Blogpoll Draft: The Top Looks Pretty Good Anyway

I hate this week's ballot and will be promptly taking a sledgehammer, chainsaw and blowtorch to this sucker next week. Boise State is as high as I could possibly ever place them, expect a steady fall from here on out as the resume bottoms out. Florida, Texas, Alabama and a bunch of I don't know follows. Throw in your 2 cents. Corrections, suggestions and objections are always welcome.

Games Watched: Hawaii/Louisiana Tech, Colorado/West Virginia, Pitt/Louisville, Michigan/Michigan State, South Florida/Syracuse, Purdue/Northwestern, Oklahoma/Miami, Auburn/Tennessee and Arkansas/Texas A&M. Real life only allowed me to watch the first, listen to the second quarter in the car and miss the entire second half of Penn State/Illinois.

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

Dropped Out: Houston (#16), Georgia (#18), California (#25).

Moving Up:

Auburn - Lighting it up under Malzahn, until he gets wise and skips town after this year before he's run off with torches.

Wisconsin - Survived their bout with the flu bug, now see how they handle Ohio State. Everything nose dived about this time last year.

Moving Down:

Michigan - Fortunate to even force OT against Michigan State, still looking like a work in progress.

Cal - Watch video for how this season turned.

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

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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. Kansas
9/5 – North Colorado 49-3 (547/246)
9/12 – at UTEP 34-7 (576/208)
9/19 – Duke 44-16 (490/394)
9/26 – Southern Miss 35-28 (433/395)
10/10 – Iowa St.

14. Missouri
9/5 – Illinois (in St. Louis, MO) 37-9 (442/325)
9/12 – Bowling Green 27-20 (353/320)
9/19 – Furman 52-12 (525/398)
9/25 – at Nevada 31-21 (492/364)
10/8 - Nebraska

15. 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

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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

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

20. South Carolina
9/3 – at NC State 7-3 (256/133)
9/12 – at Georgia 37-41 (427/308)
9/19 – Florida Atlantic 38-16 (516/307)
9/24 – Ole Miss 16-10 (285/248)
10/3 – South Carolina St. 38-14 (377/326)
10/10 – Kentucky

21. Ole Miss
9/6 – at Memphis 45-14 (349/284)
9/19 – Southeastern Louisiana 52-6 (500/302)
9/24 – at South Carolina 10-16 (248/285)
10/3 – at Vanderbilt 23-7 (397/240)
10/10 – Alabama

22. 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.

23. 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

24. Michigan
9/5 – Western Michigan 31-7 (439/301)
9/12 – Notre Dame 38-34 (430/490)
9/19 – Eastern Michigan 45-17 (448/285)
9/26 – Indiana 36-33 (372/467)
10/3 – Michigan St. 20-26 (251/417)
10/10 – at Iowa

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

Dropped Out:
16. 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.

18. Georgia
9/5 – at Oklahoma St. 10-24 (257/307)
9/12 – South Carolina 41-37 (308/427)
9/19 – at Arkansas 52-41 (530/485)
9/26 – Arizona St. 20-17 (334/204)
10/3 – LSU 13-20 (274/368)
10/10 – at Tennessee

25. 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

Former Foes: the inaugural 2009 edition

Time to bring out the wildly popular Former Foes: a weekly look back at Penn State's past competition and see how they are faring after playing the Nittany Lions. So how is Syracuse doing anyway?

Akron (1-3)

Central Michigan thumped Akron 48 – 21. The Chippewas jumped out to a 20 – Zip lead (see what I did there?) before Akron finally got on the board. Dan "I got a" LeFevour tossed four TD's and rushed for 140 yards and another 2 TD's on the ground. Central Michigan outgained Akron 523 to 196 and the most telling stat of the day: Akron was 1-12 on third down conversions. Yeah, it was total domination.
Next up: Ohio

Syracuse (2-3)

