Former Foes

Time to take a weekly look back at Penn State's past competition. So how bad is Akron anyway?

Akron (2-7)

BEAT Kent State 28-20

Holly crap, Akron won a game! And they did it with an offensive explosion that saw the Zips score a TD in every quarter. Patrick "throws the ball" Nicely had a good game completing 19 of his 34 passes for 261 yards and 2 TD's as Akron rolled up 429 yards of offense. Problem was they gave up 415 as Golden Flashes QB Spencer Keith completed 30 of his 59!!! attempts for 377 yards. But Keith's big day wasn't quite enough as the Zips beat Kent State for the ninth time in ten tries.

Next up: That juggernaut from the east - Temple (7-2, bitches)

Syracuse (3-6)

Got demolished by Shitsburgh 37-10

Pitt's Greg Williams returned a 51-yard interception for a TD with 1:20 left in the first half to start the Panthers rout, a play that blew open a slim 6-3 lead. Pitt woke up and scored 24 unanswered points in the second half mostly on the back of freshman RB Dion Lewis who ran for 110 yards and a TD, his sixth 100 yard game. 'Cuse QB Greg Paulus was ineffective throwing for only 120 yards with 2 picks. It didn't help that Syracuse was without their best receiver Mike Williams, who quit the team on Monday after averaging 106.6 yards receiving per game. The Orange came into the game with the 106^th ranked offense in the nation.

Next up: Equally unimpressive Louisville (3-6)

Temple (7-2)

Beat Miami (of the Ohio variety) 34-32

Matt Hayes had this to say in his Big Ten Conference call yesterday:

Penn State: Go down the schedule and find a marquee win for the Nittany Lions this fall. The best so far: Northwestern. Yet somehow, this team will win 10 games.

Ok, his brutal honesty aside (he is absolutely right, PSU has beat no one of any substance), I would argue that Penn State's best victory is Temple. They've won seven in a row, are undefeated in the MAC in first place in their conference and get Akron and Kent State, whom Akron just beat, before the final showdown with Ohio. Temple is going to be 9-2 going into the Ohio game and will most certainly be bowling this year. What an improvement for Coach Al Golden.

As for the game it wasn't easy, Temple blew a 31-13 fourth quarter lead when they gave up three unanswered TD's to the RedHawks to fall behind 32-31, but Brandon McManus kicked an 18-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to give the Owls the lead for good. RB Bernard Pierce ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns as Temple outgained Miami 224-52 on the ground. Let's put this all in perspective here people: Temple hasn't had a winning streak like this since they won 8 straight way back in 1973… the year I was born. They won seven games total from 2002-05. Winning is contagious and I'll let Coach Golden say it best:

"Three years ago, our team couldn't win these games, and if they did it was an anomaly," coach Al Golden said. "Now the team has some toughness, some mental toughness and character."

Temple is actually thinking MAC championship. Amazing.

Next up: Akron (2-7)

Iowa (9-1)

Lost to Northwestern 17-10

All the close victories, all the fourth quarter comebacks, all the Stanzi-ball miracles all came crumbling down on Iowa. Stanzi was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury and Iowa could not recover. After Stanzi went down, Freshman James Vandenberg took over and could not muster a single point the rest of the game. Northwestern scored two TD's in the second quarter off of two Iowa turnovers: a recovered fumble in the endzone on the play where Stanzi was hurt and a 4 yard TD pass after an interception on Vandenberg's first pass attempt. It was finally too much of a hole for Iowa to climb out of. Stanzi's injury is most likely a severe sprain after X-ray's came back negative but he'll probably be out of the big showdown next week at the Shoe. With all the injuries mounting, the showdown for the Big Ten title against Ohio State, who is playing the best ball of their season, looks like a one-sided romp.

Next Up: Ohio State (8-2)

Illinois (3-6)

Beat Minnesota 35-32

Juice Williams' nightmare senior season continues as he sprained his ankle after starting the game on fire completing all five of his passes, one for a TD. His replacement, Jacob Charest, came in and threw for 185 yards and a touchdown as the Fighting Zookers used a furious pass rush and some bad decisions by Gophers QB Adam Webber for the victory. Webber, after throwing for 415 yards against Sparty, threw a pick six, fumbled, missed open wide receivers, and held the ball too long on his way to dreadful first half. Webber completed just 5 of 17 passes for 174 yards in the opening two quarters and finished just 14 of 31 for 221 yards.

