Sometimes in life it's better to let other people do the talking. You are a homer anyway, and so quoting someone else will probably make whatever is said more credible.

Penn State > USC? Yeah! The most disappointing thing about the post-Iowa polls (other than them showing Penn State with a loss, of course) was the fact that so many pollsters found it a forgone conclusion that USC was a more worthy one loss team than the Nittany Lions. My spitting into the rain seemed futile, but the MSM just might catch on after all.

If Oregon State beats Oregon, then could you put USC in the national title game over Penn State? How? Penn State blew out Oregon State and beat Ohio State in Columbus. USC lost to Oregon State and beat Ohio State at home. Besides, USC, in this scenario, doesn't even earn the top spot in the Pac 10, even if it does win a share of the Pac 10 title.

Ok, so that's just one writer who probably doesn't even vote. But the point is not that everyone needs convinced, just that they need to justify it either way.

Computer polls going all "I, Robot"? Yeah! I used to support the fact that the computers are included in the BCS; they seem to apply objective criteria to everyone equally and, therefore, help guard against any sweeping bias. My high regard for the digital changed this season. Dr. Saturday explains it's not the computers' fault.

This is the kind of absurdity that results when you withhold information: If the computers were allowed to take into account margin of victory instead of treating every win as exactly the same, those algorithms would make infinitely more sense (the poll Sagarin would submit if he could has Oklahoma No. 2 and Tech fourth).

Including margin of victory is a double edge sword and, to be honest, those running the BCS are totally justified in excluding it from the formula. It allows the computers to come up with much more logical results, but the problem of excluding them is replaced with the problem of understanding them. Coaches feel the need to take unnecessary end zone shots after the opponent has already put in the second string defense, all to make the victory a +28 instead of +21. When voters see these things they often are able to put them in context, but a computer will not. 

Dr. Saturday expands later:

[Computers are] forced to throw out margin of victory by BCS rules, eliminating the difference the humans see in winning 65-21 and winning, say, 3-2. When there are so few games to compare, no win is really just a win, period, but them's the rules.

That's right, of course, but it's not the golden ticket. In my example above, if the team that wins by 28 with a late TD against non-starters better than the team that, up 35, is scored on a la last Saturday's late Michigan State drive against third team players? That two point conversion at the end would make a computer think so. It allows too much manipulation and, besides, doesn't take into account things like weather and officiating.

So what do I think after seeing Penn State two spots lower in the BCS than their consensus human poll average? Seeing them ranked behind Ohio State in Billingsley's poll? Trailing Georgia and Oklahoma State in other formulas?

Just get rid of them. They are imperfect machines that aren't being allowed to use all the data available and don't seem to be adding any value. If you want a broader base for the BCS average, there are other ways of achieving this.

A rivalry is born? Umm...Yeah! No. Adam Rittenberg at ESPN wonders if the fake rivalry didn't "get legs" this weekend.

Dantonio said later that his two timeouts were not a reply to Devlin's touchdown pass.

"There's no motivation there. I think the problem was earlier in the game. I was just trying to give our guys a rest."

Hmm, not so sure I buy that.

One of the things I love about Dantonio is that he doesn't downplay games or certain opponents. He certainly doesn't minimize the Michigan rivalry, and he might have just injected some flavor to a previously bland rivalry with Penn State.

The back-to-back timeouts at the end of the last weeks game made me realize something, but it wasn't that Michigan State is now a rival.  It's that MSU might have just done the impossible: replace John L. Smith with someone just as ridiculous and pathetic.  Michigan State fans: if you want to lose the "little brother" tag, stop defending a coach that acts like a whinny brat.

The letters come with the bus? Yeah!  The first blue bus has been sold, winning bid?

The "ultimate tailgating vehicle" was recently auctioned off on eBay -- a bus Penn State used to transport its football players to Beaver Stadium for home games from 1980 to 2007, the first of several to put up for sale. The winning bid for the first bus on the block: $4,050.

And who says the marketing people at PSU don't know what they are doing?  In a line right out of The Price Is Right:

"Entertain friends in style at next season’s tailgates with a vehicle steeped in Penn State football history," read the promotional copy.

Do you mind if we dance with your dates? ESPN is apparently trying to steal one of FOX's premiere sports tickets: the BCS bowl game broadcasts.

