Who is excited about this season?

Tell the Black Shoe Diaries why you are excited about the 2008 season.  Say something that excites you about the upcoming season.

I am excited to see lots of sacks from our stud D-Line....I am excited to see an Offense that opens up alittle with the mobile Q-back like those MRob days....Just so excited about the season....6 weeks until we get us some PSU football.

Excitement...Excitement...Excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun rumor for Friday .. A sales guy I work with was a former PSU lineman back in the early 70s was in today and we chatted up this season.. He told me word on the street is that it's Joe's last year for sure.. and that Joe wants Jay to take over.. but the word on the street is that it will be Ron Vanderlinden - not Tom Bradley... Purely rumor and speculation from a former letterman who's connected to the program - but .. fun to think about.

Was just wondering if anyone else has played the new NCAA game... any thoughts or comments?

We waited at Gamestop for it to come out on Monday... Only saw nittany lion being interviewed by the Collegian... not sure who it was tho

Oh and the first play I ran was a slant from DC to D-Will over the middle...  completion 8 yards...

No Coastal Carolina in the game, but handled Oregon State pretty well... 2-0 #11

GO STATE

I'm really enjoyed the visiting lecture series over at EDSBS, and especially  this self defeating comment from Marshall blogger Herd Nation:

[reason number three why Cinci will fall at Marshall]

C) It’s a white-out! The latest success in our ongoing attempt to steal every single tradition from Penn State.

 They need not worry, they aren't the first and won't be the last.  It's amazing how that 2005 atmosphere still rings pretty loud.

I know most of us are die hard Penn Staters (and therefore, college sports fans), myself included (PSU '05).  But, I think this might be a unique opportunity for a lot of sports fanatics to be a part of pro sports history.

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"What if..."

Picture this: last regular scheduled game of the season & last home game (of a Great Season); Joe's decision is still unclear as to whether he'll be back on the sidelines after the Bowl Game...

Sooo, what to do...what to do! GOT IT!

Similar to White Out: "107,000 Screaming JoePa's..."

The factory better start manufacturing the rubber costume heads now!

Everybody has a standard blue oxford in their closet; kaki pants (roll'em up!), and a navy blue tie...

Can you imagine the game coverage...the panning views...unreal...never matched!

I know a lot of people don't agree with the star rankings, but rivals.com reviewed (who they think are) the top 40 high schools players in PA.  I looked at this list and am shocked at the results.  Only three recruits in the top 25 are headed to PSU.  I know we are slowly recruiting nationally, but it still shocks me at the lack of Pennsylvania natives enrolling for JoePa.  Thoughts?

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=2219

Bumped from the Fanposts. Thanks, Fugimaster.

Here at BSD, where most of us follow PSU football on a daily basis, we're generally in our respective camps when it comes to what we think should happen with Joe at the end of the year..  There are the "Let him coach till he wants to quit or we tank" people, and there are the "Nudge him out so he doesn't hurt recruiting/Get a fresh start" people.  I happen to fall in the "keep him" crowd, however, both sides make valid points, and this post is not to argue about what SHOULD happen, but what might happen.

Now, as I said, we're all mostly decided on what we think, but I feel the vast majority of the PSU fan base is not.  A large segment of the PSU population goes with the flow, and gets caught up in the moment.   If you polled all Nittany Lion fans after the 2005 season and asked what they thought should happen to Joe, I bet you'd have found very different response than you would today.  Right now, the bandwagon is back at the "Hes just to old "stage, but I'm wondering if a 11-2 or 12-1 season would change things back to "the older the better!" yet again.

Never underestimate the bandwagon folks.  There are far more casual PSU fans than diehards (You know, the people who root for Pitt basketball?).  How much do you think the public opinion will affect the decision making at Old Main if Joe refuses to go out on his own, either after a Rose Bowl win, or after another 9-4 season?  Can Joe give himself another 2-3 if he wants them after a successful season?

In my opinion, I think the chances of Joe "going out on top" are slim to none, especially if Bobby Bowden keeps on coaching.  The more he sees himself outcoaching guys half his age, the more, I think, he'll want to stay around and go for the wins record.  And if he does give us a great season, I think administration will have no choice but to bring him back. Paterno will have the support of the fans, and he'll be holding all of the cards.

Thoughts?

Does anyone see any similarities between the two men.

Both are relatively old for their positions.

Both have been tried to have been forced out the door (Favre-GM Ted Thompson, Paterno, Pres. Graham Spanier)

Both have said NO, not until I say so because I LOVE my job, and told the brass to kiss it

Both have replacements waiting in the wings for years (Favre-Rodgers, Paterno-Bradley or other)

Some differences in specifics, but hey so what..

after this season.  I was reading the USA today when they mentioned in the sports section that OSU is only 2 wins away from the 800 level, and Penn State is ten wins away.

I thought that was very interesting, I didn't think we would be up that high. 

Only four other schools the article says have reached the 800 win mark:  Nebraska, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Texas.

i found it on their website:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2008-07-09-collegefootballkickoff_N.htm

it's near the bottom.