Blue & White Roundtable bids farewell to 2009

It's the final B&W Roundtable of 2009 and your honored host is 2theLion Zombie Nation. As always my incoherent ramblings follow. Onward ho!

1. Penn State finished off this season with 10 wins, but lost the only two games that were really in question. What will your lasting memory of the 2009 season be?

You know I had to pause for a second and think about this question, and I don't know if I have an answer. I'd like to be the optimist and come up with something positive from the season but I keep coming back to the two loses at home. In fact there were no good games at all this year. When Penn State won they won big and when they lost they did it FAILtasticly. The Lions closest victory was 11 points and their closest defeat was the same 11 points. Funny how symmetric this season was huh? For me, this season's fingerprint won't be complete until the bowl game: win it and 2009 will always be considered a "successful" season in my mind, lose and it will be a season of FAILure.

Could this be Penn State's season?

2. Though they miss out on a BCS Bowl, the Nittany Lions will face off with a highly ranked SEC opponent in a New Year's Day bowl. What are your initial thoughts about the matchup with LSU in the Capital One Bowl?

I don't know about the rest of the Nittany Nation, but I was one of the ones hoping Penn State didn't end up with a BCS bowl. Plain and simple, Penn State didn't deserve a BCS bowl bid. Sure you can argue that some of the other BCS teams didn't either, and that may be a valid point but one thing's for sure: PSU didn't deserve one. The Lions best victory was over Temple and that's definitely not worthy of a BCS bowl.

Having said all that, I really like the matchup in the Cap One Bowl. You have the SEC-Big Ten intrigue*, two teams that haven't met since I was 1 year old, and two really, really good defenses. By all measures it should be a good game, and isn't that what we want in a bowl game? I mean this game has absolutely zero meaning in the grand scheme of things (as do all bowls not named BCS Championship), so why not go for the best (read: closest) matchup possible, and I think we have that in PSU-LSU.

3. When it's all said and done, where will Daryll Clark rank among Penn State QBs? What will you remember about Clark thinking back on the 2008 and 2009 seasons a few years from now?

Daryll Clark will always be an overachiever in my mind. He started out the prep school route because his grades weren't up to snuff, yet Jay took a chance on him. Realizing he had a future and that he would have to work to get there, Daryll did EVERYTHING the coaches asked him and it paid off. Most schools shied away from him because although he was very athletic he was also very raw at QB. With two years in the system he was not only able to catch but surpass highly touted Uberrecruit Pat Devlin and take the starting role in 2008. He then turned in back to back All-Big Ten performances the first of which none of us saw coming. Sure he struggled in some of the big games and I guess that will always be the knock on the kid, but I will always remember him as a solid, athletic QB who wore his heart on his sleeve and worked his butt off to make a good career at Penn State.

4. Which seniors are you most sad to see go? If you could bring one of them back in 2010, who would it be?

I'm really sad to see Sean Lee go because he really didn't have the chance to have the senior season we had all hoped he would. Coming off a devastating knee injury we had hoped he'd come back and be the dominating force we all knew and loved but injuries plagued him throughout the first part of the season and by the time he was back to full brutal force the season was over. It really wasn't the send off he deserved and it probably hurt his draft status. I'd love to see him get another shot at it in 2010, he deserves better.

5. What are your feelings on the Fiesta Bowl matching up the two undefeated mid-majors, instead of setting up Iowa-Boise State and Georgia Tech-TCU matchups? Does it support a playoff argument?

Pfffffttt… the BCS supports a playoff argument. It's funny, the BCS thought they'd throw a bone to the mid-majors and make everyone happy with this fairy-tale matchup but all they've really done is create a game that very few people care about. If you match the two mid-majors against the bigger conference bullies you have an intriguing matchup of the have's and have-not's. Not one, but two games of David vs. Goliath. But no instead we get this watered down "congrats for going undefeated now kindly go to the back of the bus" contest. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people will watch but when the game is over and one is left undefeated do we really know if the winner could stack up against Alabama or Texas? No, we don't. Thanks again BCS!

Lightning Round:

1. Do either Bowman or Royster (or both!) skip their senior seasons and enter the NFL Draft?

Bowman is gone, Royster would be dumb but I think it's 50-50 at this point.

2. Who wins the MNC Game, Alabama or Texas?

Alabama – Texas doesn't have it.

3. Will you be heading down to Orlando to watch the Capital One Bowl live? Who wins?

No, and Penn State by at least 11 (hey it's either that or lose by at least 11).

4. Predict the draft stock of the following Nittany Lion seniors:

Assuming they all get drafted which is highly unlikely:
a) [Bowman/Royster] - 2
b) Jared Odrick - 1
c) Sean Lee - 4
d) Andrew Quarless - 7
e) Dennis Landolt - 3
f) Daryll Clark - 5
g) Mickey Shuler - 8
h) A.J. Wallace - 6

* by intrigue I mean: If Penn State losses it's "eeSSSSS EEEEEEE SEEEEEEE RUUULLEESS!" and if they win it will be "what, there was a game? Oh it's just LSU. Doesn't count"

Blue & White Roundtable: The Stinking Weasel Edition

Its hate the Weasel week and several Roundtablers have fielded questions, as a matter of fact each question is from a different blog. Since it's a collaborated effort, be sure to check out all the other answers.

W. F. Yurasko
Happy Hour Valley
Zombie Nation
Nittany Whiteout
Penn State Clips
2 The Lion

(1) The Penn State offensive line looked awful against a very good Iowa defense. They looked pretty good over the last three games, against the Big Ten's two worst defenses and a I-AA scrimmage. This week they face a decent, but not great, Michigan defense. Is the O-line up to the challenge and can they block Brandon Graham?

I think it's safe to say that at this point the line has officially come together. Against Iowa they had not found cohesion yet and the coaches were still juggling people around. Despite some injuries the line has come along very well and is starting to open up some big holes. Last week was Royster's best game of the season, part of which must be attributed to the line. We can talk about how bad Minnesota's defense is, and they are, but they are a Big Ten defense and they do have athletes, some credit must be given to the line. Having said that, the Michigan line isn't a world beater, the offensive line should have success against them. The Wolverine defense isn't one of the Big Ten's best, if Penn State can't move the ball on them, especially in the second half there's something seriously wrong.

(2) Eric Decker was (for the most part) not a factor in the Minnesota game. Was this due to the weather, his being "over rated" or has PSU's secondary, primarily AJ Wallace, benefitted from the extra practice and challenges from the coaches?

I don't think anyone with half a brain would consider Eric Decker "overrated," he's basically the entire offense for Minnesota and he's done that all year, except last week. Eventually you have to give Penn State's secondary, and particularly A.J. Wallace, some credit. Wallace did a fine job against Decker and Paterno noted that in his press conference this week. But that was one threat that Penn State neutralized, this week is a different problem altogether. Michigan really spreads the ball around so pass coverage will be a team effort. Not only will the defense have to worry about the spread pass but Michigan leads the Big Ten in rushing so they will have to worry about a multi-dimensional offense. It's definitely a bigger challenge this week.

