Great Expectations?

The off-season is the time for speculation and dreaming of the glory that awaits in the coming season. That's why we posed a question regarding how Penn State was going to fare in the 2010 season.

The possible results were that Penn State wins the following number of games: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12?

Over 180 votes later, 22% of our readers think that PSU will win 8 games. 35% believe that PSU will claim 9 victories and that 21% are convinced PSU will win 10 games. Any of these outcomes are perfectly plausible.

Personally, I think that PSU will win 8 games this year based on the facts that PSU is inexperienced at quarterback and unproven on the offensive line. This, combined with the fact that PSU has a murderous road schedule leads me to believe that PSU is going to fall 4 times this year.

However, the folks who believe that PSU will win nine games aren't really optimists, rather, they simply believe that PSU will win all the games in which they are favored. Certainly not unreasonable position. Really, nobody should be surprised regardless of the outcome of this season.

One thing is for sure, this season should be a great ride.

LET'S GO STATE!

Blue White Roundtable: PSU's Signing Day

Mike from BSD brings us the questions this week. My take can be found below, however, you have got to check out our other, better contributors: RUTS, WWN, TNL and our NEW CONTRIBUTORS: Tangled Up In White & Blue and The Big Eleventh! On to the rapid fire questioning!

How well did Penn State address their needs with this recruiting class?

Not very well at all. The class as a whole seems to have some talent. However, the needs of the program were not covered very well. The RB position seems to have two guys ready to run in the fall, Stephon Green and Evan Royster. Granted, both of these guys seem like solid young talents; if you aren't excited to see Green in the Blue-White Game you are retarded. Adding Brandon Beachum certainly helped, however, losing Michael Shaw was a solid kick in the nuts. Having three RBs seems a lot worse than having four, doesn't it? My nuts will be sore until next year.

The entire Defensive backfield seems to be widely ignored. The on exception being D'antton Lynn. D'Antton Lynn should be a great Safety and should see PT right away as the safety position is a major question mark right now. Justin King, Ruben, Ganter are gone. And yet all we got was Lynn. More will be leaving next year. It seems like we could have been much more pro-active with recruiting DBs.

A.J. Price was the only WR in this year's class. Granted, we only lost Golden this year to graduation but next year we lose just about everybody. Butler, Norwood, Williams will graduate, Bell has been suspended (though a return seems likely when his grades improve). Right there you have a big need at WR. It was a need this year but next year at this time it will be A MUST!

Who was the big fish that got away? The kid you really really wish we had landed?

Shaw. Hands down. TP is still in play so PSU might be good in that regard. However, everybody felt so confident about Shaw that having him move to Buttigan at the last minute hurt.

You’re NCAA President Miles Brand. Take a break from counting your BCS cash for a minute. What would you do to improve the recruiting process?

There is an argument to be made to let guys commit earlier if that's what they want to do. Or, we could go back to the old days where recruits were undecided until they showed up on campus! I pretty much think recruiting is good where it is. I mean, i really don't care how many text messages a kid gets. Though, banning pic-texts of naked co-eds seems to take all the fun out of it.

Now you’re Joe Paterno. So I guess prepare to dodge the question. What would you change about Penn State’s recruiting strategy?

Aaah, jee, you guys make a bigger deal out of this than I do. I don't know. I really don't. I think we go out there and recruit a lot of really great kids. I mean, first you guys are upset that we don't recruit athletes now you tell me to recruit football players. Larry is out there, Jay is out there. We have everything under control. What's that? Prior? What do I think about him? I think we have done really well in the past. Tyrrelle Pryor? I think he could be a very good football player one day.

Lightning Round
Where will Terrelle Pryor go to school? Or should he just live off the hype for the next few years and directly enter the NFL draft in 2010?

He should go to Penn-Fucking-State! Going to Tosu would be a bad move. I don't think TP even knows how to commit any of the various felonies that occur in Columbus on a daily basis.

There will be to much pressure at Michigan. They will be in their first year of a coach who is installing a new offense and he would be the presumptive starter in that offense. He would be surrounded by inexperienced guys and he would have to try to win every game.

PSU, however, he could red shirt a year. Watch Clarke run what is sure to be a spread offense in the fall. Then be ready to start in 2009. Solid. Fucking. Gold.

Which member of this class stands the best chance to make an immediate impact?

D'Antton Lynn. PSU is terribly thin at safety right now and there is no reason why he wouldn't be able to go out and win a starting role this summer.

