Reasonable People Hate TOSU!

The 2003 Wisconsin vs. Tosu game on ESPN Classic. You may remember this game as the one where the Ohio State player (Robert Reynolds) fucking chokes Jim Sorgi on the field just before kneeing him in the head.

It is this sort of behavior that makes all reasonable people hate the Buckeyes.

GO STATE!
(6 Days 'til Blue/White)

Reactions to Wisconsin

Penn State is a very good football team. That is the # 1 thing you should take away from this game. It is premature to go beyond this point, however, Penn State is in the driver's seat for the rest of the year. This is in large thanks to some great wins by other teams around the country. Thanks to Texas, Ok.SU, and Florida the Lions are now ranked #3 in both the AP and Coaches poll.

The offense looked like a well oiled machine despite Clark's statistical struggles early and a case of the dropsies amongst the wide receivers.

Special teams were huge contributing not only a TD from D-Will but also great field position for the Lions all night. Derrick Williams is quickly becoming the most exciting player to watch on a punt return in college football. He seems to have two distinct settings:

1. Take it to the house;
2. Nearly create a costly turnover.

Still, it is fucking exciting to watch.

The Defense is what won the game for the Lions. The Lions defense played a tough style of game stifling a powerful Wisconsin running game. The Defense was also able to pressure the QB very effectively. And Aaron Maybin is an absolute beast as he comes around the corner. He looked dominant at times.

Penn State looked great and ,while this may not be the best Wisconsin team PSU has ever faced, the Lions got another quality win, on the road, in a hostile environment.

I am very excited for the rest of the season.

GO STATE! BEAT MICHIGAN!

Initial Reactions to Wisconsin

Penn State looked great on the road this week. DC-17 is a great QB.

The PSU Defense is better than a lot of people, myself included, thought.

Derrick Williams is dangerous. Dangerous to Penn State's opponents and, unfortunately, to Penn State at times.

Lydell Sargeant is in your house, stealing your footballs. The secondary is very deep.

This is the best Penn State team since 1994. This is including the 2005 squad which I find very exciting.

I am fired up!

GO STATE! Beat Michigan!

UPDATE At The Half!

Penn State has looked great so far in this game. The Lions are up by 17 on the road and would be up by at least another TD but for some early miscues. Wisconsin looks completely overmatched on both sides of the ball.

Now, for some notable stats:

Clark is on 5 of 10 for 50 yards. Some big drops have retarded his stats. However, he is having a statistically poor passing game and PSU is still on pace to score 48 pts.

Evan Royster is having a good game. ER has racked up 58 yds. on 11 carries. Not statistically great, however, he is doing some tough running between the tackles. Look for him and Green to put up numbers in the second half.

Oh, and Derrick Williams is wildly inconsistent in the kicking game but still extremely dangerous. The only problem is that he is dangerous for both PSU and their opponents.

The defense looks solid and opportunistic.

Aaron Maybin is a goddamn bear-man!

I'm pounding Lagers and loving life!

GO STATE! DOMINATE THE SECOND HALF!

Hot Lager Sauce

Penn State is going to pour this all over Wisconsin tonight!(HT: The Juleser)

I am dangerously fired up.

GO STATE! BEAT WISCONSIN!

Eat This Wisconsin! Whiteboard Style!

I am fucking fired up! I will be even more fired up when I'm drunk and screaming from my sofa on Saturday night!

I think Penn State wins by 14 pts!

GO STATE! BEAT THE BADGERS!

Penn State vs. Wisconsin (on paper, of course)

Penn State and Wisconsin have had drastically different seasons so far. Wisconsin entered the year as one of the favorites to win the big ten and a trendy pick to play for the national title. Penn State entered the year as the fourth best team in conference and with no chance of winning a national title. Six weeks later, Penn State is ranked 6th in the nation and the Badgers are the 25th or 26th best team in the country depending on who you ask. The Lions have handled Illinois and Purdue in conference play where as Wisconsin had an embarrassing loss to Michigan and then got Pryoritized the following week. We will find out which team is actually better on saturday night, however, we can content ourselves with comparing the two teams on paper.