The BCS is considering a proposal from ESPN that would see all BCS bowl games, including the championship game, wind up on ESPN, sources familiar with the negotiations are saying.

[...]

If ABC/ESPN ultimately wins the bid and moves even one BCS game to ESPN, it would trigger a clause in its Rose Bowl contract that would allow it to immediately take the annual game in Pasadena from its home of 21 years on ABC to the cable channel.

Moving the game from ABC to ESPN wouldn't actually change anything, as Happy Hour Valley points out, because just about all of the TV watching households in this country already get the cable channel.  This is the direction things are moving anyway...gone are the days where a program not on a bunny-ears channel doesn't get watched.  This also represents a huge deal for the BCS, they are looking at increasing their revenue by 50% from TV contracts alone.  The BCS knows not of this recession you talk about.

While I agree with just about everyone, that FOX has a long way to go in their college football coverage, I'm concerned about one player holding all of the cards.  ESPN already is by far the biggest college football platform. Writers and coaches, who make up two thirds of the BCS, rarely get to pay attention to more than one or two games on Saturday.  Where do you think they catch up on the ones they missed?

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I don't think it's unimaginable for the ESPN bosses, who have a direct interest in BCS ratings to the tune of millions of dollars, to feel a little pressure to make the big market teams look better in their "news" coverage. 

Hindsight is 20/20 (and what is with the Wildcat?). Jeff McLane pulled some quotes together about the Penn State game prep for Iowa, and the direction the coaches decided to move in after it became clear that Clark was no where near 100%.

He said [Clark] sitting out the Iowa game never was discussed. Still, the coaches added a "Wildcat" formation - wide receiver Derrick Williams took a direct snap as Clark split wide - so Clark avoided unnecessary hits. The Wildcat also was in the game plan in case Devlin, who isn't as mobile, had to replace Clark.

I thought the plays to Williams were both interesting and effective, but I didn't catch on to the fact that they were an attempt at protecting Clark.  If he wasn't physically ready enough to take a couple of hits, I have to wonder if playing him wasn't a mistake.  I also think that Devlin is relatively mobile; what you lose is the physical, aggressive running style. However, if Clark isn't available for that type of play, and he is still feeling the effects of a concussion that forced him to sit out a lot of practice, why not play the OSU tested Devlin?  I don't even really want an answer, I'm moving on, but being too hesitant to make necessary changes seems to be a common theme with this coaching staff.

Also, more signs that Paterno is starting to feel the strain of the season.

"Saturday night was a tough night for me," said coach Joe Paterno, who has been hobbled by a leg injury. "There's no sense in kidding you about that. Football games are tough these days on me. And then you get home and you play the game 10 times in your head. That's tough. You don't get any sleep Saturday nights."

To be fair, though, there are probably a lot of coaches in their 30's that would lose sleep after suffering a loss like this one.

Big Ten speed. The conference soccer tournament starts this week, finally putting an end to all of these Big Ten teams beating up on each other.

This year’s bracket looks to be very competitive as it is loaded with talent.  Four Big Ten student-athletes have earned National Player of the Week honors this season, tied for most out of all conferences.  Also, four Big Ten squads rank in the RPI’s top-15, most among all conferences.

Seriously, though: I'm tired of these other schools getting a free pass into the national tournament by beating up on cupcakes and then breezing through their terrible conferences.

As we mentioned last week, Penn State, with very strong play from Warren Gross, might be peaking at the right time.  Penn State starts tournament play tomorrow at 10:30am against Northwestern.

They're out for your blood. The Challenge is on:

The 15th annual Penn State and Michigan State Blood Donor Challenge begins Nov. 3, and Penn State will try to hold on to its two-year winning streak against Michigan State.

[...]

If Penn State wins this year it will be its 10th victory in the 15 years the two schools have been competing.

I'm consistently blown away at how successful this thing has become.  And it continues to gain in productivity: last year was the first time a school broke the 2,000-unit barrier (Penn State, of course, 2,170).

 

Some notes and quotes from around these internets about Saturday's big game.

Chris Wells is putting on his "he hate me" jersey and playing the old no one believes in us card.