I AM FIRED THE FUCK UP! SO IS THIS CHICK!Found at barstoolsports.com

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE BLUE & WHITE GAME!

The Buckeyes Redux

I previously broke down the Buckeyes back in August. You can find that here. I'll now try to give some updated thoughts now that some actual games have been played.
I may have previously said that Jim Tressel is a giant However, that couldn't be further from the truth. He has guided the Buckeyes to a national title game last year where Florida ritualistically beat them like a freshman in Dazed and Confused. Despite that the last time Ohio St. lost (in the regulary season) was playing PSU in 2005. 2005! That is two fucking years ago!

This year Ohio St. may have been playing an easy schedule (not so different from many teams) but they have beaten all of those easy teams which is a very large departure from what a lot of other teams have been doing. This has earned the Buckeyes another #1 ranking in what many thought, including me, would be a rebuilding year for Tosu.

This success has been on the arm of Todd Boeckman and the legs of Chris and Maurice Wells. Boeckman is doing exactly what he needs to do for the Buckeyes to be successful, he is completing over 65% of his passes and has thrown more than twice as many TDs as Ints. Boeckman is also well supported on the ground as both Wells boys have combined for 1133 yards rushing. That is solid production. Justin King will have his hands full guarding another quality WR in Brian Robiskie who is Tosu's deep threat averaging nearly 20 yds/catch and has scored seven TDs.

I think PSU is going to have to bring blitzes and hope to confuse/rattle/beat up Boeckman as this is his first year starting. Lets let the DBs line up and play the WRs but lets get in the backfield, harrass Boeckman and try to blow up their running plays before they gets started. Big M0 Evans needs to feature prominently.

James Laurinaitis leads the way on Defense with 25 solo tackles (< than both Connor and Lee), 4 sacks (< Dan Connor 5), and 5.5 Tackles for loss (< Dan Connor 10). Laurinaitis does have two picks too Dan and Sean's combined zero. At the end of the day, Laurinaitis is a good player who will have to have a big day stopping the run and interrupting the passing game.

My prediction back in August was:
PSU: 20
Tosu: 14

The current forecast for game time is cold and rainy. So, if anything, the scores might be even lower so I'll alter the final score to:
PSU: 16
Tosu: 14

GO STATE! BEAT THE BUCKEYES!

Big Ten Roundtable: Week 8

The Hoosier Report bring us the questions this week. Oddly enough, PSU plays Indiana this weekend so I urge you to check out this excellent blog for all your hoosiery-needs.

1. Call your shot. We are halfway through the Big Ten season (or, at least, most of us are). What will be your team's final record? Where, if anywhere, will your team be spending late December/early January? Who will win the Big Ten?

I will answer with my heart because that's what I am all about. PSU wins out, going 10-2 and storms it's way into the Capital One bowl. I just don't think, even in my heart of hearts, that PSU will be able to get a BCS birth. There is the outside possibility of a shared Big Ten title but I just don't see it in the cards.

2. How is your team's coaching situation? Clearly, this varies from school to school, with some coaches approaching retirement (Carr/Paterno), some who are just starting out (Brewster/Fitzgerald), the unique case of Bill Lynch, and others who seem to be in their primes. If your coach is on the tail end of his career, where do you see things going from here? If he's still early in his tenure, any buyer's remorse? If he's in he's somewhere in the middle, are you happy or wishing things would go a different direction? How does your view correspond to the "majority" view among your school's fans?

I think our coaching situation is strong. Joe Paterno is a living legend, a veritable football God walking amongst mere mortals. You don't force a legend to leave, Joe has earned that. I believe that I am in the minority by taking that position. Penn State fans are becoming more and more fickle and are refusing to accept 8-9 win seasons. I think Joe probably retires after next year as is contract will be up. I love JOE! I want him to stay as long as he wants, roll him onto the field if you have to!

BONUS BASKETBALL QUESTION: If you plan to cover basketball, give us a brief outlook for your team. Who is your best player? What do you expect from the team?

I have no idea. Sorry, I just don't know.

Blue White Roundtable: Week Six

I wrote the questions this week so they didn't exactly put me through the wringer so go check out BSD, RUTS, TNL, WWN, and TNN. On to my questions!

Criminal allegations swirl around the squad; what impact will this have on the team? My own fall off of my high-horse-of-PSU's-sterling-reputation has been terrible, have you experienced the same?