Penn State is scoring over 44 points per game and the Lions rank as the ninth best offense in college football. The Lions are a very balanced football team offensively as rushing yards account for 51% of PSU's total offense on 60% of all the play calls. Considering how many large leads Penn State has had this year, this leads me to believe that the nittany Lions are equally ready to run or pass the ball on any given play. This will make Penn State quite the challenge for the Badgers.

PSU's defense is giving up less than 12 points per game and is the eighth best defense in the nation. Penn State benefits from a relatively soft early schedule (though Or.SU and Illinois seem legitimate) to keep the numbers down. While this defense is not invincible it certainly is sturdy. The Lion's are only allowing 2.5 yds/rush this year but the Badgers will press the issue with a fairly potent rushing attack.

The Badgers are scoring 29 points per game but rank 43d in the nation in total offense (right behind Tulane and Baylor). Wisconsin's attack will be run heavy as the Badgers rush for 53% of all their yards and nearly two out of every three plays (64%) from scrimmage are a running play.

The Badgers are giving up 18 points per game and rank 31st in the nation in total defense. I realize Wisconsin just played Ohio State but Penn State will be their biggest test defensively this year.

The key for the Badgers is to get an early lead and then grind it out with the Lions. The doomsday scenario for Wisconsin is if PSU takes an early lead of 14 or more points. This would make the Badgers turn to the air. If PSU can get Wisconsin away from the ground game the day will belong to PSU.

GO STATE! BEAT THE BADGERS!

I got all my stats from cfbstats.com

Purdue, Polls, and Possibilities

Evan Royster was the Nittany Lions offense against Purdue on Saturday. Royster's day was gaudy and, like I've said previously, worthy of making him a Heisman candidate. Consider the following:

Royster rushed for 141 yds.
(or 62% of PSU's rushing attack)
Royster received 53 yards worth of passes.
(or 24% of PSU's passing attack)
In other words, ER was 41% of Penn State's total yards.

Royster is a great player and if PSU is going to compete for a national title the Lions are going to need Royster to carry the load the rest of the way.

Thanks to Royster's efforts, the Lions are still #6 in the AP poll. We also got a sneak peak at Penn State's next two big games. Ohio State is not the dominant team the nation was expecting them to be, however, the Buckeyes are really starting to play will be right there with the Lions for the Big Ten Title. Wisconsin has dropped two straight games and have dropped out of the top twenty five in the AP poll.

Wisconsin's swift demise make's Penn State's trip to Camp Randall all the more intriguing. What Wisconsin team will show up? An inspired team fighting to salvage their season? Or a defeated team anxious to get off the field? Hopefully, we will get some clues as to Wisconsin's temperment over the next week.

In other relevant games for PSU next saturday:

Texas plays Oklahoma in what could be a National Championship elimination game.

Missouri has to face the high-scoring Oklahoma State Cowboys.

LSU has to face off against a pissed off Florida team in the swamp.

There are tough games ahead for four of the five teams ahead of Penn State. Of course, the Lions have to keep winning. But still, very exciting!

GO STATE! BEAT THE BADGERS!

*********UPDATE!*************
I am not alone! Not only am I not the only person who visits this blog but also there is someone out there who agrees with what I have to say!

I got an email this morning that there is a sight pimping our main man Evan Royster for Heisman! Good work, Ryan! You can find it below:

www.evanroysterforheisman.com

I'M FIRED UP! (and it's only Monday!)

Penn State's Wild Ride

certainly continued this weekend as the Lions crushed, stomped, ran over, steam-rolled, beaten-down, hosed, brutalized a Wisconsin team that never got it's legs under them. The Lions were very effective passing the ball, running the ball and breaking P.J. Hill's will to live. Crushing the paper-Badgers was not enough to catapult the Lions into the Top 25, falling 12 votes short of the 25th spot.
This season has been peculiar on both the national level and on a personal level for the Lions. The season started with dizzying expectations only to have them dashed against the rocks of a 3-2 start. Now, after all only five teams remain undefeated in the Top 25 and there are 7 teams with 2 losses. This, and two straight Big Ten victories, have restored the hope of a good season and a quality bowl appearance.