"I definitely feel we're underdogs," Wells said. "We've not been producing up to the expectations of the media or whoever it may be. A lot of people are thinking we're not a great football team."

Well, you are underdogs, actually.  Two and a half points.  An, no, you haven't been producing up to the expectations of "whoever".  We talked about it yesterday, but if you want to prevent people from claiming you aren't a great football team, score an offensive touchdown against Purdue.

The Post-Gazette has a post-October observation:

Long before the season began, many were predicting a Red October for Penn State.

The gloomy forecast was based on the Nittany Lions' past performances against Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State and the fact that the Lions had to play those three traditional Big Ten powers during a three-week stretch.

Penn State was a combined 5-16 against that trio since 2000.

Continue reading this post »

It's hard to find time to put these together during the season, but today there's enough interesting editorials out there I felt one was warranted.

As RUTS so eloquently pointed out, Joe's contract status got put on the back burner as the team jumped out to a 6-0 start. But his recent health problems have rekindled talk about his future and the future of the program. Today David Jones reshuffles the deck and tries to read the cards to determine where this ship is sailing. Of course Tom Bradley is on the list of possible successors with Schiano's stock dropping faster than the Dow Jones. JayPa is out while Al Golden's door may be opening. But there's one name that may get major consideration that may come as a surprise to many people.

Continue reading this post »

For some timeI've been meaning to start a series where we take a weekly spin around the Big Ten to see what's going on, but with moving to Houston and dodging hurricanes every other week it's been a bit busy lately. But today I told myself I'm going to do it. So here we go.

Lake the Posts is breaking out the purple Kool-aid over Northwestern's 3-0 start.

O-Line Questions Answered

Yes, the Cats offense has yet to hit 5th gear, but the "big" question in the off-season was our o-line. The Cats currently rank 9th in the nation having only given up 1 sack on the season. Only Wisconsin has done better in the Big Ten.

Of course he's not the only one high on the Purple Cats.

C'mon guys. You beat Syracuse, Duke, and Southern Illinois and you're breaking out the Kool-aide already? When you beat teams like Syracuse, Coastal Carolina, and Oregon State you can...yeah ok...drink up.

Black Heart Gold Pants has your coverage on Charlie Weis' leg injury.

There is No Name On My Jersey is worried about the Temple game. No seriously.

This week sets up to be a classic trap game for Penn State.  The Lions have dominated their opponents in each of their three games this year.  Also, no game has been close even early in the contest.  Next week PSU starts Big Ten play as Illinois rolls into town for the Lions first test of the season.  Could the team be looking past Temple to the Illinis?

If Eleven Warriors is any indication, the fans may beginning to turn on Jim Tressel in Columbus. They think the decision to bite the bullet and go with Terrelle Pryor is now.

Badgercentric takes a look at Wisconsin and statistically compares them to great Badger teams of the past. The early prognosis is favorable, but then two of their three games were against Akron and Marshall. So, yeah.

Paint the Town Orange was not impressed by Illinois' narrow win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Off The Tracks likes the way Penn State is playing, and doesn't like his Boilers' chances when the Nittany Lions travel to Ross-Ade Stadium.

Penn State hasn’t truly played anyone yet, but in that they haven’t allowed an opponent to have even a glimmer of a chance. They may be the only team in the conference that has played 12 complete quarters so far. They won’t be tested again this week when they host Temple. Of the 3-0 teams against varying opponents of difficulty Penn State has been the most impressive by far. I expect them to be 5-0 when they come to Ross-Ade for our next chance at a ranked opponent. I also expect to be 0 for our last 16 against ranked opponents once it is over.

Maize-n-Brew, like most Michigan blogs, is still on the honeymoon with Rich Rodriguez.

Six wins looks like a pipe dream at this point, but I thought the offense looked pretty decent, minus Minor, Grady, and Threet's fumbles. This team, with the exception of our safety play, will be pretty good by season's end. I think everyone needs to take a deep breath, and realize the majority of the mistakes in this game were by young, inexperienced players. It'll get better, it's just not goign to get better quickly.

It looks like Michigan is in for a pretty rough year. We'll see how long RichRod's leash is.

While there is really only one news story going on right now, indulge yourself in a little bit of distraction.  We'll bring you more as it comes to light.

