Penn State hits rock bottom and God love 'em, they just keep digging.

JayTweet, obviously.

[Programming note:  Penn State's basketball team tries to extract themselves from the quicksand today at 12:30 p.m. against Tulane (0-2).  No front-page open thread for this one, so it'll be up to someone to put up a Fanpost. And here it is. - RUTS]

This must have been during a MSU-Notre Dame game. LOLtato.

BSD Mike: Oh, how I look forward to this game. It seems like every year Sparty comes into the season finale licking their wounds and hoping to squeak out an invitation to the Alamo Bowl. And every year it's such a pleasure to slap them back to reality. Last year was particularly fun because Sparty woke up that morning thinking they actually had a chance at the Rose Bowl. How cute. Then Daryll Clark torched them silly, and Dantonio went all pissy pants in the final seconds as we celebrated. Here's an idea, Mark. If you don't like our boys celebrating, try beating them. Of course, let's not forget Dantonio had no problems enjoying a Gatorade bath in 2007 while JoePa waited to shake his hand at midfield. What goes around comes around, dude.
 
This year I expect more of the same. Sparty hasn't beaten anyone with a pulse this year. Their passing defense is terrible. The rest of the team is nothing special. Though they'll be playing with that motivation of hoping to get a third tier bowl game, our boys will be playing for a possible invite to a BCS bowl. Just slightly higher stakes. Give the edge to the good guys, and Sparty can take a bus to the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.
 
Penn State 35, Michigan State 17

Kevin HD:  I’m usually pretty good at blinding myself in games like these, but I’ve got to be honest: the more I look at this one the less enthused I am.
 
Yesterday’s Q&A’s had one theme for me: special teams.  It’s not that we aren’t making any big plays in the kick game – we aren’t -- it’s that we’re bad, bad, bad on a level I didn’t quite realize.  I mean, 100+ in most categories with the athletes we have?
 
The bottom line, though: Penn State is the more talented team, but Paterno/Hall need to commit to protecting the quarterback at all costs.  When things break down Clark isn’t going to persevere anyway, but if you give him a chance with calculated risk he performs every time.  Prediction: pain and Paternoball.
 
I think a blowout here and a struggle in the Iowa-Minnesota game gets us into the BCS, but I can’t predict that in good faith.  Sure, the Iowa game might be ugly, but I suspect ours will be as well. 
 
Penn State 20, Michigan State 17

Run Up The Score:  Be prepared for a shootout, as both teams should have great success(!) passing the ball.  Each team should excel in the passing game for different reasons, however -- Penn State, because MSU's secondary is garbage, and MSU because they protect the quarterback well and our defensive ends are having a below average year applying pressure.  And quite frankly, Michigan State has more quality receivers than we can cover, especially with A.J. Wallace likely out of the lineup. 

It's the special teams blunders that continue to terrorize the Nittany Lions -- really, the only disasters we're missing are a blocked field goal, giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown, and the dreaded "krumble" (kickoff return fumble).  Michigan State has a clear edge in nearly every facet of the kicking game.  Further, Sparty should be the looser team, having locked up some random, low-level bowl game while Penn State has to deal with the pressure of grabbing an at-large BCS bid while in a hostile environment. 

The common denominator in Penn State's three (three!  It's the 12th game!) previous road games at Illinois, Michigan, and Northwestern.  Slow, slow starts.  Expect another one tomorrow.  On the other hand, Sparty struggled mightily with Purdue last week.  They had 16 less first downs, 20 less minutes of possession, and gave up 524 yards to the Boilermakers...but still won due to special teams play.  Sparty also lost to Central Michigan, Minnesota and Notre Dame.  They needed overtime to beat Michigan.  And yet they're only a three-point underdog at home.  (Wouldn't touch this game with stolen money, by the way.)