Next Up: Northwestern (6-4)

Eastern Illinois (7-2)

BYE

Next Up: UT Martin (4-5)

Minnesota (5-5)

Lost to Illinois 35-32

Next up: South Dakota State (7-2)

Michigan (5-5)

Lost to Purdue 38-36

Talk about your teams going in different directions, after starting 4-0 Michigan is looking at 5-7 with games against Wisconsin and Ohio State while Purdue, after starting 1-5, could squeak into a bowl if the beat Michigan State and Indiana. Purdue QB Joey Elliott threw for a career-high 367 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another. Purdue overcame a 24-10 halftime deficit when they scored on the aforementioned Joey Elliott TD run with 10:28 to play to take a 38-30 lead. Michigan answered with a Brandon Minor TD run, who finished with 154 yards and 3 touchdowns, but Michigan's two point conversion was no good and Purdue recovered the onside kick. It was a game of offense as the two teams combined for 921 yards of total offense. Michigan's defense has been a total wreck lately, in the past three games, the Wolverines have been outscored 75-12 in the second half by Purdue, Illinois and Penn State.

Next up: Wisconsin(7-2)

Northwestern(6-4)

Beat Iowa 17-10

Next up: Illinois (3-6)

Blogpoll Draft: A Whole Lot Of Meh Going On

Another ugly week of upsets makes for another ugly poll. No one is separating themselves from the pack, which leaves us with a huddled mass of blah. I painted myself into a corner with Oregon, USC, Ohio State and Penn State so it was settled with the transitive property. I know, I see Utah there, but they'll stick around another week and we'll see how that TCU game shakes out. Iowa finally gave in after spending the season being poisoned, shot, beaten, castrated, tied up and thrown into an icy river. The loss of Stanzi couldn't come at a worse time, he's got the mystical powers they need heading into Columbus. I have a bad feeling that a collapse might be imminent and that's unfortunate to see after the season they've had. Oregon State, on the other hand, might be getting itself in shape at the right time to deliver a rematch of USC and Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, thanks in part to Penn State's non-appearance and Stanford's gotcha game. It's a mess, have at it. Corrections, suggestions and objections are always welcome.

Games Watched: Virginia Tech/East Carolina, Louisiana Tech/Boise State, Ohio State/Penn State, Florida State/Clemson and UConn/Cincinnati.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Texas	1
3	Alabama	1
4	Cincinnati	1
5	TCU	1
6	Boise State	1
7	Georgia Tech	2
8	Iowa	6
9	Miami (Florida)	3
10	Houston	3
11	Utah	3
12	LSU	2
13	Oregon	5
14	Southern Cal	1
15	Ohio State	1
16	Penn State	5
17	Wisconsin
18	Pittsburgh
19	Oklahoma State
20	Arizona
21	Virginia Tech	1
22	Oregon State
23	Auburn	1
24	Clemson
25	Brigham Young
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Notre Dame (#21), California (#23), Oklahoma (#25).

The Breakdown:

1. Florida
9/5 – Charleston Southern 62-3 (624/323)
9/12 – Troy 56-6 (663/139)
9/19 – Tennessee 23-13 (323/210)
9/26 – at Kentucky 41-7 (495/179)
10/10 – at LSU 13-3 (327/162)
10/17 – Arkansas 23-20 (391/357)
10/24 – at Mississippi St. 29-19 (376/237)
10/31 – Georgia 41-17 (374/286)
11/7 – Vanderbilt 27-3 (375/199)
11/14 – at South Carolina
11/21 – Florida International
11/27 – Florida St.

2. Texas
9/5 – Louisiana-Monroe 59-20 (562/298)
9/12- at Wyoming 41-10 (544/273)
9/19 – Texas Tech 34-24 (340/414)
9/26 – UTEP 64-7 (639/53)
10/10 – Colorado 38-14 (313/127)
10/17 – Oklahoma 16-13 (269/311)
10/24 – at Missouri 41-7 (400/173)
10/31 – at Oklahoma St. 41-14 (275/277)
11/7 – UCF 35-3 (537/151)
11/14 – at Baylor
11/21 – Kansas
11/26 – at Texas A&M

3. Alabama
9/5 – Virginia Tech (in Atlanta, GA) 34-24 (498/155)
9/12 – Florida International 40-14 (516/214)
9/19 – North Texas 53-7 (523/126)
9/26 – Arkansas 35-7 (425/254)
10/3 – at Kentucky 38-20 (352/301)
10/10 – at Ole Miss 22-3 (354/212)
10/17 – South Carolina 20-6 (356/278)
10/24 – Tennessee 12-10 (256/341)
11/7 – LSU 24-15 (452/253)
11/14 – at Mississippi St.
11/21 – Chattanooga
11/27 – at Auburn