Big Ten Basketball Conference Schedule Released

So I guess the fun thing here is to look at the order?  I don't know.

DECEMBER

31 Northwestern at Penn State Noon ESPN

JANUARY

3 Penn State at Wisconsin 2 p.m. Big Ten Network
6 Purdue at Penn State 9 p.m. Big Ten Network
11 Penn State at Minnesota 3:30 p.m./2 p.m. Big Ten Network
14 Michigan State at Penn State 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
17 Penn State at Indiana 6 p.m. Big Ten Network
20 Michigan at Penn State 9 p.m. Big Ten Network
24 Iowa at Penn State 6 p.m. Big Ten Network

FEBRUARY
1 Penn State at Michigan State Noon Big Ten Network
5 Penn State at Michigan 7 p.m. Big Ten Network
8 Wisconsin at Penn State 3 p.m. Big Ten Network
11 Penn State at Purdue 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
14 Minnesota at Penn State 1:30 p.m. Big Ten Network
18 Penn State at Illinois 7 p.m. Big Ten Network
24 Penn State at Ohio State 7 p.m. ESPN
28 Indiana at Penn State 6 p.m. Big Ten Network

March

3/4/5 Illinois at Penn State TBD ESPN/ESPN2/Big Ten Network
7 Penn State at Iowa 2 p.m. Big Ten Network

Continue reading this post »

The season is almost upon us which means in a few days we'll have actual football games to break down and discuss. So Ron Cook has to get his last ditch jab at Joe Paterno in just under the wire.

It's not hard to imagine Spanier and Curley having to change the locks to keep Paterno out of the school's football complex when they replace him.

Even then, Paterno probably would bang on the door and scream, "Let me in, damn it. I'm still the coach here!"

Sadly, Paterno appears to be that out of touch with reality.

That's why a 6-6 season might be better this season. Not even Paterno's most loyal supporters could back him after that. Many, if not most, already think he has stayed on too long and that the football program needs a new beginning. It's not just the 46 player arrests since 2002 and the embarrassment they caused, especially in a damning ESPN report on "Outside The Lines" earlier this summer. It's that Penn State is a mediocre Big Ten Conference program. It is 32-32 in league games this decade, including 2-6 against Ohio State and an abysmal 0-6 against Michigan.

So be careful what you root for, Penn State fans.

A big season might mean three, four, maybe five more years of Paterno.

Even one more year of Paterno would be one too many.

The funniest thing about this article is how Cook contradicts himself. In the early part of the article he says this.

A bad year would make it a lot easier to get rid of Joe Paterno.

That's what Penn State administrators want, isn't it? That became clear when they refused to give Paterno, 81, a contract extension in the offseason.

And then later Cook says this.

Continue reading this post »

Last Grasp Off-Season Reporting.  Recruiting complaints often fade once we get this close to the season, but the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has decided to run one last headline before we dive into week one.

Penn State's 2008 group of signees was ranked No. 41 among Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) schools by Scout.com and No. 43 by Rivals.com

[...]

The recruiting ranking was hurt because Penn State landed no five-star prospects and only 14 players were signed. By contrast, Alabama, whose 2008 recruiting class is ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com and Scout.com, signed 32 players.

The article hints at this, but it's worth explicitly stating that those rankings are based on a pure point system derived entirely from the number and rank of the players that are recruited.   Their average star rating  was more in the 25-30 range.

Bob Lichtenfels, who covers the East and Midwest as a regional recruiting analyst for Scout.com, agrees with Paterno.

"I always get asked about Penn State's recruiting, and I don't think it's that bad," he said. "I think their recruiting classes have been fine. A lot of rankings are based on numbers of recruits and whether you take a quarterback or not, and they haven't taken one since (Pat) Devlin (in 2006)."

While skill players do have inflated rankings relative to some of the other positions, let's not pretend that those positions aren't important to recruit.  To say "the rankings are artificially low because of the positions being recruited" isn't exactly comforting.  It means we need to get our tails out there and find that frickin' dog land some skill players.

You Beer Cans Are Not Safe Here.  Penn State, along with several other big schools, are apparently enforcing campus policy on those caught violating it off campus.

The University of Colorado-Boulder and Penn State also are taking a broader view of offenses that can activate the campus discipline system. In Colorado, the code regulates any conduct that "affects the health, safety or security of any member of the university community or the mission of the university."