The impact, I'm guessing will be a multi-game suspension for the players involved. Probably the suspensions would be more severe than the time Quarless had to do in the dog pound so probably 3-4 games. Oddly, I have experienced a fall off of my high-horse. I have always delighted in PSU's reputation for doing things the right way and while these aren't NCAA violations they are disturbing. It begs the question: Where are the senior leaders on this team? Are DC-40, AMMO and the rest doing their part to remind guys that maybe they shouldn't be out partying the day/hours before a game?

Evan Royster provided Penn State with the Spark it needed to get going on Saturday, did he win himself the starting job? If not, how does your depth chart read at RB and why?

He absolutely won himself the starting job. He looked great early in the game and when Morelli was struggling PSU adopted the "lets run Royster until he drops" approach and it worked. There must have been 6-7 running plays in a row where Royster consistently gained solid yardage. If I were running things my depth chart would read thusly: 1. Royster 2. Kinlaw 3. Green (red-shirt only to be burned in the case of injury/emergency).Anthony Morelli gets it done while looking both awful and excellent in the same game. What the hell is PSU supposed to do at QB?
I have no idea. If the coaching staff thinks Anthony gives the team the best chance to win then you have to stick with him. However, getting Clarke some PT to get him ready for next year wouldn't be such a bad thing. In short, I have no idea.

Lightning Round
What games are you watching on Saturday?

Since I live several thousand miles away from Beaver Stadium I won't be at this weeks game but I will tune in to watch the Lions throttle the Badgers. In addition I don't think I'll be able to miss LSU vs. Kentucky and Washington vs. ASU.

What are your predictions for the second half of the season?

I'm going to take a guess and say that PSU wins out, finishes 10-2 and ends up in the Capital One Bowl.

Who will be PSU's MVP come January?

Sean Lee.

GO STATE! BEAT WISCONSIN!

Big Ten Roundtable: Week Four

Dave from Maize N Brew brings us the brain-teasers for week four of the greatest sport known to man; college football. Also, conference play gets started this week so we finally have conference match-ups and predictions to make!

1. Time to break out the crystal ball. I want to know what happens at the END of the season. Give me your offensive and defensive Players of the Year in the Big Ten along with Coach of the Year and why.

I'll start on the offensive side of the ball; Mike Hart will be your offensive player of the year in the Big Ten. Through three games the Little-Big-Man has rushed for 502 yards and 5 Tds. That puts him on pace to have a 2,000 yd season and score about 20 Tds. That is BEASTLY. Ok, he might not make 2,000 yards but he certainly could and that doesn't just put him in the running for Big Ten offensive player of the year but it also gives him a shot at the Heisman.
For Defense I'm going to dig myself a little Homer-Hole and go with Dan Connor. Dan has 29 tackles so far this season(leading the Lions), nearly 10/game, he also leads the Lions with 4.5 Tackles for loss this year. Before the calls of rampant Homerism become to echoing consider this: DC-40 has more tackles than Laurinaitis (TOSU), Hodge (WISC.), Crable (Mich.), and Klinkenborg (Iowa). So there!

2. With the upsets, close games, and head scratchers so far, every game we thought was going to be important has changed. Michigan State is 3-0, for Pete's sake, and they look good doing it. Pick the three games on the Big Ten Schedule that will determine the Big Ten Champion. Bonus Points for not picking three games on your own schedule.

Oooh, a challenge. Well, Michigan St. has been having a good year so far, they had a good win against Pitt last week and will presumably continue the Hellish nightmare that is Notre Dame's Season. A big game will be, and I don't think anybody thought about this before the season started, will be a 4-0 Mich. St. team playing Wisconsin at Wisconsin. This could be a big match-up between two undefeated teams.
A second big game could be when Tosu has to play Purdue on the road. Purdue is untested as of yet but has beaten every team it has played by a minimum of 23 points. Tosu's Defense has looked great early but will they be able to score more than the Boilermakers on the road?

3. How many games, this season, have you been to? How many games have you tailgated at? If you have tailgated, name your beverage of choice. If you answered no to the previous questions, hang your head in shame, or at least give a good story about watching the game in enemy territory and giving the bouncer the finger when he asked you to quiet down.

I'm afraid I have to hang my head in shame. Though I am planning to attend PSU vs. Tosu on October 27th. While I haven't tailgated per se I have had people over for a football watching party. During this party I was quaffing Bloody Mary's and Budweiser (though Yuengling is preferred when available). I served ribs and pork shoulder which I loving smoked during the 7 hours before the game. It was phenomenal.

Bitter/Angry Bonus Question!