4. Cincinnati
9/7 – at Rutgers 47-15 (564/293)
9/12 – Southeast Missouri St. 70-3 (578/176)
9/19 – at Oregon St. 28-18 (408/344)
9/26 – Fresno St. 28-20 (357/443)
10/3 – at Miami(OH) 37-13 (434/316)
10/15 – at South Florida 34-17 (401/376)
10/24 – Louisville 41-10 (468/275)
10/31 – at Syracuse 28-7 (422-283)
11/7 – UConn 47-45 (711/462)
11/13 – West Virginia
11/27 – Illinois
12/5 – at Pittsburgh

5. TCU
9/12 – at Virginia 30-14 (380/177)
9/19 – Texas St. 56-21 (508/249)
9/26 – at Clemson 14-10 (388/309)
10/3 – at SMU 39-14 (418/224)
10/10 – at Air Force 20-17 (393/287)
10/17 – Colorado St. 44-6 (499/182)
10/24 – at BYU 38-7 (412/298)
10/31 – UNLV 41-0 (578/160)
11/7 – at San Diego St. 55-12 (551/279)
11/14 – Utah
11/21 – at Wyoming
11/28 – New Mexico

6. Boise St.
9/3 – Oregon 19-8 (361/152)
9/12 – Miami(OH) 48-0 (441/194)
9/18 – at Fresno St. 51-34 (480/507)
9/26 – at Bowling Green 49-14 (529/282)
10/3 – UC Davis 34-16 (386/234)
10/14 – at Tulsa 28-21 (380/295)
10/24 – at Hawaii 54-9 (472/307)
10/31 – San Jose St. 45-7 (430/223)
11/6 – Louisiana Tech 45-35 (507/250)
11/14 – Idaho
11/20 – at Utah St.
11/27 – Nevada
12/5 – New Mexico St.

7. Georgia Tech
9/5 – Jacksonville St. 37-17 (497/291)
9/10 – Clemson 30-27 (418/386)
917 – at Miami 17-33 (228/454)
9/26 – North Carolina 24-7 (406/154)
10/3 – at Mississippi St. 42-31 (479/487)
10/10 – at Florida St.49-44 (532/539)
10/17 – Virginia Tech 28-23 (360/334)
10/24 – at Virginia 34-9 (447/198)
10/31 – at Vanderbilt 56-31 (597/397)
11/7 – Wake Forest 30-27 (463/291)
11/14 – at Duke
11/28 – Georgia

8. Iowa
9/5 – Northern Iowa 17-16 (329/354)
9/12 – at Iowa St. 35-3 (426/303)
9/19- Arizona 27-17 (338/253)
9/26 – at Penn St. 21-10 (298/307)
10/3 – Arkansas St. 24-21 (420/296)
10/10 – Michigan 30-28 (367/319)
10/17 – at Wisconsin 20-10 (283/230)
10/24 – at Michigan St. 15-13 (276/310)
10/31 – Indiana 42-24 (480/306)
11/7 – Northwestern 10-17 (281/239)
11/14 – at Ohio St.
11/21 – Minnesota

9. Miami
9/7 – at Florida St. 38-34 (476/404)
9/17 – Georgia Tech 33-17 (454/228)
9/26 – at Virginia Tech 7-31 (209/370)
10/3 – Oklahoma 21-20 (342/341)
10/10 – Florida A&M 48-16 (470/262)
10/17 – at UCF 27-7 (363/229)
10/24 – Clemson 37-40 OT (433/410)
10/31 – at Wake Forest 28-27 (356/555)
11/7 – Virginia 52-17 (515/149)
11/14 – at North Carolina
11/21 – Duke
11/28 – at South Florida

10. Houston
9/5 – Northwestern St. 55-7 (538/263)
9/12 – at Oklahoma St. 45-35 (512/434)
9/26 – Texas Tech 29-28 (579/484)
10/3 – at UTEP 41-58 (664/581)
10/10 – at Mississippi St. 31-24 (553/490)
10/17 – at Tulane 44-16 (516/437)
10/24 – SMU 38-15 (394/397)
10/31 – Southern Miss 50-43 (750/608)
11/7 – at Tulsa 46-45 (695/534)
11/14 – at UCF
11/21 – Memphis
11/28 – Rice