3) Tate Forcier captured the eyes of America with some phenomenal late play in some of Michigan's earlier games, with his last-second touchdown drive against Notre Dame drawing enormous praise to the true freshman. However, he found himself riding the bench in the fourth quarter last week against Iowa, and Penn State has been strong against the pass all year. How will the Penn State defense fair at containing Forcier, who is a true dual-threat quarterback?

Well, Forcier is really a pass first kind of dual-threat quarterback but Penn State will most certainly have to respect his running abilities. Although he's done extremely well for a true freshman he has made his share of mistakes and he didn't look good against Iowa who had the best defense he's faced all year. Penn State will give him problems but I don't expect the kind of performance he had against Iowa. Look, it's Michigan – Penn State, can you remember a game in this series that Michigan didn't play well? Michigan always, always, always brings their A-game against Penn State. Don't ask me why, I have no idea, they'll lay an egg against the team they play the following week but they'll play like national champs against Penn State.

Blue & White Roundtable: Gopher style

This week's Blue and White Roundtable is brought to you in a collaborated effort by Penn State Clips (main questions) and W. F. Yurasko (Lightening Round). See, we Penn State bloggers work together in a synergistic, symbiotic manner… or something. I couldn't find any awesome pics of hot ninja chicks today so I give you this:

Awesome Machine gun Gopher!

W. F. Yurasko
Happy Hour Valley
The Nittany Line
Zombie Nation
Nittany Whiteout
Penn State Clips
2 The Lion

How does Penn State stop the Minnesota offense (a/k/a Eric Decker)?

We'll ask JoePa:

Why in God's name would I answer that in any way? You sound like a Minnesota assistant coach. "What are you going to do with Decker?" You know, I don't know. We may put four corners on him, all right, let everybody else run for touchdowns. I don't know what we're going to do yet. We've got to look at some things. It's Tuesday. We've had one practice. We had a long discussion this morning as to some of the things they do.

Alrighty then. Mr. Paterno's comments aside, they obviously will have to have some sort of double scheme for Decker. He's really the entire offense: he has 56% of the teams total receiving yards, 47% of all catches, and 5 of the teams 7 receiving touchdowns. He's ranked 1^st in the big ten and 9^th nationally. So Paterno can say what he wants but the numbers don't lie, when a player is half of his team's offense and ranked nationally in the top 10 you have to take him out of his game. Double team him the entire game and make someone else beat you.

Is Minnesota's defense as awful as their statistical rankings make it look?

Their statistics really don't look all that bad. They're middle of the road in the Big Ten: 6^th in scoring, 6^th in pass efficiency, 7^th in pass defense and 6^th in turnover margin. What really hurts them is they are pretty pedestrian against the run (9^th in conference giving up 162+ yards per game) and that plays right into Penn State's hands. Look for them to do the same thing most every opponent has done against Penn State… blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz, and then… blitz.

Mid-point of the season, which of the PSU freshmen do you project as future stars?

Well the obvious choice is Stephon Morris who started getting significant playing time at corner right out of the gate because of suspensions, injuries and such. He's proven himself so much that he's earned the second corner position when Penn State is in the nickel and D'Anton Lynn moves over to nickelback. That and just look at how Paterno raves about him:

Q. Halfway through the season, how would you rate Stephon Morris' progress as a true freshmen?

I think he's done really well.

Wow, that's some praise from Joe!

This is just a hunch but I also think Justin Brown is going to be something special. If the coaches thought enough of him to put him back at punt returner instead of [insert slow, sure handed safety here] then they must think he has some explosive skills.

Lightening Round...

Where were you when Minnesota got lucky because Penn State did not put them away at Homecoming '99?

Helping my brother move – thankfully.

Will Minnesota open with an on-side kick?

No, Penn State will win the coin toss (ha, see what I did there!?!?)

What is your best homecoming memory (that you can say in this forum at least :p)?

Ahhh… homecoming is overrated.

Blue & White Roundtable: Ninja style

I didn't think anyone was going to take the honor privilege pain of writing any of the questions this week, what with it being Directional Illinois then *POW* William F. Yurasko drops a bomb on us… like all Ninja style!!!

Totally NOT William F. Yurasko!!

Anyhoo… take the time to check out the posse and as always William will probably have a roundup tomorrow… or not… depends on his Ninja duties.

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

1 - Penn State played its most complete game of the season thus far against Illinois. What pleased you the most about the performance?

Oh this is a softball across the plate the size of a watermelon. The offensive line had its best day of any game this season. They pass blocked well, opened some holes early and wore down Illinois in the second half. It was the first time since 2005 that two Penn State running backs eclipsed the 100 yard mark. We've been down on the O-line all season, and rightfully so, but when the do well they need to be equally praised… and they did very well.

2 - Has your outlook on the season changed dramatically compared to this time last week? What about before the Iowa game?

My outlook hasn't changed in the slightest, I thought Penn State would lose a couple games and I still think they will. Now I didn't think Iowa would be one of those games but I also didn't think Michigan State was going to be as bad as they have been. I would have to say that after the Iowa game my initial reaction was OMG!!11!! We're losing 5 games!! But now that they've shown that A) the offensive line can block something better than frosty cupcake defensive lines and B) they offense is capable of putting together a complete game without turning the ball over ever other series, my outlook is a little more cheery.

3 - Eastern Illinois actually looks like a decent I-AA err FCS team, having been in that division's top 25 this season. How long can they stay in it with Penn State?

If Penn State doesn't turn the ball over, not very long. Yeah they are a decent FCS school but they aren't Appalachian State and we're not going to see another 'upset of the century' Saturday. I would think it will be close for a quarter but I'll be surprised if Penn State isn't up by a couple TD's by half.

Lightning round

Will the scoreboard be fixed by Saturday? Some panels blew off in the wind on Wednesday.

Of course, they want your money remember? They'll make sure everything is A-OK. They want you back.

Anybody having luck selling their Eastern Illinois tickets at face value?

Selling!?! ROFL!! Our company can't give them away.

What is your favorite college football blog that isn't about Penn State?

There are quite a few good ones: Lake the Posts is insightful and thorough, Boiled Sports has sideboobs (that's all I need) and of course the guys at Black Heart Gold Pantaloons have The JoePa Chronicles (and probably Dysentery).

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?!?

Blue and White Roundtable: The Revenge Edition

It's hump-day so that can mean only one thing: Long Island Ice Tea night at the Elks club! I mean… Blue & White Roundtable. This week's questions are brought to you by the good people at Nittany White Out – appropriate, don't you think? As always there's a glut of Penn State blogs participating.

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

1. As this week's matchup with Iowa represents not just Penn State's first conference game, but their first real test, take a look back at the 3-game preconference schedule. What was the one thing that stood out to you most, either as a success or a failure?

Success – without a doubt the wide receivers. We all thought Penn State would find at least three serviceable wide receivers but I don't think any of us thought we could have guys step in and really not miss a beat from last year. At least I didn't think it would go so well. We knew Derek Moye had potential but he's starting to come on as the kind of go-to receiver that this team needs to succeed.

Failure – Offensive line. We all knew the offensive line would take some time to jell but they have yet to put in a complete game and the coaches have just now found the combination that they want for the rest of the season (at least I hope so).