4. As the Big Ten Season kicks off, the Conference is in somewhat of a difficult position nationally. Needing some momentum after a horrid BCS performance, the Conference needed some momentum early in the season. It hasn't gotten it. The first three weeks have been abysmal. Is this just a down year for the Big Ten, is there a change Nationally that the Big Ten just hasn't picked up on, is there some truth to the "Big Ten Style of Play" that everyone harps on, or has college football simply caught up? What so you think and why? I may be beating a dead horse, but no one looks good this year and I'm at a loss as to why.

The strength of the conferences is always cyclical and, while this is clearly a down year for the Big Ten, it certainly won't be a static position. Similarly, college football is entering a time of greater parity than it has ever had before. If anything, you will see more teams upset by the App. States of the world not less.

GO STATE! BEAT MICHIGAN!

Breaking Down: The Ohio State Buckeyes

I apologize for failing to do much of anything in regards to breaking down PSU's opponnents over the last few weeks. I will now attempt to return with a vengeance to break down the Buckeyes, another team PSU loves to hate and yet they refuse to accept PSU as a rival. The Buckeyes enter 2007 with the dubious distinction of making it to the Championship game only to walk into the (Buck)Nut-Cracker that was the 2006 Gators. Gone are Ginn, Gonzales, and old Mr. Heisman, Troy Smith. I was quick to dismiss Tosu last year and they proved me to be a gigantic fool. If you are still reading, Ohio State graduated a great deal of talent on the offensive side of the ball this year, losing the above-mentioned WRs and Heisman winner. However, that does not mean Tosu will be terrible as they have certainly proven in the pass that they can win with a care-taker of a QB and a stingy defense. Now, on to the breakdown!


Buckeye Passing:
Ok, gone is Troy Smith and his 2500+ yds passing, 30 tds, and only 6 picks. Also gone are Ginn and Gonzales who combined for 17 TDs and over 1500 yds receiving. Exactly who will fill these atlas-sized-nikes? Nobody knows for sure, will it be Boeckman? Henton? You get the idea about how this is going by the number of question marks in this paragraph. However, the Buckeyes do return their third leading receiver from 2006, Brian Robiskie. Robiskie wracked up only half as many yards as either Ginn or Gonzales but should see those numbers increase as he will certainly play a larger role in the offense. The Passing game will also be limited as, unless true frosh Henton starts, the Buckeyes will have a Morelli-esque statue planted in the backfield. Losing an elusive QB not only hurts the rushing numbers but will also impact the passing numbers as the line will have to buy this year's QB much more time in the pocket.

Buckeye Rushing:
Antonio Pittman was a key piece of the Buckeye's run last year as he rushed for 1233 yds, averaged 5.1 yds/carry, and scored 14 TDs. He was a beast. His most likely replacement is Chris Wells who racked up over 500 yds last year spelling Pittman. Wells's average is 5.6 yds/carry which bests Pittman's average. The offensive line seems to be in relatively good shape returning 3 starters. Odds are by the time PSU and Tosu square off the two "new guys" (Cordle and Person) will be up to speed and playing well. In short, Ohio State will be a rushed based offense this year as they try not to put to much pressure on an inexperienced QB and WRs.

Buckeye Defense:
Ohio State's defense was fantastic last year. I didn't believe in them before the season started and they made me look like a fool as they only averaged 12.8 pts/game (including holding PSU to 6). At the end of the year, Ohio State's defense was exposed a little when Michigan hoisted 39 pts. up against them and FL amassed 41 pts. This year's defense looks to have a chance to duplicate this prior success but it will require young, inexperience lineman to play as well as last year's young, inexperienced defensive backfield did last year. Tosu only returns one starter on the defensive line and only five starters on the whole unit. It seems as though Tosu would be vulnerable to the run, if so, this could be a very long year for this defense.

Predictions:
Tosu rumbles into Happy Valley on October 27th and have a shot at being 8-0 when they arrive. This sets up a possible repeat of the 2005 white-out/zombie-nation/paternoville/best-student-section-in-the-country insanity. Which I am planning to be in attendance for. This will be a hard fought game. Both teams will have an offensive advantage running the ball so this will be a low-scoring, close game. In the end, PSU will have one more big play on offense which will make the difference.

Final Score:
PSU: 20
TOSU: 14

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP!

Blue-White Roundtable

Mike from BSD (Congrats, BTW) has the questions this week. Please also checkout our co-conspirators for Blue-White excellence at RUTS and TNL. On to the awesomeness!

Huzzah! Preseason practice starts this week! Which position or unit on the team makes you cry yourself to sleep at night hoping they do better than last year?