11. Utah
9/3 – Utah St. 35-17 (519/342)
9/12 – at San Jose St. 24-14 (499/264)
9/19 – at Oregon 24-31 (297/312)
9/26 – Louisville 30-14 (416/261)
10/10 – at Colorado St. 24/17 (457/334)
10/17 – at UNLV 35-15 (327/327)
10/24 – Air Force 23-16 OT (267/318)
10/31 – Wyoming 22-10 (363/202)
11/7 – New Mexico 45-14 (557/334)
11/14 – at TCU
11/21 – San Diego St.
11/28 – at BYU

12. LSU
9/5 – at Washington 31-23 (321/478)
9/12 – Vanderbilt 23-9 (326/210)
9/19 – Louisiana-Lafayette 31-3 (330/272)
9/26 – at Mississippi St. 30-26 (263/374)
10/3 – at Georgia 20-13 (368/274)
10/10 – Florida 3-13 (162/327)
10/24 – Auburn 31-10 (376/193)
10/31 – Tulane 42-0 (455/216)
11/7 – at Alabama 15-24 (253/454)
11/14 – Louisiana Tech
11/21 – at Mississippi
11/28 - Arkansas

13. Oregon
9/3 – at Boise St. 8-19 (152/361)
9/12 – Purdue 38-36 (356/451)
9/19 – Utah 31-24 (312/297)
9/26 – Cal 42-3 (524/207)
10/3 – Washington St. 52-6 (514/158)
10/10 – at UCLA 24-10 (303/211)
10/24 – at Washington 43-19 (416/395)
10/31 – USC 47-20 (613/327)
11/7 – at Stanford 42-51 (570/505)
11/14 – Arizona St.
11/21 – at Arizona
12/3 – Oregon St.

14. USC
9/5 – San Jose St. 56-3 (620/121)
9/12 – at Ohio St. 18-15 (313/265)
9/19 – at Washington 13-16 (360/293)
9/29 – Washington St. 27-6 (403/229)
10/3 – at Cal 30-3 (457/285)
10/17 – at Notre Dame 34-27 (501/367)
10/24 – Oregon St. 42-36 (429/482)
10/31 – at Oregon 20-47 (327/613)
11/7 – at Arizona St. 14-9 (258/347)
11/14 – Stanford
11/28 – UCLA
12/5 – Arizona

15. Ohio St.
9/5 – Navy 31-27 (363/342)
9/12 – USC 15-18 (265/313)
9/19 – at Toledo 38-0 (522/210)
9/26 – Illinois 30-0 (318/170)
10/3 – at Indiana 33-14 (378/228)
10/10 – Wisconsin 31-13 (184/368)
10/17 – at Purdue 18-26 (287/361)
10/24 – Minnesota 38-7 (509/286)
10/31 – New Mexico St. 45-0 (559/62)
11/7 – at Penn St. 24-7 (353/201)
11/14 – Iowa
11/21 – at Michigan

16. Penn St.
9/5 – Akron 31-7 (515/186)
9/12 – Syracuse 28-7 (318/200)
9/19 – Temple 31-6 (359/251)
9/26 – Iowa 10-21 (307/298)
10/3 – at Illinois 35-17 (513/393)
10/10 – Eastern Illinois 52-3 (553/206)
10/17 – Minnesota 20-0 (464/138)
10/24 – at Michigan 35-10 (396/250)
10/31 – at Northwestern 34-13 (437/371)
11/7 – Ohio State 7-24 (201/353)
11/14 – Indiana
11/21 – at Michigan St.

17. Wisconsin
9/5 – Northern Illinois 28-20 (433/274)
9/12 – Fresno St. 34-31 OT (413/468)
9/19 – Wofford 44-14 (430/259)
9/26 – Michigan St. 38-30 (436/486)
10/3 – at Minnesota 31-28 (454/328)
10/10 – at Ohio St. 13-34 (368/184)
10/17 – Iowa 10-20 (230/283)
10/31 – Purdue 37-0 (381/141)
11/7 – at Indiana 31-28 (488/386)
11/14 – Michigan
11/21 – at Northwestern
12/5 – at Hawaii