Several challenges remain for the Lions including, dealing with continuing off-field problems, oh and having to play now #1 Ohio State. Not surprisingly, yet another season will ride for both PSU and Tosu on their matchup in October. I suppose they have to play their "rivalry" game against Michigan too but that isn't really that big a deal.



However, PSU needs to take care of business next week against Indiana and the road has not been kind to the Lions this year. Proving that they can win in a hostile environment in the Big Tenwill do a lot for this years team. I couldn't be more fired up for the rest of the year, next week, and the Ohio State game!

GO STATE! BEAT INDIANA!

The Low Down on Paternoville

The Collegian is reporting that Penn State officials are discussing the future of Paternoville. The big news is that the University is so pleased with the way students have been conducting themselves that the extended Paternoville time we saw for Notre Dame will be applied to a future game this year.

Because of Paternoville campers' good behavior at the Notre Dame campout, the university is granting one more extended campout, PCC President Tom Boroch (sophomore-meteorology) said.

"The campout will either be for the Wisconsin or the Ohio State game," Boroch said. "Those are the two home games that are left on the schedule, and the final decision would be made in early- to mid-October."

That is great! PSU= the classiest school in all the land!

Go State! Get Fired Up In The Classiest Way Possible!

Breaking Down: The Wisconsin Badgers

Penn State stays at home for week seven of 2007 to welcome the Badgers to town. It is more than a little likely that the Badgers will roll into Happy Valley sporting a 7-0 record (they will have faced Washington St., UNLV, the Citadel, Iowa, MSU, and Illinois). Yeah, there is a good chance they will be 7-0. That is if Tyler Donovan can step up and get the job done for the Badgers. Penn State will be in the heart of the Big Ten schedule but there is no rest for the weary as yet another powerhouse, hyped, national contender rolls into State College. Bielema and Wisconsin are on my shitlist for the abuse of the clock in last years game. It was a close game and the wasting of the clock was not in the spirit of the game. Yes it was cheating. Yes, it still pisses me off. That being said; I'll take a wildly impartial look at the 2007 Badgers below. Peep some badger blogs: Bucky's Faithful, and Badger Sports Fan.

I'm cookin up some sweet illegal plays for 07!

Passing:
Lets start with the bad news, for the first time since 1978 John Stocco won't be starting under center for the Badgers. However, before you think that there is no replacing Stocco's 2185 passing yards on 59% passing and 17 TDs play this in your mind: "NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND!". Donovan is no useless turd-burglar. Last year, Donovan passed for 564 yds, 4 TDs, on 63% passing. His only real weakness was his decision making as he also heaved up 2 INTS. Also, Hubbard and Beckum return to man the WR corps. The Duo combined for 1530 receiving yards and 10 TDS. In short, don't expect to be able to crowd the line against the Badgers.


Rushing:
If the Badgers rushing game were embodied as a dog it would look like this. Two of Wisconsin's best RBs were merely freshman in 2006. (lyrical puns are awesome!) Hill and Smith will both be back and looking to improve on their combined 1914 rushing yards and 20 TDs! The offensive line also returns a talented and experienced bunch. I wouldn't expect these totals to decrease much in 2007. Apparently it will be pick you poison against the Badgers; do you want to challenge the beastly running game or take your chances with Donovan in the passing game.




Defense:
Wisconsin only gave up 12 points a game last year. PSU was only able to put up 3 points against the badgers. Yes, it was tough to watch. Yes, it still hurts me inside. This years Badgers squad look good on the Defensive line and Linebacker but graduation hit them hard in the Defensive backfield. It seems that if one is to be successful against Wisconsin it mus be through the air initially to open up the running game.

Prediction:
This is another very lose-able game for Penn State. This years Wisconsin team is deeper in a lot of ways than last year's team. If PSU is to have success they will have to pass the ball effectively and limit a very potent Wisconsin running game. Wisconsin's key to victory will be controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball (last year Wisconsin had the ball for over 37 mins against PSU last year. Not good). If the Badgers can run the ball, prevent PSU from hurrying Donovan, and open running lanes for the rushing game the badgers will be tough to beat.

Prediction:

PSU: 15
Wisc: 13

GO STATE GET FIRED UP FOR WISCONSIN!