Natural – Secondary. Yeah, we can't complain about the secondary but who has tested them? There is one good thing that's emerged, with A.J. Wallace in the doghouse PSU has developed some depth with the young guys and that's always a good thing.

2. Iowa, on the other hand, has been tested twice already this season, both by D1-AA Northern Iowa and by Arizona, a solid Pac-10 team. How much of an advantage, if any, will the Hawkeyes have over Penn State as a result?

Northern Iowa gave Iowa the experience of pulling out a close win. Now sure, it was against an overmatched D1-AA school but it was a great experience nonetheless. How will PSU's young guys and new starters handle a close game they have to come from behind to win? We don't know yet. Arizona also gave Iowa the benefit of playing a team with solid Div 1 talent. Who has Penn State played? Syracuse – they did beat Northwestern, but… is that something to write home about? Iowa's defense dominated Arizona especially in the passing game. Daryll Clark has yet to see a pass defense like the Hawkeye's.

3. It seems like both Penn State and Iowa have been hit pretty hard by the injury bug early in the 2009 season, with Iowa losing the services of RB Jewel Hampton, LT Bryan Bulaga, TE Tony Moeaki and WR Darrell Johnson-Koulianos and Penn State potentially without both Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman, along with Graham Zug. How will both teams adjust to playing without some of their star players?

Let's not kid ourselves about the injuries, the depth charts are nothing more than a smoke screen by both coaches. Bowman has practiced all week, and I don't care if it's on a "limited" basis, he'll play and they'll have to chain Sean Lee down to keep him off the field. As for Iowa I would be completely shocked if Bulaga and DJK are not playing. Bryan can block one on one on Stanzi's blindside leaving extra lineman to control Penn State's tackles who have really been the problems for teams so far. Without him they may have some issues.

Let's just say they all don't play (which is highly unlikely), Riley Reiff, Colin Sandeman, and Allen Reisner have all filled in for Iowa quite nicely especially against Arizona. For Penn State Bani Gbadyu and Nate Stupar both have a lot of game experience with the injures this season so it's not like these guys are new to the scene. The loss of Lee's leadership could not be replaced and ditto Bulaga, but both teams can make due.

4. Last year, a loss to Iowa knocked Penn State out of the championship race. This year, they're in a similar place, as they largely control their own destiny. Do you see Penn State running the table in the Big Ten, and if not, where is the most likely slip-up?

No, I still don't think they will run the table, but after watching the first three games I have no idea how to gauge the Big Ten. Ohio State looks pretty much as expected but outside that I'm lost. Illinois and Michigan State were supposed to be dark horse contenders for the Big Ten title: how's that working out for them? Michigan was supposed to be better but who knew their offense would be that much better? So who's gonna take Penn State down? Your guess is as good as mine.

5. This will be the fourth year that Beaver Stadium hosts a White Out, and it's universally regarded as one of the best traditions in the NCAA. What suggestions would you have to further improve gameday conditions at the Beav?

Bring back kegs. I understand they banned them because of the dangers of binge drinking but really, are the mountains of cans in the parking lots that much better? It's an abomination that they can't seem to control and I think eliminating cans for the red solo cups would be a step in the right direction.

Lightning Round:

Who runs for more yards, Iowa or Penn State?
Iowa – PSU will have to pass to win.

Last year's Whiteout game drew 109,626 people to Beaver Stadium. How many come this year?
Oh they will match that, especially an eight o'clock start.

If you had to win just one of the two, would you rather Penn State beats Iowa or Ohio State?
Ohio State, no doubt.

Does Corso put on the Lion or Hawkeye head?
If there is a God he'll put on the Hawkeye head – he's wrong all the time. Don't curse us Lee!

Does Penn State get revenge, or does Iowa make it 7 of 8 against the Lions?
I covered it yesterday, I have mixed feelings about the game but I think PSU pulls it out.

Blue and White Roundtable Roundup: let us never speak of this again

I thought not actually answering the questions and doing a roundup of the B&W roundtable would be easy. Jesus was I wrong, this was the most time consuming thing I've done in a long, long time. All the participants are listed below and we have a rouge on our hands: PSUGIRL from 2 The Lion Football:

I thought it was fitting to renew my tradition of posting some "unauthorized" answers to the weekly Blue and White Roundtable.

Oh, Heeeellllll no, consider yourself "official" now!

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

-Temple lost over half of their offensive line and their starting QB from a team that didn't have much of an offense anyway (107th in total offense in the country) do they have a realistic shot at moving the ball against Penn State's defense?

-Nittany Lounge got all wordy and statistical-ly on us pointing out that QB Vaughn Charlton completed 19 passes for 317 yards and gave us a (WOW!) which that most certainly is. But he points out that time of possession and a lack of running game will be there doom.

Low ToP for Temple – No Running Game – Short passes, few first downs

-I'll assume Happy Hour Valley was using hyperbole when answering:

If Akron's "hi-octane passing attack" and Syracuse's "stallion" couldn't move the ball effectively against us, what makes one think that Temple of all teams will have any more success?

If by "hi-octane" he means E-85 then yes it is a hi-octane offense.

-Zombie Nation doesn't really buy into the Vaughn Charlton's numbers:

Villanova doesn't exactly have NFL talent along its defensive line, or in the linebackers. Unless Temple quarterback Vaughn Charlton is night-and-day better this Saturday, don't expect the Owls to cross the goal line... again.

Ooooohhh…. is that a shutout prediction!?!

-Nittany Whiteout who got all Bill Cosby on our asses uses statistics (DAMN STATISTICS!!) to drive the point home that the Owls have not fared so well against Penn State in the past.

In 2008 the Owls had 16 rushing yards and 138 total offensive yards. In 2007 at the Linc Temple had 242 yards (4 rushing). In 2006 they obtained 282 yards (16 rushing). If this is a trend, it is a bad omen for the Owls.

-2 The Lion Football mentions something that I've noticed this season and that's the emergence of Josh Hull.

Lee seems to be back to full speed+ and Hull seems to have taken some sort of agility/quickness potion during the off season (perhaps he draws strength from the wicked new mustache).

Cue gratuitous pic!

-We Want the Lion says Temple's badness scares them... and by badness I don'tmean BAD I mean craptastic.

That's the other thing that scares us about Temple, they appear on the schedule the week before Iowa.

But he points out that that's just a copout answer.

-Homework time! You'll have to dig deep and be creative for this one: name something about this Temple team that scares you (ok scare may be a bit much… how about gives you pause).

-Nittany Lounge gets bonus points.

Temple's second team scares me. Looks like a case of the clap ready to happen. What's the with gang hand gestures?

1,000 Yuengling Lagers for you sir!

-W. F. Yurasko is scared of Al Golden, but not for the reasons you would think.

I am scared that Al Golden, the Owls current head coach, will somehow convince Intercollegiate Athletics that he should be the next Penn State coach.

As for those that actually looked for something that is scary, 2 The Lion Football points to Vaughn Charlton, Zombie Nation says it's the D-line, and Nittany Whiteout did a Q&A with Philadelphia Examiner Todd Orodenker, who covers Temple Owls and he believes wide receiver Michael Campell has the skills to test our untested secondary.

