beaver stadium, I'm hoping for it again tomorrow. Their starting quarterback is injured and while their backup has already played one game prior to this, the Lions are an actual opponent that won't lay dead, and their own home crowd will be packed (unless it rains which is being predicted as of right now) and hostile . But nonetheless, the Lions are no opponent to baptize a backup quarterback.

WhiteOut Prediction: 42-10 Lions take it.

Go State! Bring your ponchos, and wear white! See you at the Linc!

Owl Hunting Season

2007-11-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, talk about a difference in perspective:

From the Collegian:
'This weekend's game between Penn State and Temple is slated to be the biggest home game in the history of the Owls' football program, said the school's director of ticket operations, Owen Godfrey.'

I am just excited to actually get the chance to visit Philadelphia for the first time in my life and see the Linc (Lincoln Financial Center) for the first time after seeing it on television for Eagles games (Sorry Owls).
This did crack me up though:

'Every day this week, Cherry Crusaders will be stationed at various places on campus, selling buttons that say, "We aren't Penn State."'

Yeah, its obvious you aren't, the biggest game in the HISTORY of your football program is against a Penn State team who's not ranked in 2 out of 4 polls and who's fans will definitely white out the Linc like we did to the Orange Bowl in 2005. The Miami Herald the next day plastered a front page image of the stadium in White and called it a "Northern Invasion". So I'm glad you are excited Owl fans, but so are we, Nittany Nation is poised to invade your city for a weekend. Just make sure to chant your name real loud, the television audience might wonder why Beaver Stadium looks different. It shall be fun.