So what changed?  I stumbled across an old post while trying to find something else, and found this questionable: in January of 2009 Penn State was generally thought to be the 14th best team headed into 2009.  This was before the draft (although not all the announcements), before injuries, and before suspensions/transfers of contributors. 

So why do the pundits now think Penn State is more of an 8 or 9?  I have no idea.  Long live the pointless preseason poll that really is a complete shot in the dark.

And the survey says...!  Consensus numbers are mostly in, as everyone has now had time to take in the week one lines and day dream about getting to watch Actual Football:

The basic translation here is that people are more confident that Penn State will cover the Akron line of 27 points than any team will cover any other line in any other game.

To show up on these lists is generally considered a bad thing - if it gets this uneven then the line should be moving.  But it isn't.  Now this is much more concerning when the line is in the 2-5 range, but it's still an interesting thing to point out.

They don't rebuild, they reload! Is one of my least favorite ESPN zingers.  It's also built into the title of Rittenberg's latest look at the dynamics in the Big Ten:

The Nittany Lions can win consecutive Big Ten titles for the first time and call themselves league champs for the third time since 2005. They can be the first team in some time to put a scare in Ohio State, which has dominated the Big Ten this decade.

But to stack up with the Buckeyes, Penn State must mirror what has been done in Columbus throughout head coach Jim Tressel's tenure -- reload.

[...]

"People have been saying that we're not going to be able to do it, but proving people wrong is obviously a real good motivation," senior wide receiver Brett Brackett said. "That's definitely one of our goals, to show people we can do that.

The main idea is difficult to blockquote, but read the quick write up and you'll get the drift: a Big Ten title this year will mean they've become a 'consistent power' in the conference.

I'm not usually big on second term Lincoln rhetoric applied to college football, but this is a kind of 'statement' I can actually see as substantive.  It's simple, based on actual performance, and besides has a kind of manifest destiny to it for good measure.

Many people were worried a Big Ten Penn State would throw off the leagues balance, and a killer '94 team was the realization of those fears.  But the late '90s teams were susceptible to upsets and those were followed with the kick'em while it hurts Dark Years.

All the while Penn State has maintained it's reverence, it's idol coach and probably even improved on what was already one of the better fan bases in the nation.  Like I said I'm not a big image guy, it's too fickle in the CFB world, but there is something to the idea that winning the Big Ten this year could signal a kind of power shift.

Don't get in the way of a near-tear Lee.  The money quote from last weekend's USA Today story on Lee:

"I feel fast, maybe quicker and faster. I feel I'm the same player, but a year older, more mature, bigger and stronger. I think that should help me."

When he suffered the injury in April 2008, his mother made a calendar counting the days until his first game back. At the start, it was more than 500. Now it's in the teens.

"I can't wait," Lee said. "I'll be in near tears."

I can't wait either.

Only in America. I don't much like the Coaches' Poll, I especially don't like that they want to once again cast secret ballots, but I love this (H/T: blutarsky):

No matter the jurisdiction, laws exist to help us get a look at the information the American Football Coaches Association doesn't want us to see. When it decided to make the post-conference championship game USA Today Coaches Poll ballots secret beginning in the 2010 season, the AFCA ignored one glaring fact: Most of the coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision work for public universities. That means everything those coaches do is subject to the open records law in their particular state. That includes each week's coaches poll ballot.

So beginning Tuesday, SI.com will file records requests with the employer of each of the 51 public school coaches who vote in the 2009 poll.

I have no idea if this thing stands on solid ground, but maybe the threat will be enough to keep coaches at least 50% honest?  5%?  Maybe?

In scores of other games.  PSU downplays familiar No. 1 ranking in women's volleyball...early PSU preview from Crimson Quarry, who's still sad eyes about 2004...Levi Norwood adds a star...and CORNLEY SMASH to the Ukraine.