Blue & White Roundtable

It’s Wednesday and that means Blue & White Roundtable time; this week I have the questions so I’m basically talking to myself. Enjoy.

First the Reggie Bush scandal and now Joe McKnight outs USC’s less then perfect recruiting practices. Will Southern Cal get slapped by the NCAA or will Teflon Pete walk away unscathed? Should the NCAA do something or are we just jealous that USC gets all the recruits?

I don’t see USC getting anything out of this at all. The NCAA would never be able to prove there was a teleconference call between McKnight and Bush let alone a call at all. And I think the whole Reggie Bush scandal will just disappear after a while. A lot of fans are jealous of the fact that Southern Cal gets so many top recruits and often believe there is foul play at work. Personally, I think the warm climate and recent success of the program is a big draw for any 18 year old. Throw in the fact that they are in one of the better states for football and you have the makings of a pretty good recruiting base.

We’re number 2! In attendance, that is. Penn State's football fans ranked second in NCAA Division I-A football attendance during the 2006 season for the fourth time this decade. We have finished among the top four in Division I-A attendance for 16 consecutive years. Are we that devoted or just that nuts?

Considering in the last 16 years we had 4 losing seasons to sit through you would have to believe we’re all nuts. I think Penn State fans are spoiled because we are used to winning and New Year’s Day bowl games. Fortunately, the resurgence in ‘05 was made that much sweeter by the two previous dismal years. Fans really appreciated the winning and tradition once again and I think it’s carried over this season. There isn’t a feeling of despair after losing 3 games this year and I believe people are looking forward to next season. Beaver Stadium will be packed when Notre Dame and THEosu come to town, you can bet on that.

Now the recruiting “experts” are saying that the northeast isn’t strong at running back this year, is it time for Penn State to panic or can we assume the coaches will successfully recruit out of their backyard to get a top notch RB next season?

I don’t think they need to necessarily go too far from home; I’m sure they can find someone in PA, Ohio, or Maryland but it’s got to be the focus of this year’s class. Penn State has to sign several solid running backs in this class so that hopefully one turns out. We all thought we didn’t need Tony Hunt when Scott signed, but we all know how that worked out.

Thanks to Greg Schiano, Rutgers is now dead sexy. Scarlet Knights merchandise is flying off the shelves and season tickets are sold out. Is this just a case of a flash in the pan or is Rutgers now a football powerhouse?

Let’s face it Rutgers beat Louisville and that’s about it. We can’t even consider Kansas State a “quality” team at one game over 500. I don’t want to pooh-pooh the work Schiano has done but to make that next big step, they will have to start playing some good out-of-conference foes. Schiano has brought that school on the brink of great things, but they aren’t their yet. Talk to me in 5 years and we will see.

Because I am out of ideas and there is little to talk about I actually stole this from a message board (I have no shame): give me 5 programs that you respect.

1) Service Academies because they always get slim pickins’ but have to play the big boys
2) Northwestern because of their academic requirements
3) Iowa
4) Wisconsin
5) Texas A&M

Lightning Round

Now that Brandi the Wonderdog is laying on the couch next to God as he watches his Nittany Lions what should I use against Lee Corso next season?
A) Goldfish
B) Coin flip
C) Inanimate Carbon Rod
D) Lindsay Lohan (drunk, of course)
E) Other: please specify

D. Since Brandi was way too smart for Lee I better go with something a little more fair and Lohan fits the bill.

THON dancers raised 4.21 million last year to fight pediatric cancer; can they possibly beat that total this weekend?

I certainly hope so, it’s a great organization, but 4.2 mil is a very high bar indeed.

Now that Sting has reunited with The Police can we safely assume the end is near? (sorry, I’m a Police fan)

Ahhh the 80’s – where have you gone?

That’s it for this week, feel free to add your opinions in the comment section below and don’t forget to stop by the B&W Roundtable partners Black Shoe Diaries and Run Up The Score.