South Florida QB B.J. Daniels hit Carlton Mitchell with an 85-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second half to break open a one-point game. Syracuse actually outgained the Bulls 344 – 333 but Greg Paulus threw an eye scorching 5 interceptions one of which was returned for a TD by defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. 'Cuse wide receiver Mike Williams had a big day catching 13 passes for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns but it wasn't enough to overcome the 5 picks as South Florida held on for the 34-20 victory.
Next up: West Virginia

Temple (2-2)

Don't look now but Temple has the best record of all the PSU cupcakes after beating Eastern Michigan 24 – 12 Saturday. Temple jumped out to a 21-0 lead mainly on the legs of RB Bernard Pierce who had a great day rushing for 180 yards on 25 carries with two first quarter touchdowns. It was all the Temple defense would need as the Owls held the Eagles to 50 yards rushing on 29 attempts for a miniscule 1.7 yards per rush. Eastern Michigan used the shotgun approach to offense. That's shotgun as in the gun and not the formation. The Eagles threw to 8 different receivers but managed only 230 yards in the air with no touchdowns and 1 interception. Temple is now 2-0 in the MAC conference and get a winless Ball State next.
Next up: Ball State

Iowa (5-0)
Another game another head-scratching ending for Iowa. After taking a commanding 21-7 lead to begin the 4th quarter the Hawkeyes threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and gave up another late but the comeback fell short as Iowa held on for the 24-21 victory over Arkansas State. The INT aside, Ricky Stanzi had a career high 296 yards and three touchdowns including two to WR Marvin McNutt who finished with 121 of those yards. Iowa outgained the Red Wolves 420 yards to 296 and start out 5-0 for the first time under Ferentz. The last time Iowa started out 5-0 was in 1995, when they promptly dropped 4 in a row to end the season at 8-4. Just sayin'.
Next Up: Michigan

PSU Review: Illinois

TNL said 17-10 (PSU)
Actual Score: 35-17 (PSU)

I thought Penn State would fall back to their usually overly conservative road offense which they did but I didn't think it would work as well as it did. Penn State amassed 513 yards of total offense but more importantly 338 on the ground. For the first time the offensive line looked confident and actually dominated an opponent in the second half. When the Illini started to get gassed the line bullied them around and put the game out of reach.

Offense

Both Evan Royster and Stephon Green eclipsed the century mark and PSU finally broke out the QB draw that was so effective last year as Clark chipped in 83 yards on the ground. While Royster did get over the 100 yard mark he looked tentative and unsure early but Green picked up the slack and had easily his most complete day as a Nittany Lion. Stephon managed some tough yards between the tackles and reminded us all that if you give him an opening he has the blazing speed to take it to the house on a 2^nd quarter TD run of 52 yards. Green is quietly making himself more of an offensive option then just a 3^rd down back.

Daryll Clark didn't have eye-catching numbers throwing the ball but he was effective and took care of the ball for the most part. Andrew Quarless led all receivers with 5 catches, none of which were more than 9 yards but he was a reliable target for Clark especially when he got some pressure. Derek Moye continues to be the deep threat for Penn State leading the team with 57 yards and hauling in the longest (a 22 yarder).

The story of the game though was the offensive line. The line pass blocked very well from the get go (Clark was not sacked) and got better and better as the game went on. Early in the 3^rd quarter with Penn State clinging to a 7 to 3 lead, PSU got the ball on their own 31 and took the game over marching 69 yards for a touchdown. The drive was mostly on the ground and included a 51 yard QB draw play by Clark to the Illinois 5 yard line. Penn State never looked back and the line led the way. It's amazing how much better the line plays when they play real competition huh?

Defense

Another game another complete effort by the defense. Illinois didn't really score until the game was all but decided after Penn State took a 28-3 lead in the 4^th quarter. Juice did throw for 263 yards and Arrelious Benn did some harm catching 5 balls for 96 yards but PSU did a good job of minimizing the damage. The defensive line played particularly well against Williams, staying in their lanes and keeping him bottled up for most of the day.

Josh Hull had another steady day leading the team with 11 tackles and Bowman had 7. It seemed as if the Illini wanted nothing to do with Bowman, often running away from his side of the D. When PSU gets Lee back to flank Bowman, teams will have a tough time scheming against this defense.