It has to be the offensive line. It is also clear that if the offensive line plays better than Morelli will also play better. Nobody is accusing him of being a mobile qb but the offense will be much better in general if Morelli not only is not concussed but also has time to plant his feet and step into his passes.

Which position or unit does everyone fuss over that makes you smile with confidence because you know they will be just fine?

It is easily the secondary. Everybody points to Scirrotto's troubles and the addition of A.J. Wallace at DB and moving Davis to safety as signs of the defensive apocalypse for PSU. However, it is quite clear that King is a premier corner in college football and that Wallace has the skills to be a big time cover corner as well. There aren't a lot of teams that will be able to pass the ball effectively if a defense can shut down both their first and second WRs. They'll be fine. Don't believe me? That's why I'm smilin!

Last week the USA Today unveiled the preseason coaches’ poll. Penn State came in ranked #18. Fair, unfair, or about right?

It is just about right with a small caveat. I don't really see how Tennessee should be ranked above Penn State. I know that last year's results mean nothing this year but I still can't quite accept that this year's Tennesee team is better than this year's PSU squad. Anyway, there are a bunch of reasons not to rank PSU any higher than they were. Off-season fights, possible suspensions, three top ten teams on the schedule. All very good reasons to be dubious. The Lions are themselves setting their goal as a national title. I, for one, think they have a shot at it.

How much value do you put in preseason polls?

Not too much. I think it would be smarter not to release preseason polls at all and release the first poll after the first three weeks of the season have come and gone. That being said, I don't want the polls to go ANYWHERE! I love the pre-season polls because it give s us so much to talk about. It is great! Not smart, but great!

Lightning Round

What are the odds Penn State beats Michigan?

9-5. I think Michigan is a great team but Penn State certainly has a good chance. All I know is that if you are going to watch one Penn State game all year than this is the one to watch.What are the odds Penn State wins the Big Ten?

7-5. If Penn State beats Michigan they will win the Big Ten and (I'll say it again) they will play for a national title. However, even if they lose to Michigan they could still win the Big Ten. See the 2005 season.

What are the odds Jay Paterno calls a slant pass this year?

You know, sometimes the Penn State offense boggles my mind. There are some plays they love to call and then they don't seem to have a bubble screen in the bag. It absolutely boggles my mind.

GO STATE! PRACTICE IS HERE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE FALL!

Breaking Down: The Indiana Hoosiers

In week 8 Penn State girds its loins and rolls over to Indiana to face the Hoosiers on their turf (The Rock). The Hoosiers enter the 2007 season with heavy hearts after the death of Terry Hoeppner. Bill Lynch will have to grab the reins and continue the momentum coach Hep had built at Indiana. While Indiana has suffered a devastating loss there is reason to be excited in the "Crossroads of America". Indiana returns 9 starters on offense and 7 on defense. If they can rally around/move past/get over/deal with/be inspired by their former coach the Hoosiers have a chance of ending the longest bowl drought in the Big Ten (1993). Below you will find my terrifyingly accurate insight into the 2007 Hoosiers. For everything Hoosiery check out The Hoosier Report.


In Hep We Trust!

Hoosier Passing:
Kellen Lewis returns under center and this time he has a year of experience to his credit. Last year, Lewis passed for 2221 yds, 14 TDs and 7 INTs. However, 11 of those 15 TDs came in three games. Lets just say consistency is a bit of a problem for Mr. Lewis. However, with another year of experience, consistency is something on which he can improve. Another feather in the Hoosier's cap is James Hardy; The Hoosier's leading receiver in receptions, yards, and TDs. In short, if drop him from the team Lewis would have to throw passes to himself. The Hoosier passing game is strong at the top but lacks depth and could have problems getting started against a talented secondary.

Hoosier Running:
Kellen Lewis returns under center and this time he has a year of experience to his credit. Last yaer, Lewis rushed for 441 yards on 124 TDs and 5 Tds. Yes this is the same Kellen Lewis you just read about. Yes it makes him a threat in the running game, however, if your QB is your leading rusher you are playing with fire. Especially if your second leading rushing is listed at WR. Wow. I don't know what those crazy Hoosiers are doing but bless their hearts they seem to be enjoying it.

Hoosier Defense:
Remember how Indiana is returning 7 starters on defense? Well, those 7 starters helped give up an average of nearly 33 pts/game. Yikes. If you defense gives up more than 4 TDs on average you have more issues than Lindsay Lohan. (BURN!) Careful fellas, she might look good but there is a seething cauldron of instability just below the surface! Similarly, Indiana has their fair share of issues as they are more combustible than some sort of pile of kindling.