Since most college students live off campus, colleges that want to be on top of discipline need to extend their reach beyond their own real estate.

To some, this may sound like an overreaching of university authority; to others, it's a teachable moment.

I'm still at the confused, not yet teachable understanding of this.  BSD opinion is being reserved until our in-house lawyer gets a chance to review, but in the meantime, please applaud this most excellent use of quotation marks by the author (emphasis mine):

"We have a responsibility to educate our students about being responsible citizens," said Elizabeth A. Higgins, Washington's director of community standards and student conduct, whose office has "educated" 19 students since the extended code of conduct took effect in January.

The school is going to have to find out about your shenanigans through the police, and not all departments check in daily with the university for reports.  PSU spokesman Bill Mahon called it "an imperfect system".  A lawyer interviewed about the story appears to call the legality of such a policy questionable.

Toll Trolls.  The state of Pennsylvania is doing what it can to make your game day commute that much more expensive.  US Rep. John Peterson is on your side:

In the news conference, Peterson took a shot at Gov. Ed Rendell’s positions that keep in play both the I-80 toll plan and an alternate proposal to lease the turnpike to a Spanish-U.S. consortium for 75 years in return for a $12.8 billion payment to the state.

Peterson said Rendell is first and foremost interested in securing funding for big-city mass transit systems

Mary Peterson, head of the U.S. Department of Transportation, will apparently make the decision.  She is also apparently "a nice lady".  So we have that going for us, which is nice.

Extra Points. Still is out 8-10 weeks, he has already used his redshirt, so it is possible he could be back for the last couple of games and make an appearance in a bowl....Wallace is "anxious to do more", including the simple things like snapping up his helmet correctly...Penn State gets it's very own SI commemorative issue.

Hit 'em Where It Hurts. The Ohio State athletic director has sent an email to his fan base encouraging them to switch cable providers because it has become "very unlikely" that Time Warner and the BTN will reach a deal by week one.

"While negotiations are ongoing with Time Warner, it appears very unlikely that an agreement will be reached before the first game of the year, and anything beyond that is problematic," he said.

Smith called Time Warner's decision not to carry the network a "huge disappointment." The letter encouraged fans to go to www.BigTenNetwork.com and type in their ZIP codes to obtain information about providers.

Time Warner responded by saying Ohio State has no idea what they are talking about.

"It appears the university is not being fully briefed on the status of the negotiations," the statement said. "We've had positive discussions with Fox in recent days including the active exchange of proposals.

"There's no stalemate or breakdown in discussions as Smith's letter would have our customers believe. On the contrary, talks are moving in the right direction."

The statement concluded: "We are ready to carry the Big Ten Network."

"Moving in the right direction" is a tried and true way of saying we are still a long way off.  The reality is that most of the BTN games are in the first four weeks of the season, and even if a deal is reached this week the logistics of getting the games actually airing on the network mean it probably won't be available until it's too late.

Three > Two.  Interesting quote regarding where our running game currently stands.

"We will definitely spread it out between all of our backs -- me, Brent and Stephfon," said Royster, a native of Fairfax, Va. "I think we'll have a steady rotation. Maybe two series per back and then if one back steps up and is playing a little better than the others then let him get more reps than anybody else."

So while Brent Carter doesn't get much press, he adds to an incredibly deep set of running backs Penn State is carrying into the season.  I have a lot of things I'm worried about as the season approaches; running back isn't one of them. 

And Then There Was One Still Two.  In a story that probably isn't news, it appears as though neither quarterback is pulling ahead.

Senior Daryll Clark was listed first in the team's pre-camp depth chart, in an "or" situation with redshirt sophomore Pat Devlin. Word leaking out of Penn State's closed practices is that neither passer has pulled ahead in convincing fashion.

I'd be worried if we had a thicker non-conference schedule, but I don't have a problem with this not being decided before the season.  Both will have a chance to perform and earn the starting job, which is the way it should be.

Also, Jay Paterno has jokes.

Quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno mulled over that possibility.

"If it's too close to call, we send it to the Supreme Court like they did in 2000 and let them vote," a laughing Paterno said.

For those of you thinking we may be running a 2006 Florida type system, don't get your hopes up.