Eric Latimore and Jack Crawford each had sacks and the ends were particularly menacing for most of the afternoon. It seems that our fears about the secondary may have been unfounded, they have been playing well. Freshman Stephon Morris continues to impress hauling in the only interception of the day.

Special Teams

We are going to have to admit that the punt and kick return for PSU just plain sucks. The punt return is nothing more than a fair catch and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of improvement for the kick return team. Kick coverage seems to be heading in the right direction, at least for one game anyway.

Then there's Jeremy Boone. Boone averaged 49.5 yards on four punts and completely changed field position early in the 1^st when he boomed a 66 yarder down to the Illinois 1. He earned Big Ten Special Teams player of the week for his effort and would be 2^nd in the nation with his 48.8 yard average but he hasn't kicked enough to qualify.

Overall

Penn State did what it had to do, they went on the road against a team desperate for a win and dominated especially late in the game. The offensive line seems to be getting better and we finally saw the return of Clark's legs. Teams will have to respect that aspect of his game from this point forward.

Now we get another tune up game before getting to the meat of the Big Ten schedule. I would love to see PSU score early and often on Eastern Illinois and get some of the younger guys some game experience, especially Kevin Newsome.

An obligatory look at Illinois

About the University

"Illinois Industrial University" was established in 1867 and opened its doors in March 2, 1868 with only two faculty members. In 1885, the Illinois Industrial University officially changed its name to the University of Illinois, reflecting its holistic agricultural, mechanical, and liberal arts curricula. The name of the university was changed to The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1982, ostensibly to establish a separate identity for the campus within the University of Illinois system.

Cool Fact

The U of I is one of the few educational institutions to own an airport. Willard Airport, named for former University of Illinois president Arthur Cutts Willard, is located in Savoy. It was completed in 1945 and began service in 1954. Willard Airport is home to University research projects and the University's Institute of Aviation, along with flights from American and Northwest Airlines.

With scores like these, Mr. Burns we'll need an Airport

Football related datum

Current Record: 1 – 2 – only win over FCS Illinois St
Last year's Record: 5 – 7

The scary side of things

The fighting [non-offensive-mascots] rank third in the conference in rushing and tackles for loss. Jason Ford leads the team but a lot of guys chip in including Juice Williams who is second on the team in rushing. With 76 yards, Juice will become the Illinois career total offensive leader. Arrelious Benn has been a Nittany Lion killer catching 110 yards last year and 84 yards as a freshman including a 90-yard kickoff return for a TD. No need to worry though, Joe's happy with our kick coverage.

*cough*

Moving on…

The not-so-scary side of things

Wow, where to begin? Juice has been squeezed all season long completing only 31 passes for 256 yards, no touchdowns and 3 interceptions. The Suckeyes shut the fighting Zookers out last week, without the aid of a pass in the entire first half (apparently throwing the ball is sooooo 2008). With the exception of the TFL and rushing defense, Illinois ranks 10^th or 11^th in every other defensive category. Offensively they are allowing over three sacks per game and are dead last in passing and scoring offense. This is a far cry from the team that was the best passing offense in the conference a year ago. A lot of "experts" were picking Illinois as a dark horse in the Big Ten race because of the returning offense and that hasn't worked out for them too well.

Game Outlook

With the problems on the offensive line and the turnover issues, I expect Dr. Paterno to prescribe his typical medication for the road: bottled up conservative offense. We'll see lots of Evan Royster even though Illinois will blitz everything including the kitchen sink. I expect a low scoring slugfest that will be won on a crucial back-breaking turnover. Who coughs the ball up is anybody's guess. Paterno will lean on his defense and we'll all throw up a little in our mouths.

TNL's Prediction

Penn State 17
Illinois 10

Blue & White Roundtable: the Illinois(e) edition

That's right people, just remember there's no noise in Illinois. This week's questions brought to you by Penn State Clips. Make sure to check in PSC tomorrow for the roundup, and as always check out the answers from the growing posse of B&W Roundtable bloggers.