I tend to get tagged as the negative editor around here, but I don't think I've picked against PSU all year.  Bad feeling about this one, though.  Michigan State starts fast, Penn State makes a run in the middle quarters, and another epic fail on special teams dooms the Lions in the end.

Michigan State 34, Penn State 31.

Oh, forget it. I don't even have the heart to write the fake "Tarheels Beat Nittany Lions" post.  This game was a disaster, practically from the opening tip.  UNC-Wilmington (1-2) -- a team that went 7-25 and had a RPI ranking of 273 one year ago -- never lost the lead after breaking a 7-7 tie early in the first half, although Penn State (2-1) whittled the deficit to two points with three minutes remaining.  Chris Babb, Andrew Jones, and Tim Frazier combined to shoot 4-28 from the field.  Babb was an unconscionably bad 2-10 on his three-point attempts.  Despite those awful shooting performances, Cammeron Woodyard couldn't get more than four minutes of playing time -- two more than Andrew Ott received.  Talor Battle scored 29 points, but was 8-23 from the field. However, he was uncharacteristically great from the foul line (11-12).

How bad was it?  Penn State had nine steals and only five turnovers, and still lost by 11.  It was obvious that Ed DeChellis was frantically searching for a winning combination, like an 80 year old man about to bet his Social Security check at the racetrack.  Nothing worked.  Perhaps Penn State was flat due to playing a game two nights ago and traveling to South Carolina.  Maybe it was just one of those games where four guys were ice cold at the same time -- the only two players to hit more than half of their field goals were David Jackson (4-5) and Jeff Brooks (4-6).  Except for the unusual amount of made free throws, Penn State looked like the DeChellis teams of 3-5 years ago.  Next to no production from the post players, awful perimeter defense, and lots of bricks on the offensive end. 

It'll be filed under the "Bad Loss" category come March, if this team turns out to be bubble-worthy again.  The Charleston Classic, just like the other in-season tournaments Penn State has particpated in recently, is already an epic failure.  This was Penn State's chance to add some quality wins (or hell, some quality competition) to its resume, against teams like Miami, Davidson, or South Carolina.  Instead, it's Tulane tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 p.m.  No rest for the frigid.

Game is on ESPNU and your usual PSU football/basketball radio stations.  Good luck finding it elsewhere.

ESPN Game Cast (updates every 30 seconds)

1.  If you were selling the Land Grant Trophy at a garage sale, what price would you put on the sticker?
 
I know that the strictures of blogging require me to say "i shud totes pay them 2 take it away, lololol," but really, I think there's a lot of value packed inside that beauty.  You've got the exquisite mahogany frame (excellent as a replacement coffee table leg in a pinch), two bonus paperweights, fine campus art, that little plaque under the lion that looks sort of like a double light switch, and who couldn't use an impressive-looking trophy-action-guy to put on the ol' mantle?  Seriously, you could furnish an entire apartment with this thing.
 
It's like an '85 Datsun: the parts themselves are worth far more than the sum of the parts.  So, like, at least $3.75, FIRM.

Functional, but only when dismantled into 20 pieces.

 
2.  Penn State's defensive weakness is against the pass, especially crossing routes in the middle of the field.  Your guys aren't going to be total jerks and try stuff like that, right?
 
Of course not!  Because if we've learned anything from the past few years, it's that Mark Dantonio will go to great lengths to appease opposing fans.
 
In all seriousness: yeah, that's probably exactly what we're going to do.  Blair White is excellent from the slot, and although he had a relatively quiet week against Purdue, he did score a huge 4th quarter touchdown on--you guessed it--a shallow crossing route in the middle of the field.  We've also got B.J. Cunningham, Mark Dell, and two tight ends (Charlie Gantt and Brian Linthicum) who are proficient at that sort of thing.  Cunningham, White, and Keshawn Martin are each also serious deep threats.  If we don't get a whole lot of production from them collectively, Penn State wins.
 