"I think I've made it clear that I would prefer to play one quarterback," coach Joe Paterno said. "But the way the game is played today, where the quarterback is really physically so much more involved in it, I think you've got to be careful that you're ready with two."
[...]
"You ideally want to have a No. 1 guy, because you want leadership," Jay Paterno said. "You want to know who goes into the game at the end. Game's on the line, two minutes to go, we've got to drive to win the game, there's got to be a guy who knows that's his role."

In Scores From Other Games: The Men's soccer team lost an exhibition game to Marshall...Will Hoover joins the baseball coaching staff...where your rally towels come from.

Your semi-regular scavenger hunt for Penn State news items on The Internets.

Western Kentucky, Here We Come: Steve Koreivo is a simple man, really.  A Penn State season ticket holder, a father of two, and a slightly dedicated football fan who has seen every Division 1-A football team in person...and knows how to pick a woman:

"Me and the kids know that this is Steve’s passion," Laurie Koreivo said. "It’s the one thing in life he truly loves."

She found that out the hard way in 1987, on a cold snowy day at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa. Koreivo did not budge until Penn State had defeated Notre Dame, 21-20.

"We were just dating at the time," he said. "She stayed throughout the game, which weighed heavily in my decision to marry her."

She may have had no choice. "I just remember being too cold to move," Laurie said.

Better Than Crap?  Awesome!:  The Penn State previews keep coming, but here's something slightly more interesting from MLive.com -- teams who will be better than you think:

8. Penn State: The preseason mag that I'm glancing at right now (Sporting News) has Penn State seventh in the Big Ten. I just don't see it. Whether Darryl Clark or Pat Devlin starts at QB, the offense should be able to move the ball with Evan Royster at RB and the great WR group. There are questions on defense, but not enough for a horrible year. Bank on this: PSU will be 4-0 and ranked in the top 15 when Illinois visits on Sept. 27.

Okay, "better than The Sporting News thinks" might be more appropriate.  I'm not sure anyone in a reasonable frame of mind thinks that Penn State will be the #7 team in the conference.  And if they're not 4-0 heading into the Illinois game, well, there's going to be much more trouble than just living down to TSN's expectations.

Welcome To My Hell, Coastal Carolina:  The Chanticleers (I know, I know...) are preparing for the noise at Beaver Stadium by, you guessed it, blaring annoying techno music into their little stadium:

The stadium and portable speakers were again blaring with a mix of techno and crowd noise during CCU's scrimmage Saturday. The noise attributed to a high number of false starts and miscommunication for the offensive line.

CCU offensive linemen Seth Smalls told Coastal coach David Bennett that one such mistake was related to the noise in Brooks Stadium. Bennett responded by saying he better watch the ball at Penn State. The problem with watching the snap is it gives the defense an advantage on what could be a very tough day for Coastal Carolina quarterbacks.

"We have to learn to communicate by signals, sign language," Bennett said.

Don't worry, Coastal.  The crowd won't be into it by halftime.  Meanwhile, the Chants are still looking for a quarterback.  Techno should be the least of their concerns.

Now is the time on Sprockets vhen ve dance!

Fullback?  I Still Get Paid, Right?:  Tony Hunt has impressed Andy Reid enough to be tried out at another position of need for the Philadelphia Eagles:

The Eagles will have a new fullback taking some of the reps with the first team offense today at practice. His name is Tony Hunt, the team's third round draft pick in 2007. Hunt has impressed head coach Andy Reid with his play on offense and, more importantly, on special teams in recent weeks.

On the surface, some may see this as a demotion, but Hunt has obviously made enough of an impact on Reid that the coach seems to be looking for a solid excuse to keep him on the team.  He'll see the ball a lot more at fullback (think lots of check-down passes and goal-line playaction stuff) than he would as the #4 running back.  Hope it works out for him.

In Scores From Other Games:  A chance to bid on a football autographed by Joe Paterno and some guy who used to beat up on the University of Mexico and Millington Naval Air Station.  Austin Scott is hoping to get a few carries tonight against the Giants.   Evan Royster is pretty good.  Dan Connor gets adjusted to the NFL.  A great story about a former Penn State player who lost a leg at war...and still wanted to come back and play after being released from a German POW camp.