Blue & White Roundtable

It's Wednesday and that means Blue & White Roundtable time. RUTS has the questions this week and the rest of the crew comes along for the ride. Feel free to head on over and check them out.

Black Shoe Diaries
There Is No Name On My Jersey
William F. Yurasko
The Nittany Notebook

1. Two consecutive games, two dominating performances by the Nittany Lion running game. Why the drastic change in production?

Galen: Two words: Austin Scott. With AS leaving, gone are his 6 fumbles (or however many he had) and his Dancing with the Stars running style. Both Kinlaw and Royster are straight ahead, North/South style runners that hit the hole decisively. Throw in the emergence of a decent offensive line the past few games and you have the recipe for a decent running game. Before we all go nuts here it's important to note that the last two game have come against teams that had banged up defenses that spent most of the time on the field thanks to said dominant running game and offensive time of possession. We will get a good feel for this offense and this running game in the next couple weeks.

Nick: Why the change? Because we’re playing at home. Plain and simple, Kinlaw still sucks and drops/nearly drops the ball most carries, but Royster could be the real deal. Also, opening up the passing opens up the run and vice-versa.

2. Since the departure of Tom Osborne before the 1998, Nebraska quickly fired Frank Solich, hired a bad NFL coach, and on Monday fired its Athletic Director. Is there any way to avoid this sort of fiasco when Joe Paterno eventually retires?

Galen: Yes, curtail your expectations and have patients with the next head coach. Firing Solich and bringing in a guy that wants to spread the ball out at Nebraska was one of the worst moves in college football history. There's nothing like hiring a coach that wants to go against 117 years of football tradition to create turmoil and chaos. But let's fire the Athletic Director that will make a difference.

But back to the question at hand – Penn State needs to realize that they aren't going to be USC east and hire someone that understands what you get with Penn State, a strong defense and mediocre offense. I know I'm going to get lambasted for saying this but brining in a guy that wants to install the west coast offense or something radical on that side of the ball will put Penn State in a Nebraska-like tailspin. Having said that we don't need to be Wisconsin either, there's a happy medium. Until Penn State can start to bring in decent quarterbacks and top notch offensive talent we will continue to see teams like this year's version.

Nick: Sure, don’t hire some dumbass from Pitt. Firing Solich was incompetent enough after he coached the team to a 9-3 season. Then to go and hire Bill Callahan, a pathetic NFL reject, who wanted to revamp everything that was working in favor of a new system which didn’t fit any pieces already in place was just icing on the cake. If this happens at Penn State, I would be shocked. It’s hard to believe that Joe’s successor will have anywhere near to accomplishments he has earned, lightning rarely strikes twice. However 9-3 is pretty damn good.

3. Terrelle Pryor is on the verge of crossing Penn State off his list, if he hasn't already. Does Penn State absolutely have to sign a quarterback in this class, or can we afford to wait until next season?

Galen: Penn State is fine at quarterback for now but everyone was hoping Pryor would come just because he's such a great offensive weapon at any position. He would have helped the basketball team as well so it's a double kick in the crotch but really, can you blame him? Would you want to play for Jay Paterno? It's not hard to understand why any decent quarterback would shun Penn State, we haven't exactly been a NFL quarterback factory the last decade and it all goes back to coaching.

Nick: No, a quarterback is low on the priority list and unless Devlin was the definite starter next year, Pryor wouldn’t come here anyway. He’d be stuck playing every position but quarterback until Devlin was gone. It’s a luxury item and would be welcomed, but not a necessity.

Lightning Round

Describe a scenario in which Penn State ties for the conference title. Obviously, Penn State has to beat Ohio State. What other dominoes need to fall?

Galen: Oh my God I would need to contact NASA for help with this and it's the Lightning Round which is supposed to mean short answers. Suffice it to say, Penn State would have to beat Ohio State and get a boatload of help so it's not going to happen, get it out of your mind. Penn State screwed the pooch when they gave both games away this season so they got what they deserve.

Nick: Ok, stay with me, keep in mind Penn State would need to win out. Ohio State loses to Penn State and Wisconsin. Illinois loses Ohio State and Northwestern. Michigan loses to Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin or Ohio State. Penn State and Ohio State split the championship again, but Penn State gets the tiebreaker as they won head-to-head and off to the Rose Bowl the Nittany Lions go.

Will Penn State have its typical lazy start in a noon road game?

Galen: I'm going out on a limb and say they come out and score on their first possession and take control of the game. Yeah I've been drinking.

Nick: Not a lazy start, just poor execution on the road, Penn State is Jekyll and Hyde. Keep your fingers crossed that turnovers don’t do us in.

Score prediction?

Galen:
Penn State 35
Indiana 17

Nick: 27-17 – road game, look for a return of inept offense.