3.  PSU's special teams are bad.  And by "bad", I mean "run away from the television while sobbing uncontrollably."  Michigan State ranks 7th nationally in kickoff returns and has the best placekicker in the conference.  Is there any part of special teams where Penn State might have an advantage?
 

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More photos » by Amy Sancetta - AP

7 months ago: Peanut the dog, dressed in a Michigan State Spartan costume, is seen outside Ford Field before the semifinal game between Michigan State and Connecticut during the men's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament Saturday, April 4, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

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Part one of an exchange between myself and LVS of SBNation's fine Michigan State blog, "The Only Colors".  His questions, my answers.  The other half of Malicious Internet Interrogation will likely be up later today or tomorrow.  And don't forget this afternoon's basketball game against UNC-Wilmington.  Tip-off is at 4:00 p.m., game to be broadcast on ESPNU (and presumably, ESPN360 yeah, apparently not).  We'll have an open thread.

1.  MSU-PSU: great rivalry or greatest rivalry?
 
Greatest, of course!  How else could you explain two teams fighting over a pre-school arts and crafts monstrosity like the Land Grant Trophy?

2.  Penn State allowed almost 300 yards passing against Indiana last Saturday; that statistic alone gives MSU fans at least some hope, as our offense is essentially pass-or-bust this year.  How has PSU's pass defense been this season?  Are there any clear vulnerabilities in the secondary?
 
Keep in mind that Indiana threw the ball 51 times and was playing from behind in the second half last week, but yes, the larger point is that teams know it's better to throw on Penn State than attempt to run.  I would not be remotely surprised if MSU attempts close to 50 passes on Saturday, although I doubt they'll reach the 61 passes thrown by Brian Hoyer against PSU back in 2006 -- and that was in a 17-13 game.  Penn State can be thrown on, but they do their best to protect any obvious liabilities in the secondary.  Free Safety Nick Sukay has steadily improved throughout the year.  Drew Astorino (#28) plays the other safety position, and it's no secret that he's trying to fight through a shoulder injury.  CB A.J. Wallace sustained a concussion last week, he's listed as "possible" for Sparty.  So there may be opportunities for you in the passing game. 

[For the rest of our Q&A, including discussion of SPECIAL TEAMS FAIL and much more, please head over to The Only Colors.]

Mark Dantonio, looking at the scoreboard to make sure he has no timeouts remaining. (AP Photo)

Nothing hurts more than the truth, and nothing says truth like charts.

Something I was interested in: just how true is the Spartan Slide? Sure they've blown monster leads against mediocre teams and lost to MAC schools, but that's early season stuff. How did John L. Smith earn such a fantastic reputation for late season collapse?

Winning percentage by month at Michigan State:

Isn't that awesome? Obligatory:

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What is this view worth, anyway?

Mostly ignored in the commotion and tension of the Indiana game was David Jones' pre-game blockbuster detailing the changes coming for students and season ticket holders at Beaver Stadium, beginning with the 2011 season:

When asked about the plan Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center, where he was watching the Penn State-Penn men’s basketball game, athletic director Tim Curley would neither confirm it nor discuss specifics. He responded with generalities about the athletic department’s need to raise additional money soon:

"The bottom line is, right now, everyone around the country is looking at ways to create new revenue sources. We’ve tapped out a number of sources so far — adding a 12th game, the Big Ten Network. We’ve tried to benchmark ourselves against other schools right now. And we’re looking at creative ways to generate more revenue.

"And now’s the time we need to do it. We need to create new revenue in order to maintain our broad-based program."

 

Exact details of the plan have not yet been released by Penn State, but based on multiple accounts, these seem to be the basics:

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No, it's not on television.  Yes, you have to pay $2.99 for the BTN's apparently awful video feed.  But don't despair, you can listen to the student broadcast for free.  Click on the ComRadio logo at the top of the page for the audio.  Game starts at 7:35 p.m.

Useful links:

Box score

Game notes from gopsusports.com

List of radio affiliates