18. Pittsburgh
9/5 – Youngstown St. 38-3 (390/159)
9/12 – at Buffalo 54-27 (381/500)
9/19 – Navy 27-14 (369/218)
9/26 – at NC State 31-38 (300/530)
10/2 – at Louisville 35-10 (404/305)
10/10 – UConn 24-21 (489/303)
10/16 – at Rutgers 24-17 (376/286)
10/24 – South Florida 41-14 (486/212)
11/7 – Syracuse 37-10 (481/285)
11/14 – Notre Dame
11/27 – at West Virginia
12/5 – Cincinnati

19. Oklahoma State
9/5 – Georgia 24-10 (307/257)
9/12 – Houston 35-45 (434/512)
9/19 – Rice 41-24 (351/377)
9/26 – Grambling St. 56-6 (587/260)
10/10 – at Texas A&M 36-31 (448/382)
10/17 – Missouri 33-17 (351/393)
10/24 – Baylor 34-7 (445/284)
10/31 – Texas 14-41 (277/275)
11/7 – at Iowa St. 34-8 (473/242)
11/14 – Texas Tech
11/19 – Colorado
11/28 – at Oklahoma

20. Arizona
9/5 – Central Michigan 19-6 (448/182)
9/12 – Northern Arizona 34-17 (559/226)
9/19 – at Iowa 17-27 (253/338)
9/26 – at Oregon St. 37-32 (388/407)
10/10 – at Washington 33-36 (461/256)
10/17 – Stanford 43-38 (553/584)
10/24 – UCLA 27-13 (456/211)
11/7 – Washington St. 48-7 (471/185)
11/14 – at Cal
11/21 – Oregon
11/28 – at Arizona St.
12/5 – at USC

21. Virginia Tech
9/5 – Alabama (in Atlanta, GA) 24-34 (155/498)
9/12 – Marshall 52-10 (605/252)
9/19 – Nebraska 16-15 (278/343)
9/26 – Miami 31-7 (370/209)
10/3 – at Duke 34-26 (477/397)
10/10 – Boston College 48-14 (441/163)
10/17 – at Georgia Tech 23-28 (334/360)
10/29 – North Carolina 17-20 (256/312)
11/5 – at East Carolina 16-3 (379/277)
11/14 – at Maryland
11/21 – NC State
11/28 – at Virginia

22. Oregon St.
9/5 – Portland St. 34-7 (433/351)
9/12 – at UNLV 23-21 (382/310)
9/19 – Cincinnati 18-28 (344/408)
9/26 – Arizona 32-37 (407/388)
10/3 – at Arizona St. 28-17 (295/406)
10/10 – Stanford 38-28 (463/375)
10/24 – at USC 36-42 (482/429)
10/31 – UCLA 26-19 (463/374)
11/7 – at Cal 31-14 (436/239)
11/14 – Washington
11/21 – at Washington St.
12/3 – at Oregon

23. Auburn
9/5 – Louisiana Tech 37-13 (556/245)
9/12 – Mississippi St. 49-24 (589/297)
9/19 – West Virginia 41-30 (400/509)
9/26 – Ball St. 54-30 (560/260)
10/3 – at Tennessee 26-22 (449/410)
10/10 – at Arkansas 23-44 (375/495)
10/17 – Kentucky 14-21(315/357)
10/24 – at LSU 10-31 (193/376)
10/31 – Mississippi 33-20 (401/394)
11/7 – Furman 63-31 (655/266)
11/14 – at Georgia
11/27 - Alabama

24. Clemson
9/5 – Middle Tennessee St. 37-14 (361/299)
9/10 – at Georgia Tech 27-30 (386/418)
9/19 – Boston College 25-7 (253/54)
9/26 – TCU 10-14 (309/388)
10/3 – at Maryland 21-24 (274/284)
10/17 – Wake Forest 38-3 (382/178)
10/24 – at Miami 40-37 OT (410/433)
10/31 – Coastal Carolina 49-3 (400/170)
11/7 – Florida St. 40-24 (483/392)
11/14 – at NC State
11/21 – Virginia
11/28 – at South Carolina

25. BYU
9/5 – Oklahoma (in Arlington, TX) 14-13 (357/265)
9/12 – at Tulane 54-3 (527/162)
9/19 – Florida St. 28-54 (473/512)
9/26 – Colorado St. 42-23 (373/438)
10/2 – Utah St. 35-17 (431/322)
10/10 – at UNLV 59-21 (611/337)
10/17 – at San Diego St. 38-28 (512/342)
10/24 – TCU 7-38 (298/412)
11/7 – at Wyoming 52-0 (543/225)
11/14 – at New Mexico
11/21 – Air Force
11/28 – Utah