-Temple lost to Villanova in week one on the last play of the game. If you'll remember that also happened to Temple twice last season: bad luck or bad coaching?

Winning is an attitude and so is losing. Zombie Nation points out Al Golden has yet to break that habit.

Temple lost three games last year on the final play of the game, and one this season. That's the sure sign of a team that's still learning how to win.

-Happy Hour Valley Suggests that Al Golden was a one-hit-wonder:

Let me make one thing clear: You don't suffer from bad luck when you give an FCS team a chance to beat you at the end of a game, you're suffering from crappy coaching/crappy player execution.

-We Want the Lion thinks it's bad luck.

Last year one of those losses was a last second hail mary by Buffalo and that's just plain bad luck…Teams win this way, and it's not an indictment of the losing team, it's often a bad break. It happens.

-Nittany Lounge says it's all about "location, location, location."

Can we blame Golden for Temple University's location? Twelve feet of sidewalk for a campus doesn't help when it comes to recruiting… The bottom line: Temple loses games (close or not) because of the quality of players.

Quick Hits

-True or False: Penn State holds Temple under 200 yards of total offense?

Nittany Lounge - True
We Want the Lion- True
W. F. Yurasko- False
Happy Hour Valley- True
Zombie Nation- True
Nittany Whiteout- False
2 The Lion Football- False

For the record that's 4 true vs. 3 false: sounds like the panel isn't so sure.

-True or False: Temple goes bowling this season?

Nittany Lounge - True

We Want the Lion- False
W. F. Yurasko- False
Happy Hour Valley- True
Zombie Nation- True
Nittany Whiteout- False
2 The Lion Football- False

Again that's 3 vs. 4 so we're not so sure. I think they will.

-On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being "totally sucked" and 10 being "awesomeness of epic levels" – how did the Michigan victory over Chuck Weis make you feel last week? Be honest!

Nittany Lounge -

Five = "eating cold pizza and drinking stale beer" I have an equally extreme dislike for DickRod and Fat Charlie and I have zero love for Notre Lame and scUM. That puts me right in the middle.

Ok, that's technically not a five, stale beer sucks but cold pizza rocks… in the morning and who drinks beer in the morn… never mind.

We Want the Lion-

It was a 9 until we saw Rich Rod celebrating, then it was a 2.

True, very, very true.

W. F. Yurasko- Five.

Happy Hour Valley – five. And then tells us this.

I don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan either (partly as a result of having family from O-hi-o).

You sir, are off the Christmas card list.

Nittany Whiteout- Admits he's a fan of Michigan:

To me seeing Notre Dame is enjoyable in itself and it does not matter who the coach is; I will enjoy them all the same. Put me down for a solid nine.

We all have our flaws.

2 The Lion Football- 5

good for the big ten, bad for weis and clausen - but still michigan.

-And finally from the comment section:

JD from Glasses of Joe does us some ratings:

I rate my notre dame schadenfraude on a set scale:

10 out of 10: navy (or any service acadamy)

9 out of 10: syracuse, PSU

2-8 out of ten: almost everyone else

0-1 out of 10: USC. and that's because i'm a generous person. and the scale doesn't go negative.

as for michigan? i'll give them a seven, just because they quashed the "ND is going to the BCS Championship" bandwagon early.

Ok, not exactly what I had in mind but it works just the same.

Blue & White Roundtable Primer

Ok boys and girls, this week I was tasked* to write the questions for the Blue & White Roundtable so here they are. Since I have to do a round-up sometime Thursday I'll leave the answers to the other guys. If you would like to answer in the comment(s) section and I like your particular answer I'll be more than happy to include your opinion. So if you love Al Golden and wish to defend his honor by all means, fire away. If I like it, I'll add it to the roundup on Thursday.

-Temple lost over half of their offensive line and their starting QB from a team that didn't have much of an offense anyway (107^th in total offense in the country) do they have a realistic shot at moving the ball against Penn State's defense?

-Homework time! You'll have to dig deep and be creative for this one: name something about this Temple team that scares you (ok scare may be a bit much… how about gives you pause).

-Temple lost to Villanova in week one on the last play of the game. If you'll remember that also happened to Temple twice last season: bad luck or bad coaching?

Quick Hits

-True or False: Penn State holds Temple under 200 yards of total offense?

-True or False: Temple goes bowling this season?

-On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being "totally sucked" and 10 being "awesomeness of epic levels" – how did the Michigan victory over Chuck Weis make you feel last week? Be honest!

*By "tasked" I mean no one else wanted to

Blog Chips: the premium edition

Time to corral all the interesting PSU tidbits into one nutritious post. As always Blog Chips is part of a complete balanced breakfast.

Thank God for depth

It's looking more and more like Bowman won't play Saturday.

"These things are tricky," Paterno said. "He obviously can't do some things right now because he'll aggravate it again. Let's let it simmer down. ... That's a medical decision and they'll tell me when he can play. But right now, we have our fingers crossed and we're hoping he might be ready Saturday."

But, but we're ok coach right? I mean Stupar played well.

"Stupar's learning," Paterno said. "He's going to be real good one of these days. Every game, he'll get better. Every practice, he's getting better. So that's where we are. We're going to miss Bowman. Bowman, if he can't play, is a big loss."

Honestly, Bowman is a much BIGGER loss if they try and rush him back and re-aggravate his injury. I'd rather he sit out against the cupcake schedule and get back to 100% than come back too soon. Anyone that's had a groin injury knows, those things take time to heal.

Hopefully they'll have a nice reunion in the backfield

Jerome Hayes played football with 'Cuse QB Greg Paulus and Jared Odrick played against Paulus in basketball.

Penn State defensive end/linebacker Jerome Hayes played with Paulus in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Game as Paulus quarterbacked the East and Hayes played linebacker.

"He's a great athlete, and I wish him the best," Hayes said. "Just not
against us."

Defensive tackle Jared Odrick played against Paulus in basketball at the Charlie Webber Invitational in Washington, D.C.

"He was something special," Odrick said. "I knew about him football-wise, but who wouldn't want to go to Duke to play basketball, you know?"

Hey, that world-class coach isn't going to pay for himself

Penn State wrestling fans can now get "Premium" seating, but it's going to cost you.

Two rows of 20 individual premium seats will be offered this season, just off the mat on the west side of Penn State's most historic athletic venue. Each of the 40 floor-level seats will come with access to an exclusive hospitality room offering complimentary snacks and soft drinks, a specially designed season ticket, and a copy of the match night media notes and event program. Row one seating, priced at $125 for the season, will be directly on the floor surface with the second row directly behind and slightly elevated at $100 per seat.

Nice idea really, but I think it will lack in the execution. As a long time season ticket holder this really doesn't have much appeal, most of the season tickets are great seats anyway so paying three times* the regular season ticket price doesn't make sense. Moreover, I don't like being down at floor level, having some elevation is nice to better see the match. Having said all that the PSU Wrestling community is so worked up right now that I'll bet they are already sold out. Capitalism rocks!

Don't try to throw him for a loop, he'll probably catch it

I have very fond memories of the 1994 team and a soft spot for certain players on that team. One of those players is former tight end Kyle Brady who always looked like a man among boys lumbering through frightened secondaries half his size. Well Kyle has found a new job after retiring from the New England Patriots in 2007.

