Say It Loud!! I'm Penn State Proud

Until I become a real journalist and have to show objectivity, I am going to celebrate in my Penn Stateness for a while. Going into this season, if you asked if that Penn State would be 9-0 and ranked #3, I would have laughed. Hard. I mean I did rank PSU #10 in my preseason poll, but was more of a function of how I felt they would finish the season. If you would have asked me if they would be in this position after all of the off-field distractions, I again would have laughed. And if you asked me if PSU would be in this position after what looked like a murder's row of Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State (with Illinois mixed in and two of the three games on the road), I would have thought PSU will be lucky to get out with one loss. All of this with a first year starter at QB and a superstar LB out for the year. And, yet...here we are.
There were no bad starts like last week. This game was a classic Big Ten battle. Both defensive lines were very impressive. During the course of the game I had wondered when the offenses would break out. You had flashes of it. I never felt like Penn State played with much passion or sense of urgency, but they never panicked either. Terrelle Pryor was mostly impressive, but his freshman mistake did cost the Buckeyes the game. Late in the third quarter, after PSU missed a field goal to tie the game, I thought it was lights out for the Nits. When Ohio State subsequently moved down the field and appeared to be in position to possibly put the game away, Pryor fumbled. Instead of merely sneaking in for a first down on third and inches, Pryor went for more. And had the ball punched away. Momentum shifter and game changing moment...
But then something funny happened on the way to the forum. Darryl Clark doesn't come in. Backup QB Pat Devlin enters. What the hell is happening?? But Devlin coolly leads the Nits down the field and scores the only touchdown of the game. A late field goal seals it and Penn State ends thirty years of despair in Columbus. What to make of all of this??

-Even when the offense didn't have their "A" game, PSU found a way to win. Evan Royster redeemed himself in the fourth quarter with some key runs. I'm sure things will be better in November.

-The defensive line had one of their best performances of the year, holding the Buckeye running game in check. I thought an issue the rest of the year would be depth on the defensive line would be an issue. In a game like last night, they played like stars!

-The defensive secondary I feel is the weakness on this team and hopefully this addressed down the stretch. Michigan State could cause this team many problems if last night's lapses continue.

-Will there be QB controversy?? Let's hope not, but I will say this: In year's past, if a backup QB were to come in, we'd all cringe and groan. Last night, I never felt for one second that Pat Devlin could not do the job. And he was terrific when the situation called for it. Hopefully the coaching staff handles this properly. I hope Darryl Clark does too.

-The future? It's so easy to get carried away and say PSU is golden in November. Let's not get crazy here. College football is a wacky sport and you're dealing with kids. Anything can happen. Nothing should be taken for granted. If nothing else, Iowa is a tough road test. Indiana won yesterday. And Michigan State is one tough cookie. One at a time and hopefully fate will (and faith) will take us to the right place.

Here's hoping to a November To Remember!!