Prediction:
This is a tough game for the Lions as it comes right after the Wisconsin game, is on the road, and Ohio State looms on the horizon the next week. If PSU looks past Indiana there could be serious trouble. However, if you look at Indiana on offense, if you have a defense that can contain the talented Mr. Lewis and one shut-down corner then you two can turn Indiana's offense into a whimpering kitten. Fortunately for PSU, Justin King hasn't been tossed into the Sarlaac pit and will, in my opinion, crush Jimmy Hardy's hopes and dreams. In short, Indiana simply won't have the firepower to put up serious points against a very talented Penn State defense. Penn State will finish the game +2 on turnovers and the game will never be in doubt.
I'll get you next time J-King!


Final Score:
PSU: 52
IU: 17

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE FALL!

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!

Breaking Down: The Iowa Hawkeyes

In week six Penn State returns home after back-to-back weeks on the road (Michigan and Illinois), at least the have two weeks without having to clean the stadium on Sunday! The Hawkeyes come off a disappointing 7-6 2006 campaign. This is not to say Iowa is without talent, the last time we saw the Hawkeyes play Iowa lost to Texas 26-24 in the Alamo bowl. Certainly, it was a road game for Iowa and they still gave a good Texas team a run for their money. Iowa has many a good blogger including Kinnick North and Hawkeye State, check them out and expand your personal blogosphere. And now, on to the Breakdown.


Rushing:
Iowa returns Young and Sims in the backfield and will be done by committee yet again. THis is not to say that the committee in question was ineffective as they racked up 1443 yds between the two of them and averaging 4.7 YPC. Did I not mention that they combined for 13 touchdowns? Hmmm...Weird. Even if you aren't a fan of RB by commitee you have to admit that both backs are talented and this makes the Iowa backfield deep, if nothing else. What is odd is that only Sims breached the century mark, against Purdue, all year. Truly a committee of equals. Good luck with all that. All Joking aside, stopping the run is a critical component to beating the Hawkeyes. The fact that an inexperienced QB will be manning the helm will make the Lion's defensive-task all the easier.

Passing:
The passing game, however, was clearly manned by Drew Tate in 2006 as he threw for 2623 yds while completing 58% of his passes. Sadly, graduation is a real bastard in college football and Sophomore Jake Christensen will be calling the signals this fall. Christensen did complete nearly 66% of his passes for 285 yards in 2006. The future is bright, right? Well, 256 of those yards (and both TDs) came against Northern Illinois. Not really a performance to hang your hat on. My suspicion is that Iowa will try to establish the run early and get the play-action-passing-game going. The O-line also gave up 20 sacks last season (yikes) and will have to perform better in 2007 if the Hawkeyes are to have a good year. The WRs are young and talented but will have to continue to play very well and adjust to having Christensen at the reins. Again, my prescription for victory is a heavy dose of pressure. Go for the QB boys, and if you happen to tackle the RB along the way, good for you!

Defense:
The Hawkeye defense gave up nearly 21 pts/game in 2007, however, they only graduated three players on defense. With 8 starters returning the Hawkeyes are sure to improve on the defensive side of the ball. If the Hawkeyes can improve on Defense and control the ball the Hawkeyes could be very dangerous this year. However, if the Offense can't keep the defense off the field the Hawkeyes will struggle.

Prediction:
The Hawkeyes will roll into Happy Valley with a 4-1 record with their only loss being to Wisconsin on the road. The Lions will have to try to focus on Iowa and not look ahead to next Wisconsin the following week. The game will come down to Iowa turnovers, as the PSU secondary will feast on a young Iowa passing attack by picking off Christensen three times and converting these turnovers into points. The Iowa running game will do it's damage but the offense will struggle in the red zone.

Final Score!
PSU: 24
Iowa: 16

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE FALL!

Breaking Down Michigan

Penn State travels to face Michigan in the Big House on September 22nd, this will be Penn State's toughest challenge of 2007. Michigan, despite losing tons of talent to the NFL, will return enough firepower to make another run at a national title. This game will have big time national title implications and, i'll go ahead and make the prediction now, if Penn State beats Michigan on the road then PSU will play for the national title.
We're also going to try something new with the weekly breakdowns; while I break down Michigan Dave over at Maize N Brew will be breaking down the Lions. If you've never been to Maize N Brew then you are missing out. My breakdown of the Wolverines can be found below.