Dropped Out:
21. Notre Dame
9/5 – Nevada 35-0 (510/307)
9/12 – at Michigan 34-38 (490/430)
9/19 – Michigan St. 33-30 (304/354)
9/26 – at Purdue 24-21 (383/363)
10/3 – Washington 37-30 OT (530/457)
10/17 – USC 27-34 (367/501)
10/24 – Boston College 20-16 (352/349)
10/31 – Washington St. 40-14 (592/206)
11/7 – Navy 21-23 (512/404)
11/14 – at Pittsburgh
11/21 – UConn
11/28 – at Stanford

23. Cal
9/5 – Maryland 52-13 (542/303)
9/12 – Eastern Washington 59-7 (507/235)
9/19 – at Minnesota 35-21 (415/270)
9/26 – at Oregon 3-42 (207/524)
10/3 – USC 3-30 (285/457)
10/17 – at UCLA 45-26 (494/448)
10/24 – Washington St. 49-17 (559/440)
10/31 – at Arizona St. 23-21 (351/247)
11/7 – Oregon St. 14-31 (239/436)
11/14 – Arizona
11/21 – at Stanford
12/5 – at Washington

25. Oklahoma
9/5 – BYU (in Arlington, TX) 13-14 (265/357)
9/12 – Idaho St. 64-0 (564/44)
9/19 – Tulsa 45-0 (529/269)
10/3 – at Miami 20-21 (341/342)
10/10 – Baylor 33-7 (592/268)
10/17 – Texas 13-16 (311/269)
10/24 – at Kansas 35-13 (337/305)
10/31 – Kansas St. 42-30 (458/364)
11/7 – at Nebraska 3-10 (325/180)
11/14 – Texas A&M
11/21 – at Texas Tech
11/28 – Oklahoma St.

PSU Review: Ohio State

Allow me to start this rant off by stating for the record that Ohio State deserves all the credit in the world. They outplayed Penn State in every aspect of the game and I don't want to take anything away from that. Having said that, I'm officially done rooting for this team as long as all or part of this coaching staff is still in place. I'm tired of the same conservative play calling on both offense and defense against any team with a pulse. Spread HD? Sure against the likes of Akron and Temple, but against Iowa and OSU: PUCKER. Let me put it to you this way, Paterno likes to say that the people in the media (including bloggers) have no idea what we're talking about. Fine, I'll admit most of us may not but tell me this then, how can someone with such a vacuum of football knowledge predict not only a total breakdown in philosophy but entire series of plays. I won a bet Saturday when I correctly called a three and out on one of Penn State's series. Not a single play mind you, three in a row. It's so fucking obvious what's coming that anybody that has watched more than a handful of football games can see it. If I can successfully predict what the offense is going to do (remember I'm one of them dumb bloggers) what do you think opposing defensive coordinators are going to do? See: Saturday.

Penn State opened up on their first play by not blocking anybody and the coaches went into their play calling shell. Game over before it started. For 10 weeks now we've watched horrible special teams get worse as the season goes on. They put return men back on punts whose job is to fair catch and they don't even do that well, forget about putting someone back there with some athletic ability, just fair catch the ball and get the mash-the-ball-up-the-middle offense on the field. There is absolutely no excuse for the horrid special teams coverage that has cost Penn State time and time again. That, my friends, is coaching (or lack thereof). The defense doesn't get a pass either, there was plenty of whiff tackles and boneheaded breakdowns to make any fan's head explode. (Hey, did you know Terrelle Pryor likes to run? Yeah? Might want to cover that next time, you know… Purdue did).

In the end, give credit to Ohio State for being prepared and executing but know this, this was a complete FAIL by the entire coaching staff. This team wasn't prepared to play, had a remarkably stupid game plan, and executed said retarded game plan horribly. This season Penn State has beat Akron, Syracuse, Temple, Eastern Somebody, and Minnesota at home. The two teams with a pulse beat Penn State badly. All criticism of their schedule is TOTALLY warranted. Let me put it this way: if you purchased two season tickets you dumped roughly a grand for you and a friend to watch that crap. Hope you feel you got your money's worth. Me… I took the $1000 and put it to good use… like beer.

Totally made the right choice.