Former Penn State All-American Kyle Brady has joined the Big Ten etwork as an analyst. Brady teams with Rick Pizzo on the set for Big Ten Football Saturday: Pre-Game Show, which airs at 10:30 a.m. ET every Saturday before the network's 12:00 p.m. games.

Awesome, just another reason to watch the BTN.

Blue and White Roundtable Roundup

The Nittany Lounge Football Blog has your B&W Roundtable wrap-up with all the interesting answers from all the Roundtable bloggers. That means he doesn't quote me much because I seldom have anything interesting to say so go over and give it a read, you'll get some fresh perspective.

*Honestly the season ticket prices are so low I buy three – one for me, my friend and an extra for our ass cheeks.

Blue & White Roundtable: the Italian Stallion edition

It's time once again for the Blue & White Roundtable with your host Jeff from insightful and impressively formatted Nittany Lounge blog. As always the B&W posse is along for the ride.

W. F. Yurasko
Happy Hour Valley
The Nittany Line
We Want the Lion
Zombie Nation
Nittany Whiteout
Nittany Lounge

1. Coach Paterno says the biggest improvement in a team happens between week one and week two of the season. What area needs most improvement? What facet of play needs the least improvement?

Allow me to start by answering the last question first, the least of our worries is obviously the defensive line and linebackers. Even with the real possibility of Navorro Bowman sitting out due to a groin injury the emergence of Nate Stupar leaves us with three linebackers that can handle anything thrown their way. The defensive tackles are going to take a lot of attention from the linebackers from here on out and it will only be a matter of time before Latimore or Crawford emerge as serious pass rush threats.

The area of immediate need is, yet again obviously, the run blocking. The offensive line did an admirable job pass blocking but they really need to work on the run. If I were the offensive line coaches I would be hammering that all week long but then again I'm not, I'm just some loudmouth blogger who doesn't know what he's talking about.

2. Syracuse is running what it calls the Stallion, a form of the Wildcat offense. It appeared to be effective against Minnesota. At one point during the Minnesota game, Syracuse had run the Stallion seven times, averaging over six yards per play. What does the PSU rush defense need to do break the Stallion?

The Wildcat or Stallion or whatever you want to call it was new for Syracuse and I'm sure Minnesota wasn't ready for it. Now that they have a game under their belts you can bet that Bradley and Co. were studying the Minnesota game film Sunday, they'll be ready. As for the guys on the field, as with any misdirection offense the key is containment and assignments. The ends must not go for the fake reverses and keep the ball carrier contained inside where help is. The linebackers must keep their assignments and not go chasing the ball around. Minnesota figured it out in the second half as Syracuse failed to convert any third downs. A disciplined defense can shut offenses like the Stallion down pretty quick. Oh they'll still get a couple big plays out of it but if you can minimize the damage you can create some serious negative plays with gimmicky offenses.

3. Minnesota squeaked out a win against the Orange(men). What expectation does this create for Penn State when playing Syracuse? And perhaps more importantly since it is a conference game, Minnesota?

The knee jerk reaction is to say that the Orange are better than we thought and Minnesota is worse but I'm not going to go there it was the first game and the Orange had a new coaching staff. The Orange came out and stunned Minnesota scoring all 20 of their points in the first half. The Gophers adjusted at halftime and shut the Syracuse offense down in the second half not allowing a single point. Gophers QB Adam Weber had a good game throwing for almost 250 yards and wideout Eric Decker torched the Orange for 183 yards, so Minnesota has the horses they just weren't ready for Syracuse. I doubt you'll see a repeat of that this week.

4. This week next year Penn State will be playing Alabama on the road. What do you think about State playing Bama instead of the Cuse? Would you rather be tailgating in Happy Valley and attending another FCS beat down? Or sitting at home watching the game on the big screen? Should the Big Ten play at least one OOC game per year with the SEC or Big 12?

My feelings about this are pretty clear, I would rather lose to a ranked Alabama than beat a rebuilding Syracuse. These games do little to help a team get ready for their real opponents and they do little for national respect. Not to mention there is no way I'm shelling out 55 bucks for a ticket and 15 bucks for a parking pass to see Akron, Syracuse, and Directional U.

Extra Points

1. The current line is -28. Cover or Not?

Don't think that is going to happen.

2. Does Penn State show up for the second half?

I think they will have to, I doubt they will get the large lead like they did against Akron

3. True/False: Syracuse is a better opponent than Akron.

At this point you have to say true, they played a Big Ten opponent into overtime and we know nothing about Akron yet.

4. Fact or Fiction: Sue Paterno once painted the Nittany Lion statue orange.

Oh so true, it was one of the great psychological tricks of all time.

Blue White Roundtable - Week 1, Akron Zips

What would the Penn State season be without the Blue & White Roundtable? Bring out the old table, dust it off and let's get things going.

This week's questions brought to you by Zombie Nation.

The Roundtable Posse
W. F. Yurasko
Happy Hour Valley
The Nittany Line
We Want the Lion
Zombie Nation
Nittany Whiteout
Nittany Lounge

1. We all know Penn State is going to beat Akron. But what is it about this year's Penn State team that really scares the crap outta you? Basically, explain what will cause you to throw the tortilla chips across the room more than once this Saturday?

Honestly we all know the weak part of this team is the secondary so my expectations are pretty low. First off, as you will see in my Akron preview, the Zips present a decent offensive attack with a polished experienced quarterback and two decent experienced wide receivers. Translation: an already thin defensive secondary with its best returning cornerback suspended will probably look very suspect. Secondly, knowing the odds at hand and knowing that Akron has a tissue paper defense, our defense will probably go into the famous "bend and then break our hearts" formation that we've all come to love. The defensive gurus running the show will have our inexperienced secondary lining up somewhere in the numbered reserved parking lots at the snap of the ball. I won't throw the tortilla chips I'll throw the tortilla chips up if that happens.

2. Hopefully, the backups will see plenty of playing time this weekend. Which second-stringer(s) are you most interested in seeing take the field against a living, breathing opponent? What kind of role do you want to see them play this year? (Note: if you say Kevin Newsome, you have to talk about at least one other player, too)

Kevin Newsome. Obviously.

I really, really want to see true freshman Devon Smith get playing time. He's freakishly small at about 5'8' and 150 lbs. soaking wet but he's also freakishly fast. He's been clocked at a 40 time somewhere in the 4.3 range and that my friends, is serious speed. If he has anything resembling a pair of hands he needs playing time now.

3. So Penn State's non-conference schedule sucks in terms of straight up opponent quality. That aside, tell us why or why not this opening slate will help or hurt this team later in the season.

Like I've said before, the schedule talk has been run into the ground, and like I said before the lack of a quality opponent hurts Penn State in that they won't see a team nearly as good as Iowa for the first three games. When the Hawkeyes come to town after playing Akron, Syracuse, and Temple, I just hope the Nittany Lions are ready for Big Ten speed and size.

4. What will it mean for this team to have Joe Paterno back on the sidelines again, right up in their facemasks, for ALL the games?