Rushing:
Michigan really does not have much of a rushing attack....aside from Mike Hart who is coming off a season where he rushed for 1562 yards and 14 TDs. He did all this while averaging 5 yds/carry. That included a 112 yards and 1 td on the road in Happy Valley. He is a beast. If Penn State can hold Hart under 100 yards that will go a long way to helping Penn State beat the Wolverines. The problem with that is that you can't just stack the box or Chad Henne, who has been playing at Michigan since 1874, will torch you. Michigan is also rather deep at RB with Minor and Jackson. Both of these guys are talented and averaged more yds/carry than Hart did. In sum, Michigan is deep and dangerous at tailback. Hart will get his touches and yards, however, the path to victory lies in limiting big plays, ball control and keeping Michigan's offense off the field.

Passing:
If you are looking for the chink in Michigan's offensive armor in the passing game then you have the intelligence of a squirrel. Chad Henne returns, yes again, to lead Michigan's passing attack. While he didn't invent the forward pass he has been playing football at Michigan since its inception making hime a deadly opponnent. Chad passed for over 2500 yards 22 TDs and threw only 8 Ints. Mario Manningham returns to complete the three headed monster which is the Michigan Offense.



If I was allowed to draw up Penn State's defensive scheme to try to stop Michigan I would do the following. Bring the heat. All day. You're gonna have to leave the corners to fend for themselves, fortunately, Justin King is as good as they come. Yes, you might get beat by big play or two, however, you can't give Henne time to throw or he'll pick you apart from the comfort of his big comfy pocket.

Defense:
Michigan only gave up 16 pts/game last year, however, near the end of the year they were exposed by USC and Tosu. David Booty lit them up in the Rose Bowl passing for nearly 400 yards and 4 TDs and Tosu managed to rack up 267 yards through the air. Perhaps Michigan is vulnerable through the air. This could play into Penn State's hands as, if the Lions are to go anywhere, they will need to air it out.

Prediction:
This is going to be a high-scoring, exciting game. Michigan has too many weapons on offense to keep them off the scoreboard. Mike Hart will rush for 100 yards give or take, Chad Henne will pass for 275 yards but 2 uncharacteristic turnovers will be his undoing. Anthony Morelli will have the performance Penn State fans have been waiting 4 years to see. If you want me to get even more specific, Penn State will win the game on a game winning field goal. Sharpen you knives haters of Loyd Carr, Penn State will beat Michigan for the first time in....well, too long.

PSU: 30
Mich: 28

If Penn State is going to lose a game this year, this is where it will happen. Michigan is a great football team and it could be them playing for the little crystal trophy..... and photos of Brittany Spears fellating Loyd Carr will start circulating shortly.

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE FALL!

Breaking Down: The Buffalo Bulls

The Buffalo Bulls are clearly Penn State's last "tune-up" game of the fall before embarking on their Big Ten schedule (@ Michigan, @ Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin in successive weeks). So save the White-0ut for Wisconsin you little scamps! The Bills went 2-10 last year in the MAC with wins against Temple and Kent State (the cream of the MAC!) This, much like the FIU game, will be a game where you want to watch for improvement from key parts of the team (O-line & D-line) and for no injuries to occur. If the team comes out of this game healthy and having gained experience at key positions then victory is ours! While I don't claim to be a master of Bulls football, I will attempt to give me meager analysis below.




Drugs are for Turds!

Passing:
Drew Willy will return to take snaps for the Bulls. Willy is a returning junior who completed nearly 60% of his passes for a little under 1400 yds. in 2006. However, when you check out his games against quality opponnents (BC and Auburn) he only threw for 191 yds. total. The Bulls do, however, return two of their top receivers for 2007 in Breaux and Roosevelt. All in all, the Bulls will be an improved passing team in 2007. This improvement, however, will not make them good enough to challenge a defense like PSU's.

Rushing:
James Starks will be the Bull to watch when Buffalo has the ball. As a Freshman Starks rushed for 704 yds while averaging 4 yds/carry. Again, if you look as his stats against quality opponents (BC and Auburn) he rushed for only 67 yds on 29 carries (2.3 yds/carry). This year I think Starks could rush for 1000 yards, however, only 64 of those will come against the Nittany Lions. (write that prediction down mother-fuckers!)
(Electric Boogaloo!) Defense:
The Bulls gave up 36 points a game last year. In the MAC. Yikes. I see no reason to believe that this trend will reverse itself in 2007. Penn State will win by 40+ points and no starter will play beyond the third quarter.

