Welcome to another off season edition of Midweek Musings, where we stoke the fires of creativity and discourse.
This week’s discussion centers around yet another “would you rather” scenario. Many pundits have Penn State finishing somewhere around 9-3; I’m a little more optimistic than the national discussion, and believe that PSU will most likely end up 10-2, going 7-2 in conference play.
So, assuming that the Lions do indeed go 10-2 (7-2), Midweek Musings asks:
Would you rather PSU beat Michigan and Ohio State, but lose to Maryland and Rutgers, OR
Would you rather PSU lose to Michigan and Ohio State, but beat Maryland and Rutgers?
Neither scenario guarantees a spot in the B1G Championship Game, as we can’t know in this setup whether Michigan or OSU go undefeated besides their one loss to PSU.
Losing to Maryland and Rutgers would be a gigantic black eye for the Lions, and probably affect their perception nationally, despite victories over the two other big dogs in the East.
Losing to Michigan and OSU is basically par for the course right now, as is beating Maryland and Rutgers. A 10-2 season, in which the only difference from last year is beating Michigan State may not move the needle much nationally going forward. Basically, Penn State beat whom they should have beat, and lost to whom they should have lost.
Still, many people, myself included, believe that a win over MSU last year likely puts the Lions in a New Year’s Six bowl, stringing together double-digit wins for three consecutive seasons for the first time since the 80s. 10-2 is nothing to scoff at, even if it includes losses to the two teams Lions fans would most likely see defeated.
So what say you, dear reader? Which scenario would you rather?