The Return of the Lou Holtz Pep Talk Curse

Lou finally offers another awesome speech to the masses. This time, Lou chooses Navy as his hapless victim



I really want Navy to beat ND. I mean I REALLY want this to happen. I hope Navy can overcome Lou's terrible curse but only one other team has been able to do it this year!

Damn you Lou Holtz!

Penn State Cartoons

Thanks to A Lion's Tale. These are great. Keep them coming!

Blue White Roundtable: Week 3

We have made it to week three and PSU remains undefeated (joining only twenty two other undefeated teams in the top twenty five). This week William, from WWN, brings us the questions Nittany Nation is facing for the upcoming week. My answers can be found below, for more accurate, better written responses please check out RUTS, BSD, TNL, and TNB.

1.) Thus far the defense has given up three points (on a short field) in two games. Have they proved that they are an elite unit or are they still untested?

I think you have to say largely untested. FIU and Notre Dame have combined to score a total and I mean TOTAL of 23 points in two games apiece. I assume nobody will suggest that FIU is a serious challenge to defend and PSU faced a very inexperienced Notre Dame offense. PSU's first test of the season, especially defensively, still remains at Michigan.

2.) Anthony Morelli made a great throw to Chris Bell for 51 yards but also fumbled and was picked off twice. How concerned are you about him as the starting quarterback?

One must approach Morelli with guarded optimism. He has shown that he can manage a game effectively but he has also shown a continued proclivity to horrible decision making. I think I've been saying this for just over twelve months now, but if Morelli can limit the mistakes and turn-overs he can lead PSU to glory. That is what it all boils down to. Lets hope Morelli puts this shit together fast because the start of the Big Ten Schedule is two weeks away.

3.) Don't look now, but this week's opponent Buffalo dropped 42 on Temple this past Saturday. Granted Temple is awful, but should we be concerned at all?

No, and I'll tell you why. The Bulls have a efficient returning QB and experienced WRs, however, against quality opponents (BC & Auburn) the Bulls only put up 191 yards TOTAL! James Stark is a talented RB and rushed for over 700 yds last year and averaged over 4 yds/carry. However, if you look at what he did against quality opponents (again BC & Auburn) he rushed for only 67 yds on 29 carries. What hides behind these stats? I think it tells you Buffalo's offensive line is terrible and when they face big time opponents they just don't match up. In sum, the Bulls are fine for the MAC but should get blown off the field on Saturday. Find the full break down here. I previously predicted

LIGHTING ROUND
Where you at the game? If so, does the atmosphere stand up to other big games like Nebraska in 2002, Ohio State in 2005, etc.?

I was not at the game. However, it looked like it was crazy. I was at the 2002 Nebraska game and I was insanely fired up. That being said, the White Out is the most impressive sight in sports.

Do you think Jimmy Clausen will be a good QB?

If he manages to survive a tough season behind a poor offensive line Clausen shows potential to be a really good QB.

Do you work with any Notre Dame fans? If so, what kind of mood where they in on Monday morning?

Sadly, no. However, I can only imagine the general mood of ND fans can be described as: Pouty.

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE BULLS!

Notre Dame Rundown

There are tons of good Notre Dame blogs out there, one of them foolish enough to ask me for an interivew. (Not because I'm a dick but just because I can't imagine who would want to read what I have written) as one might expect from the only team to have a contract to have all their home games broadcast nationally. Hell, there is even a website completely dedicated to the rivalry between Penn State and Notre Dame.

"Hey, you got Notre Dame in my Penn State!" You got Penn State in my Notre Dame!"

Oh no! Well, we won't blog since the middle of July! So it won't Matter!

In all seriousness, there are several excellent ND blogs out there. Blue-Gray Sky is second to none. They, and they really are a they listing over ten contributors, have a good post analyzing/breaking down ND's spread offense.
Rakes of Mallow is another great, well-established ND blog. ROM writes the following which somehow manages to be both complimentary and insulting at the same time.

Saturday was awful. Beyond awful. The ugliest performance from an offense you'll see outside of Sylvester Croom/Jeff Bowden love child, but this is not the end of the world. Jimmy Clausen looked sharp in his limited action, and if he's able to work the field while Penn State inexplicably doesn't blitz again, we will score points in Happy Valley. Yes, Zombie Nation is very scary (both the song and the fact we're one JoePa bite away from World War Z) and the White Out is a sight to behold, but it's very possible Clausen just doesn't care. It's also possible he's going to curl up in the fetal position and beg Sean Lee to stop hitting him so hard, which is why I'm excited to see what happens come Saturday at 6:00 despite the fact we're a 17.5 point underdog (?!?!?!).

I personally think that Dan Connor and Sean Lee are going to introduce Jimmy Clausen to a world of pain. I think Connor was the best LB on the team last year but Lee might be not only the best LB on the team but the best player on Penn State this year.

A world of pain, Smokey!