Although seeing JoePa back on the sidelines will give us a sort of "complete" feeling once again, they did fine while he was in the press box. The assistant coaches have been around so long that they can handle pretty much anything that comes their way on gameday and the players are used to that. Now the officials, on the other hand, I pity them, it's been a while since Paterno's been able to get in the face of a zebra. He's got some pent up anger to take out on them.

Quick Hits

1. Over/Under: Penn State's offense gains 500 total yards.

Under – the cheerleaders will be in if they get close

1a. Over/Under: Penn State's defense gives 350 total yards.

Over – I think Akron moves the ball on the secondary

2. True/False: The student section will NOT fill out, even by the end of the game.

TRUE! Noon start, and it's Akron, forgetaboutit.

3. Are you going to the game?

Not going to shell out good money for games like these.

Blue & White Roundtable: Looking Towards the Past and Future

The Blue & White Roundtable was roused from its offseason slumber temporarily just before hitting the snooze bar until the fall. Questions come care of Zombie Nation.


1. Ok, so the Blue-White Game and spring practice is done. Whether you just read the reports, or actually watched the game...
(a) What's one glaring team/unit/player issue you're still concerned with?
(b) What are you most pleased with?

Like all offseason, my fears lie with the secondary and the Blue-White Game did very little to comfort me. There’s plenty of time to get it figured out before the season starts and they’re going to need every minute of it, but no one needs to panic yet. On the positive side of things, Gerald Hodges is going to Kim Herring/James Boyd it this year and knock a few guys unconscious out there, that guy hits a ton. Offensively, Newsome looked great, all the reports had been he was getting eaten alive in practice, if that’s the case, he’s already grown leaps and bounds in a very short time. There's lots of talent in his arm and legs, let's see if he can refine it.


2. Navorro Bowman was held out of the game for probation violation. He did admit his mistake to Joe Paterno, and took responsibility. But he still shouldn't have done it. What punishment do you think will be appropriate, and why?

The offense itself was minor, but the overall stupidity is inexcusable. It’s been a tough year for him and Joe’s probably gonna take that into account. As long as he gets things straightened out, when all is said and done, he sits the first game or three.


3. Penn State's offensive staff said after the game that things were kept pretty simple. Do you think this year's returning offense will be able to handle an offensive scheme with the same complexity as the 2008 version? Why or why not?

The offense will be fine, the most important piece is the quarterback and Clark is still running the show, along with Royster and Green in the backfield. Take into account the tune up out of conference schedule and don’t look for much, if any, drop-off from 2008. The better question might be, can Penn State maintain its offensive performance all season or will the Big Ten season grind it down again. Assuming, Clark can stay free of concussions, I would be inclined to say yes.


4. Five Penn Staters were drafted, while 10 more signed free-agent contracts. Was there any pick/signing that surprised you the most, either positively or negatively? What did this 2009 NFL Draft say about the Penn State football program?

I’m surprised Cadogan went undrafted, but keep an eye on and I honestly mean this, Anthony Morelli. The Cardinals are bringing him back in again, I'd be very interested to see if he's made any gains in terms of recognition and consistency. It’s hard to argue the amount of NFL interest Penn State has received isn’t a good thing, but take it with a grain of salt. I suppose you could argue the downside is more guys may leave before they should, because they get convinced their stock is far higher than it is, then you realize sometimes the NFL makes you go WTF?!? For example, Andre Smith, who raised every red flag possible, went in the Top 10, will get a big money contract to a team with a poor history of questionable behavior and lack of oversight – the Cincinnati Bengals (there’s no way that could possibly go wrong, right?).


Shooting from the hip...
1. Average PSU offensive PPG/defensive PPG in 2009?

With our schedule this year? 40/21


2. USC's Mark Sanchez (5th overall - Jets): Too high?

Yes, he had several disturbingly pedestrian efforts last year, but can thank Penn State for their defensive Rose Bowl performance that no one remembers them.


3. How many Lions drafted in 2010?
Just looking at the seniors – 5 (Clark, Lee, Odrick, Landolt, and, even with another subpar year, Quarless, because he has the talent that will cause some team to take a flyer on him in the later rounds, maybe add in a junior or two that have breakout years)

4. List you're top three Big Ten teams, as of today.

Ohio State, Penn State and given the Big Ten has a surprising team pop up the last few years, let’s go with Northwestern.

Blue & White Roundtable: the ‘Last chance for gas’ edition

Last chance for the Blue & White roundtable and Zombie Nation has the honors. I don't know how many will participate but stop by all the B&W Roundtable partners nonetheless.

Black Shoe Diaries
Happy Hour Valley
Tangled Up In Blue And White
There is No Name On My Jersey
We Want the Lion
Zombie Nation
William F. Yurasko

1. So, are you freaking out this week? Did you honestly think Penn State would be in this position, going into the last week of the season? How about Michigan State?

No, no, and no. I thought that Penn State would be solid and be in the top three in the Big Ten (unlike every writer in the Big Ten) but I didn't think they would end up a game away from the Big Ten championship and I definitely didn't think they would end up playing Michigan State for the Big Ten. I saw Penn State as a team with 2 or 3 losses when I looked at the stretch of Wisconsin/Michigan/Ohio State. As for Michigan State I thought they'd be a good team but not this good.

Sparty will be solid if not spectacular this season with RB Javon Ringer and QB Brian Hoyer back on offense but the loss of WR Devin Thomas will hurt. On defense DE Trevor Anderson, LB Greg Jones, and SS Otis Wiley give Michigan State something to build around although they only return 5 starters. Like every year I'm sure this game will be as wacky as ones in the past.

I'm still betting on my "wacky" prediction to come true, when has this game ever been anything but?

2. What would you like to see more of/less of this week?

I would love to see more 'early season Daryll Clark' and less 'late season Daryll Clark.' You remember ESDC don't you? The one that led the Big Ten in pass efficiency and was brimming with confidence? Not the fumbling head case that is LSDC. Clark needs a good game if Penn State is going to win their last two games because we all know that it will take a total implosion by LSDC before Devlin would see the field.

3. What are your feelings towards Derrick Williams' career as a Nittany Lion? Has he lived up to the hype? How? If not, who's to blame?

Penn State fans that I know are split when it comes to D.W. Some people really dislike him because he never lived up to the OMG!!! #1 recruits status. But you know what none of that hype was his fault, he didn't create it and he didn't promote it. I love Derrick and I thank him for choosing Penn State and putting in all the hard work that he put in. When he chose Penn State they were a shell of a team. He helped turn this program around and made them a winner again and for that I can be nothing but grateful. He never complained, he kept his nose clean (and he's one of a few to do so over the last four years) and he was always a team player and that's all I ask of a Penn State player. I'll always have good things to say about the kid.

4. The national media is back-pedaling on their summertime pro-SEC propaganda, now saying that conference in overrated. What gives? Haven't we (basically, everyone outside the SEC) been saying that the whole time? How would Penn State stack up against the top few SEC teams, like Alabama, Florida and Georgia, on a neutral field?

Florida? No thank you they are playing gangbusters right now. I'd love to see a Georgia – Penn State matchup because I think Penn State could take them. Let's face it, the national media is comprised of lemmings that can't think for themselves. Whichever way the winds of college football are blowing the media jumps on. Right now everyone is saying the Big 12 is the conference to beat and maybe they are, I guess we'll see in the bowl games.