Penn State Unveils “Doomsday Machine”

(University Park, PA) Scientists around the world are excited by the news coming out of central Pennsylvania yesterday. Coaches designed an offense went so far into a shell it actually collapsed in on itself temporarily creating black holes repeatedly throughout Saturday’s contest against Ohio State. A CERN spokesman was quoted as saying, “we’re left feeling a bit silly actually, we had thought that we needed to build large devices such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to observe such small phenomena, when, it seems, the same results could have been produced on the much smaller scale of an American Football field.”



Asked after the game why there was not a concerted effort to push the ball down the field, even when trailing by more than one score late in the third quarter, Jay Paterno responded, “I think we mesmerized by the scientific breakthroughs we were achieving out there. That’s the kind of thing you work your whole life to see just once and we did it almost every time the offense lined up. The possibilities of what could be uncovered in the future by our discovery are limitless” For his part, Jim Tressel seemed gracious, “I’m jealous, I’ve been on the verge of that achievement so many times and darn it they beat me to it, but I’m really happy for Joe. If I couldn’t do it, I’m glad he’s the one that beat me. I'll just have to settle for a victory in the game this year.”

The crowd seemed less enthused as they began streaming out early in the second half. “I came to watch a football game, not participate in an experiment,” claimed an unnamed spectator, “you’re playing God, I’d prefer not to be witness to Armageddon if they inadvertently end up creating a black hole large enough to consume the solar system. It’s just wrong, you’re messing with powers you don’t fully comprehend.” Early review of the data indicates no such threat exists, but the staff is still awaiting endorsement by the American Physical Society. Regardless, Police are expecting throngs of protesters to flood the area this Saturday for Penn State’s contest against Indiana.

It’s officially Cael’s team

Cael Sanderson's squad took the first step in the 2009-2010 season last night, competing in the Intrasquad Dual in Rec Hall in front of approximately 2400 fans. I can remember regular season dual meets that didn't draw that many fans but I digress. It was great to see Cael roaming the gym floor of Rec Hall and even better to hear his name announced as the coach of the Nittany Lions. There is a serious buzz around Penn State Wrestling, so much so you can almost feel it.

But enough about that, there was actual wrestling to report on even though it was just a glorified scrimmage that may (or may not) determine who wrestles at each weight. Sanderson believes most or all of his incoming freshman class and a couple current wrestlers will redshirt this season. So we got a chance to see a sneak peek at the future and things are looking good. While the future is bright, the present is… not so much. First the results:

174: Justin Ortega dec. David Erwin, 6-2
184: Ed Ruth maj. dec. J.R. Brown, 10-1
Exhib 184: Quentin Wright dec. David Crowell, 8-2
197: Luke Macchiaroli dec. Clay Steadman, 5-3
285: #20 Cameron Wade tech. fall Brendan Herlihy, 15-0 (7:00)
125: #8 Brad Pataky tech. fall Tom Reynolds, 16-1 (3:17)
133: Tyler Saltsman dec. Bryan Pearsall, 6-4 (SV)
141: Adam Lynch inj. def. Colby Pisani, (Pisani cramping)
149: #6 Frank Molinaro maj. dec. James English, 12-4
157: #5 Cyler Sanderson dec. David Taylor, 11-4
165: Jake Kemerer dec. #9 Dan Vallimont, 4-3

Ed Ruth, Luke Macchiaroli, and Jake Kemerer are all incoming freshman expected to redshirt which is unfortunate because they would all be wrestling at their respective weight classes. David Taylor is another of the incoming freshman, he and Quentin Wright are also expected to redshirt. While Taylor didn't win he wrestled extremely well for a true freshman wrestling against the fifth ranked wrestler in the nation. Taylor showed why he was ranked the top recruit in the nation by riding Sanderson out the entire third period. Give him a year to adjust to college wrestling and David Taylor is going to be something special.

As for the guys that remain, Ortega was a big surprise beating out David Erwin and Dan Vallimont needs to step things up. Vallimont has definitely not bought into Sanderson's offensive style of wrestling. Vallimont has always been a defensive wrestler that wins close matches even against far less talented wrestlers and Kemerer showed what happens when you let someone hang around. Jake got the winning takedown with just 5 seconds left.

David Crowell is a transfer from Pitt and won't be eligible until January and when he is he will probably have the spot at 184, until then J.R. Brown is the only option. Expect big gaping holes at 197, 133, and 141. Sanderson has said that the core team of returning ranked wrestlers could still make a run but referring to this team as a "real strong tournament team" as he has in the past is just another way of saying PSU is in bad shape in dual meets because of the holes in the lineup.