Domer Law Blog analyzes a ton of the match ups you will see on Saturday. It is very complimentary and he actually picks PSU to win. You really can't expect more out of a non-PSU-blog. I know this analytical-urge, it struck me in the middle of June.

The House Rock Built is a wonderful blog who appears to still be MIA after the GA Tech whoopin. He particularly deserves a mention because of a wonderful, eclectic, vaguely psychedelic header.

The Rock Report is phenomenally awesome. He has a great post analyzing Charlie Weis' options at QB as well as mulling over their biggest quandary: the O-Line.

I love football. I love football games full of tradition. I can't wait to see the PSU vs. ND on Saturday. It is going to be great!

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR ND!

Paternoville is Organized!

Paternoville is back in full effect and it is better organized then ever! There is an official Paternoville Committee. Paternoville has hit the big time! There are a ton of Paternoville pictures here.

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR NOTRE DAME!

Breaking Down: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Penn State Nittany Lions will take on Notre Dame on September 8, 2007 inside the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium. The Lions will be coming off of a big win (and hopefully injury free win) against a hapless FIU squad and Notre Dame will be one game into their hellish start of a tough season. (games against Ga. Tech and @ PSU and @ Michigan. (Yikes)). Hopefully, Notre Dame will come into Happy Valley 1-0, fat and happy, ready to be beat down, this way the ND hype machine could actually help PSU's strength of schedule.

The Fighting Irish of 2006 had a fine season which included ten wins and a trip to the Sugar Bowl in which they were summarily spanked by the LSU Tigers. However, the 2007 Irish will not closely resemble the '06 squad as 11 players who wore the golden helmets then now wear NFL jerseys. This of course doesn't include the loss of Jeffrey Alan Samardzija who will be pitching for the Cubbies.


Keith Srakocic / AP
Clearly, what will hurt ND's chances the most is the loss of Brady Quinn. Apparently, Weiss has narrowed the list of prospective replacements to three be rattled by a talented and fiery Penn State Linebacking corps. Not to mention, Brady's replacement will be nowhere near as dreamy. Why this is news, nobody knows. Whoever earns the starting spot will be talented but inexperienced. Nor could the next ND QB be as dreamy as the Mighty Quinn. Nor will he have as soft hands.....Right.


ANYWAY, back to the football and away from the sexual misconduct with a minor.

Darius Walker is gone too? Oh man, who does ND have left! Will this be a rebuilding period or a reloading for the talent-rich Irish? I'll try to give you a glimpse of what to expect from Notre Dame in early September.

Passing:
Notre Dame has yet to choose its heir-apparent to Brady despite all of the hoopla surrounding the process. whoever will be in the backfield for the Irish won't have much experience and he will have a less talented wide receiver corps than Quinn had in 2006. ND will manage to move the ball but it won't be with the consistency the Irish came to depend on last year. My guess is the QB, whoever he may be, will complete about 15-18 passes for about 175 yds and 1 TD. However, he will throw about 2 interceptions and fumble the ball once. This will be more a product of PSU's talent at CB and the pressure coming from Connor and Lee than a lack of talent at the QB position.

Rushing:
Brady Quinn will, of course, be next to impossible to replace. However, the Irish also have to find a replacement for the hard working Darius Walker. Remember, Walker rushed for over 1200 yds, with 7 TDs, while averaging 5.1 yds/carry in 2006. The most likely candidate to replace Walker is James Aldridge who saw limited action last year as a Freshman. Aldridge rushed for 142 yds on 37 carries (well, very limited action) and while he didn't get into the endzone he did average 4 yds/carry. If the Offensive line can rebuild after losing Dan Santucci (OG) and Ryan Harris (OT) to the draft they could have another effective year running the ball. However, I think with Penn State's talent at CB the Lions will simply crowd the line of scrimmage and leave no room for the Irish to get their running game going.

Defense:
Notre Dames defense is capable of quality outings and also disastrous attempts at something that looks like Defense. Last year the Irish gave up 24 pts/game (PSU only scored 17 against ND last year). However, the Irish lost 5 defensive starters in last years draft. My guess, is that ND's defense this year will be best represented by:

a delicious, hole-ridden, aged, dairy product.

Predictions:
Notre Dame will be outclassed on the road this year by a better, more experienced Penn State football team. Much the same way Penn State was last year. The young Irish QBs won't be used to Penn State's defensive speed and the mistakes they make will be costly.

Penn State: 38
Notre Dame: 20





GO STATE! BEAT NOTRE LAME!!

You Might Be Notre Dame If...

1. Whenever you manage to pin together more than 6 wins you are considered for the National Championship.
2. You have lost 9-straight bowl games dating back to 1994!
3. You find yourself coached by a manatee.














Throw it deep, Brady!
4. Despite all of the above you'll probably be ranked #1 in the preseason!

5. You just got crushed by LSU.

If you the above have happened to you, you might just be Notre Dame!


GO STATE!