Bonus/Lightening/Whatever you want to call it, Round...

-Daryll Clark throws a pick?

Nope, he's going to rebound this week.

-Royster scores? How many times?

Twice.

-Did you go to any games this year? How many?

NOPE! I protested the out of conference schedule, turned in my season tickets and I've never looked back.

Blue & White Roundtable: the poisonous nut edition

This week's Blue and White Roundtable is brought to you by We Want the Lion and we're dotting the 'I' bitches!

Cast & Crew
Black Shoe Diaries
Happy Hour Valley
Tangled Up In Blue And White
There is No Name On My Jersey
We Want the Lion
Zombie Nation
William F. Yurasko

Was Ohio State's blowout of Michigan State last weekend an anomaly or are the Buckeyes "back"?

I don't think you can judge any team on one game alone but you can see how different of a team the Buckeyes are with a healthy (or at least on top of his game) Beanie Wells. I'm not advocating that Wells would have made a difference in the USC loss, they just got blown out from the start in that game, but Ohio State's offense was very anemic in the Big Ten until Beanie got back to form.

What can Penn State do to avoid a slow start in this game?

Good question and I don't have an answer. Not snapping the ball over the head of the quarterback on the first offensive play would be a very good start. Look, I'll take a slow start if it doesn't involve turnovers. Ohio State's going to run the ball and try to control the clock so a slow defensive start won't kill things as long as the coaches make adjustments and make Ohio State earn their points (read: no broken coverages and missed tackles). Penn State's offense can't turn the ball over or it will kill them. Ohio State is a great defensive team but they aren't going to keep Penn State's offense down forever, once the offense gets going let's just hope they aren't playing from behind.

Why is Ohio State ranked ahead of Penn State in the computer rankings? And why is every media member and his brother picking Ohio State this week?

Ohio State is ahead of PSU in the computer rankings because they aren't afraid to schedule good non-conference games. It's that simple. Penn State has no one to blame but themselves for scheduling absolutely shit teams if they go undefeated and get left out of the national title game. Stop scheduling crap and the media (and computers) will respect you, until then, go cry on someone else's shoulder.

As for the media's seemingly anti-Penn State bias, let's face it when you haven't won in Columbus since joining the Big Ten people are going to take the "prove it" mentality until you do just that. As Penn State fans, we can all say "well all those years don't mean a damn thing about this team" but we could have said the same thing for every one of those games as well. When you have a losing streak that spans decades, there's something more to it than just bad luck, it has to be something with the coaching philosophy in those games and the media doesn't think that's suddenly going to change (and neither do I).

Lightning Round

Who gets more TDs on the ground, Clark or Pryor?

Pryor gets his TD's on the ground Clark gets his through the air.

If the winner of this game wins out, will they get a shot in the BCS title game?

Not without help, for Penn State they need just one team ahead to lose for OSU it's several.

Does dotting the "I" even compare to our drum major doing flips?

<extreme sarcasm on> What? Come on, a slowly moving band geek is WAAAAAYYYYYY cooler than a guy doing a front flip after running the length of the football field (twice), wearing 50 pounds of clothing and a hat that's about 3 feet tall. Way more impressive. <extreme sarcasm off>

Blue & White Roundtable: the ‘It’s payback time’ edition

Blue & White Roundtable is brought to you by William F. Yurasko.

Don't forget to check out the other usual suspects:
Black Shoe Diaries
Happy Hour Valley
Tangled Up In Blue And White
There is No Name On My Jersey
We Want the Lion
Zombie Nation

Penn State is undefeated and ranked #3 in both major polls. Have they been tested yet?

I think we can officially put to bed the "haven't been tested" talk for the season. Penn State has faced and stopped one of the best passing teams in the Big Ten (Purdue) one of the best running teams (Wisconsin) and a super athletic offense (Illinois). While the offense hasn't faced any great defenses yet they have faced a pretty good one in Wisconsin and hey they've rung up no fewer than 20 points in any game, what more could you ask?

What unit or player is most responsible for the Nittany Lions success this season?

This is an easy question – both lines. Sure Clark and Royster are awesome and the wide receivers are having their way with opposing D's but it all starts and ends with the offensive and defensive lines. On the offensive side of things Clark is getting plenty of time to throw and the running backs are getting huge holes to run through, this offense wouldn't be putting up half of the numbers it has without the line.

You're a defensive back: this isn't going to end well for you

Hole!?! We need a new term for that much running room

On the defensive side of things, when you have a solid line across the board on both running plays and passing plays it opens up so much more for the defensive coaches. The guys in the middle are clogging up blocking on running plays allowing the linebackers to come in clean, fill gaps and make tackles. The ends are pressuring the quarterback without the need of a blitz, which allows the secondary to get help short and worry about deeper threats. Then there's Aaron Maybin, did I mention him? No? Yeah, he's pretty good.

How can Michigan beat Penn State on Saturday?

Honestly if Michigan plays like they have been they will lose by a lot. If Michigan plays flawlessly and Penn State plays like they have been Michigan looses a closer game. For Michigan to win Saturday they will have to generate a running game to keep Penn State's offense off the field and control the clock and hope for help from PSU. If they are smart they will kick it to Derrick Williams on punts. Yes I said that, hear me out. D.W. seems to have two modus operandi: A. Catch the ball and take it to the house and B. fumble the thing trying to make a difficult catch. Penn State fans will take the good with the bad but it could be a blessing for the Wolverines if B. happens… just watch out for A. Michigan could also exploit Penn State's linebackers by throwing a new wrinkle at them they haven't seen yet. While the linebackers are athletic and good they are inexperienced and might not adjust as quickly as a veteran group would.

Lightning Round

Going up for Homecoming?

Yep.

What do you think is going through Maurice Evans head these days?

Hopefully: God Damn I'm a stupid idiot who just might have thrown away a lucrative NFL career all because of a little Mary Jane.

Where were you the last time Penn State beat Michigan?

Sorry, all the beer I drank through the dark years has erased that memory from my brain.

Will Joe Paterno be on the sidelines for any of the game?

I highly doubt it, he is really starting to look his age.

Blue & White Roundtable: Badger Badger Badger

I see Galen covered the video department pretty comprehensively, so onto the roundtable.

The usual suspects:
Black Shoe Diaries
Happy Hour Valley
Tangled Up In Blue And White
There is No Name On My Jersey
We Want the Lion
William F. Yurasko
Zombie Nation


1. What must Penn State do or not do to come out of Madison victorious?

What to do: get a lead and make Wisconsin have to throw the ball, tackle!

What not to do: turn the ball over, slip on turf, blow coverages.


2. The Badgers are really down after dropping out of the rankings and losing their grip on a Big Ten title and a BCS Bowl. There is concern that the Badgers are emotionally spent and could collapse.

Does Wisconsin bounce back and beat Penn State or do they collapse? Is there reason for panic in Madison?

Reason for panic in Wisconsin? or for Penn State traveling into Madison? If I was a Badger fan, I’d be afraid of a season similar to Penn State in ’99, where a Minnesota upset collapsed the rest of the season like a house of cards, not to be salvaged until the bowl game. For the Nittany Lions road games are always a concern, but if Penn State needs any additional motivation just remember the bullshit Bielema pulled on the kickoffs 2 years ago.