It's going to be an interesting year nonetheless, and the Sanderson era has just begun. Great things come to those that wait and for Penn State Wrestling fans, we've been waiting for greatness a long, long time; what's another year or two?

PSU-OSU without rain?!?

For once it's looking more and more like it's going to be a beautiful day Saturday.

Take that with a grain of salt, I got the forecast from not-so-AccuWeather who I'm losing faith in at an alarming rate. At the very least it won't be bitterly cold.

An obligatory look at Ohio State

About the University

The Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university in accordance with the Morrill Act of 1862 under the name of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The school was originally situated within a farming community located on the northern edge of Columbus. While some interests in the state had hoped that the new university would focus on matriculating students of various agricultural and mechanical disciplines, Governor Rutherford B. Hayes foresaw a more classic, comprehensive university, and manipulated both the university's location and its initial board of trustees towards that end. Later that year, the university welcomed its first class of 24 students. In 1878, and in light of its expanded focus, the college permanently changed its name to the now-familiar "The Ohio State University" (with the article "The" as part of its official name).

So the "The" is officially part of the name, and you thought it was just arrogance.

Cool Fact

Ohio State's "Buckeye Bullet" electric car broke the world record for the fastest speed by an electric vehicle on October 3, 2004 with a speed of 271.737 mph (437.3 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The vehicle also holds the US record for fastest electric vehicle with a speed of 314.958 mph (506.9 km/h), and peak timed mile speed of 321.834 mph (517.9 km/h). The vehicle was designed, built and managed by a team of engineering students at the university's "Center for Automotive Research-Intelligent Transportation" (CAR-IT).

Football related datum

Current Record: 7 – 2
Last year's Record: 10 – 3: lost to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl

The scary side of things

Sorry, I'm contractually obligated to post this picture

Terrelle Pryor's legs: Pryor leads the team in rushing with 554 yards and 6 touchdowns but in the Buckeyes two losses he was held for a combined 70 yards on 31 carries or just over 2 yards per attempt while being sacked 5 times. Running back Brandon Saine also has 439 yards and Dan Herron leads the team with 6 TD's. Ohio State can run the ball and score coming in 4^th in the conference in rushing offense and 2^nd only to Michigan in scoring.

Defense, defense, defense: Ohio State's recipe for success has been a simple one: play strong defense, control the game and wait for the offense to grind out some points. justaOSU is stingy when they get a lead: the Buckeyes are second in the conference to Penn State in rushing, passing, total, and scoring defense. DL Thaddeus Gibson leads the Buckeyes with 4 sacks and 9.5 TFL and the Buckeyes as a team are 3^rd in the conference with 25 sacks, the offensive line will have their work cut out for them.

The not-so-scary side of things

Terrelle Pryor's arm: while he has improved since last season, TP isn't going to blow teams away throwing the ball. justaOSU is 10^th in the conference and 94^th in the nation in passing offense and that's all on Pryor. When Pryor is on he becomes a multi-dimensional threat that's hard to stop, the thing is, he's seldom on and when you get pressure on him he falls apart fast. While he has thrown 13 TD's he's also thrown 9 picks.

Not so special teams: Normally an injury doesn't make "an obligatory look" but there's a very big one for the Suckeyes. Kicker Aaron Pettrey tore his MCL in the game against New Mexico State.

Pettrey leads the Big Ten in kicker scoring with 8 points per game and has converted 13 of 17 field-goal attempts and 28 of 29 extra-point attempts. He's a weapon from long distance, connecting on 6 of 8 field-goal attempts from beyond 40 yards.

That's a huge loss, one that will affect the offensive game plan. Without its proven long range kicker OSU will probably be going for it if they get inside Penn State territory.

Game Outlook

Earlier in the season I thought the justaOSU game was a definite loss but after watching the shocking Purdue debacle I'm swinging the other way (it's a figure of speech, spare me the jokes). For Ohio State the game plan is the same as it has been all season: control Penn State's offense, force a turnover or two and hope the OSU running game can score a couple times. For Penn State, they have to control the strong defensive line especially in passing downs and hold onto the ball. Pressure Pryor and make him beat them with his arm. For the love of God, please throw away the Bend and then Break Our Hearts defense and bring some controlled pressure, don't let Pryor sit back in the pocket and get comfortable. TP has the propensity to heave the ball in the general direction of the defense without any particular target in mind. When he does, pounce on it.

TNL's Prediction

Penn State 24
justa Ohio State U 14