Nittany Lounge
We Want the Lion
W. F. Yurasko
Happy Hour Valley
Penn State Clips
Zombie Nation
Nittany Whiteout
2 The Lion Football

1) The BCS Championship Game dream is dead, but Penn State can still go to the Rose Bowl (at least in theory). What's your best guess about our final record and bowl destination?

Good God as I said earlier this week, I just have no idea what to think of this team. Can the offensive line come together and block anybody better than Syracuse? Is this the start of a tailspin for Daryll Clark? Can Evan Royster get an eye exam and find his lost vision? Looking at the reaming schedule I would have to say that Ohio State is a DEFINITE loss. Michigan is a tossup because it's in the Big House. If Michigan State starts rattling off wins they could be a tough out at the end of the season, especially if they are fighting for a bowl game. Minnesota, Indiana, and [Directional] Illinois are wins and if Penn State doesn't beat a down and out Illinois this week it's going to be a very, very long season. With that, I'll say PSU loses to OSU and one other random game for the simple fact that I just don't think this team can maintain a high level of play (what the Hell, they haven't reached a high level of play in four games). So that puts them at 9-3 and the [I don't give a crap] bowl against [who cares] University.

2) Illinois beat I-AA Illinois state, but sandwiched it with losses to Mizzou (37-9 in St. Louis) and at Ohio State (30-0). They have, by far, the worst pass offense in the Big Ten and their pass defense stinks as well. They put little pressure on the quarterback (1.3 sacks per game) and they do a lousy job in protecting the passer (3.33 sacks per game). In short, the Illini stink. Who rights the ship on Saturday, PSU or Illinois? Discuss.

PSU. The defense matches up well against an offense that is a self-proclaimed nightmare right now. As you stated in the question, they've managed a total of 9 points against the two teams with a real defense and Penn State has proven their D is not of the artificially flavored variety. If PSU can not-suck in special teams [read: punt the ball away and not give up back-breaking returns] it will be up to the offense to decide this thing. If Penn State's offense can handle the simple task of not turning the ball over then I think they win by more than a touchdown.

3) The Nittany Lions are 2-8 this decade in Big Ten openers and 3-6 in Big Ten road openers. (Obviously there's some overlap there.) The two wins in Big Ten openers were during the championship years of 2005 and 2008. What's the problem?

With all due respect going back before 2005 doesn't give us a clear picture because Penn State sucked against everyone then. So if you look at 2005 on, they have a record of 2-3 in Big Ten openers and two of those losses came against Ohio State and Michigan and obviously against Iowa this year. So is there a problem? I don't think so, when you play some of the better teams in the Big Ten for your first game you're going to lose your fair share. Especially when you play cupcakes before playing them (just thought I'd sneak that in).

4) Last week's blocked punt for an Iowa touchdown was the turning point in the game. Twice this decade a kickoff return touchdown has been critical in an Illinois victory over Penn State and the way things are going it could happen again Saturday. What's the problem with Penn State's "special" teams? Poor coaching? Lack of a dedicated special teams coach? Not getting our best athletes on the field?

Well the blocked punt was just a total missed assignment and not a lack of athleticism just a lack of execution, so whose fault is that? Did the coaches not spend enough time or is the wrong personnel on the field? Either way you want to answer it's a coaching problem. Paterno says that Collin Wagner has done a fantastic job kicking off even though they land roughly somewhere in between the 5 and 10 yard lines. JoePa says it's nice and high and lets the kick coverage teams get there. I find that kind of funny because that means one of two things: our return team is slow because the kick coverage is most certainly not there until the return man gets a head of steam and blocking or Paterno is covering for Wagner. In either case it points back to Personnel and that has to do with coaching.

Quick Hitters...

The line is Penn State -7. Cover or no?

They haven't covered yet so that's a big fat NO.

Are you going to the game?

Nope.

True or false: Chief Illiniwek was retired as the Illinois mascot after protests by members of the Illiniwek tribe

False – Chief Osceola is still the official mascot of Flor… oh, nevermind.

Will Chicago be awarded the 2016 Olympics on Friday?

You kidding, how can they turn down Obama?!?