3. The Big Ten has a good crop of running backs this year including Wisconsin true freshman John Clay who is averaging 6.7 yards per carry. How much playing time does Clay see this week compared to P.J. Hill? How does our defense fare against them?

I think the defense should be pretty well equipped to take on their backs. Getting penetration and disrupting them in the backfield will be key, as will sure tackling meaning not of that olé garbage that we saw against Purdue. The biggest impact on their running game could be our offense, if we can score then look for more aerial tactics from their side.


4. Between the third and fourth quarters the Wisconsin students do the "jump around", which shakes the stadium. How do you think the loud, jumping, night atmosphere will affect Penn State?

“Jump Around” is between quarters so it shouldn’t be a concern, just witness how frightened Ohio State was last week.


In regards to the noise, it will be the first time the offense has had to deal with that issue, but I think the fact Penn State already had the night game against Illinois they should know what to expect. If this was their first exposure to a night crowd, I might be more concerned, still I wouldn’t be surprised at a couple false starts.


Lightning Round
Predict the play calling. Do Galen and JayPa open up the offense or do they get conservative on the road?

With the return of Norwood, I expect a more open playbook than Purdue. He could arguably be the offensive MVP, it seems almost night and day what his presence on the field means for the offense. Is he might be Clark’s safety blanket? I don’t know, but something has been missing the last 2 weeks that has stunted the offense we had been seeing up to that point.


What are the odds Wisconsin loses two consecutive games at home?

50/50 – they’ve already lost the first one, so they’ve only got 2 options in this one.


Does the Wisconsin band play this week?

Yes, but if they change their mind, Wisconsin can call up North Carolina Central University’s band, the Marching Sound Machine, to fill in. Ask them for the Florida State special.


How many quarters does JoePa spend in the coach’s box?

As few as possible, if he’s feeling well enough, then he won’t be up there at all. If not, maybe a half, maybe the entire game. He’ll make every effort to be on the field. For those who say Joe doesn’t do anything, the times he’s spent off the field in the box this year have been some of the team’s sloppiest execution, in part because he can’t get in the players faces and yell.

Blue & White Roundtable: the black out edition

Zombie Nation hosts the Blue & White Roundtable this week and it's my turn to handle the answers.

B&W Roundtable Posse
Black Shoe Diaries
Happy Hour Valley
Tangled Up In Blue And White
There is No Name On My Jersey
We Want the Lion
William F. Yurasko
Zombie Nation

Name one unit-to-unit match up Penn State must win Saturday. How does PSU win that battle?

Believe it or not I think a key matchup is the defensive line/linebackers vs. Kory Sheets. Sheets is averaging almost 110 yards per game and almost 6 yards per rush and you know Penn State will be looking to stop the pass. Allow me to direct your attention to one of the Purdue "experts" and get his take on the Boilermaker offense against ND.

Painter played poorly, sailing passes over and over again… …Sheets was very good, both catching the ball out of the backfield and running and earning yards after the initial hit. It seems to me, that it's time to, at very minimum, see a second quarterback, at least situationally, if not a different quarterback starting next week...once again, that's just my opinion.

I hate to beleaguer the point but Penn State's defensive weakness is its linebacker play specifically the middle against the run. If Penn State allows Sheets to control the game the Nittany Lion offense will have to bail them out once again.

This trip to Purdue is setting up to be a classic trap game. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Trap? No I don't think so. The only thing that concerns me (other than the previously mentioned defensive woes) is Penn State's notoriously bad start in noon games. Hopefully they got that out of their system against Temple because this isn't Temple and the defense won't shut the Purdue offense out.

Purdue will be doing a "Black Out" this week. Putting aside that it's going to raise money for charity (each shirt sold sends money to United Way), what are your feelings on other schools organizing "[insert color here] Outs?"

Meeh. Good for them they're trying to generate excitement for a team that desperately needs some. The problem is, you can try to coax fan excitement but it really has to happen organically (corporate middle manager word alert) that is to say it has to happen in a grass roots sort of way from the student body or fan base, like it did at PSU, and not from a university mandate. Once you successfully organize a [color] out and it catches on the athletic department can ask fans on specific games to wear said color like Penn State does but really it hast to come from the fans first. Georgia tried a black out last week… yeah, didn't work out so well.

Lightening Round
-Royster over 100 yards?

Oh my yes, I'll be shocked if he doesn't.

-Curtis Painter throws first TD ever vs. PSU?

Oh my yes, I'll be shocked if he doesn't.

-Pat Devlin gets meaningful playing time?

Oh my no, I'll be shocked if he does.

Blue & White Roundtable: Let the Real Season Begin

Galen put the questions together this week, I’m answering them. That’s how we roll.

He’s the DJ, I’m the rapper.

Don’t forget the other guys:
Black Shoe Diaries
Happy Hour Valley
Tangled Up In Blue And White
There is No Name On My Jersey
We Want the Lion
William F. Yurasko
Zombie Nation


*warning - painfully obvious question alert* Penn State gets its first ‘real’ test this weekend facing a ranked opponent when the Fighting [None-Offensive-Mascot]s come to town. Gaze into your crystal ball and give us a short description on how Saturday night’s events will unfold. Or if you’re lazy just fire up NCAA 2009 and tell us what the Xbox thinks.

Xbox? Really? Playstation3’s got a BluRay, bitch. I see a sloppy start for both sides, Penn State gets a lead, Illinois puts up points late. Was ready to declare a probable victory, but recent developments have put me on edge about this game, heads may be rolling all over the Top 25 this week.

So, about that not playing anybody yet statement being thrown around.

Saturday’s game is on the big stage at 8:00 with most of the football world watching. It’s a white out and Penn State is favored by two scores (as of Monday). Is this a lose-lose situation (the only way they could look good is by winning big) for Penn State or golden opportunity to show the world what the Spread HD is all about?

Lose-lose? No, given that we were under the radar before the season and Missouri gave up a ton of yardage and points to them already all we have to do is take care of our business and not let Illinois run wild. I do think this will be the opportunity to unleash the SpreadHD, because I don’t think we’ve seen it yet in its entirety.


Now that all the fluff questions are out of the way do Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma get significant playing time?

I doubt it, but it is entirely possible. I suspect it may not be until the second half.


Lightning Round
Back in 2007, Illinois Basketball fans made my skull crack open in rage slightly angered me when they befouled the statue of Joe Paterno. Do you hate the Illini like me or not so much?

The only team I truly hate is Notre Dame, I also despise Bobby Bowden and his fake aw-shucks folksy “charm.” I have no real ill will against Illinois, but I am still bothered that Penn State found a way to lose that game last year. One of several that team just gave away.


It’s a night game please quantify the amount of alcohol you will consume before gametime (if you don’t drink please quantify the amount of fatty foods you will eat).

Not as much as I normally would, since I’ll be hanging out with my dad and pulling the wake up early and drive up to the game Saturday from home instead of from my normal staging ground.


Put it on the line – final score:

It'll be raining...points. 55-42.