Prediction
PSU: 69
Bulls: 12

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE FALL!

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!!

Breaking Down The Golden Pathers of FIU

Penn State will hold it's opener against the mighty Golden Panthers of FIU in a scant 90 days. Because we are only 13 weeks or so away from the start of the season I need to start breaking down PSU's opponents. The only place to begin is at the beginning.

The Golden Panthers had a dismal 2006 season going 0-12 in the ever-competitive Sun-Belt Conference. There is little reason to think that the Panthers will be able to improve on that mark this year. I'll try to break down the turd which is the 2007 Golden Panthers below (binge on FIU stats yourself here):

Passing:
Josh Padrick graduated after an awful senior season in which he completed 213 of 388 passes but had 14 INTs compared to only 5 TD tosses. True Sophomore Paul McCall will take the reigns of this high-powered juggernaut in 2007. McCall saw limited action last year only throwing 18 passes which included 1 INT and ZERO TDs. To make matters worse, the two best receivers on last years team also graduated (Williams and Smith) leaving an inexperienced QB with even less experienced receivers. There is no way the FIU passing game will be anything but dreadful in 2007.

Rushing:
If FIU is to have any respectability at all it will have to be on the shoulders of their experienced RB tandem in Ned and Reams who combined for 770 yards last year. Ned is the more explosive of the two averaging 5.1 yds/carry but it is clear that Reams will still play a large role in 2007 as he actually carried the ball 10 more times in 2006 than Ned did. The FIU rushing attack will be serviceable but they won't rush for more than 80 yards against a stingy Penn State Defense.

Defense:
The Defense was, well, terrible. They gave up 313 points in 12 games in the SUN-BELT! This averages out to 26 pts/game, porous at best. Against PSU's experienced passing game and the explosiveness of Austin Scott they will be generally outclassed.

Prediction:
0-0 will be the only time FIU is in sniffing distance of the Nittany Lions. PSU's offense will show it's quick strike ability, this will be the only thing preventing the FIU defense from being on the field the entire day. Penn State will cause 4 FIU turnovers and probably score a TD off of one. The offense will show no mercy as it needs the experience to prepare for ND the next week.

Final Score:
PSU: 48
FIU: 6

Don't forget this either. Very Classy!



GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE FALL!

Outback Bowl Predictions

With the Outback Bowl fast approaching and Penn State players being sent home one by one it is time to take a look at both teams and come up with a prediction.
Penn State will be down two players (Austin Scott and Ed Johnson) when the coin is flipped on new year's day. Johnson's absence will have the bigger impact of the two, how much of an impact is yet to be seen. The match-up breaks down as follows:

When Tennessee has the ball:
The Vols average 384.6 yds and 29.3 points per game, the majority of that coming through their potent passing game. Their running attack is certainly not their main weapon. Ainge and Meachem will be the combination for the Lions to focus on all day. Penn State's stingy defense, however, only gives up 286.4 yds and 14.8 pts per game. If the Lions defense is schemed properly, and if Justin King plays a big game the stat-line should be in favor of Penn State. However, if the offense can't get it going and the Blue & White Defense spends all day on the field it could get ugly.

When Penn State has the ball:
The Lions average 361.6 yds and 22.5 pts per game. Tennessee's Defense has allowed opponents to average 337.2 yds and 19.5 pts per game. However, Penn State has been just as one-sided on offense as Tennessee. Tony Hunt has been the only consistent offensive threat the Lions have and unless some of the young wide receivers(Quarles, Butler, Norwood, Williams, I'm looking in your direction) have a big game it could be a long, low-scoring game.

Predictions:
If you are listening to some loud-mouthed Vols you might be thinking the game on Monday is going to be a track meet. Find the story here.

"The SEC is the SEC, and that's why I came to play football at the University of Tennessee, because I knew it was a high level of football," Volunteers middle linebacker Marvin Mitchell said. "You look at the Big Ten, those types of conferences, they offer different things. I think one of the things that really sticks out as far as the SEC, is the speed we have. I'm sure it will be a different speed, and they'll have to catch up to us once we get there."

I remember people saying the same thing back in '94, and, as it turns out, people aren't fast when they are flat on their ass!
Anyway, I digress. Here is the payoff, my prediction and then rationale:

PSU: 20
Tenn: 17

Here is how it will play out: Ainge and Meachem will connect for at least one big play and have another score or two come from opportunities left on the field by a struggling Penn State offense. Penn State will get in the red-zone six times. Two of these trips will result in TDs for Tony Hunt. Two more will look promising until they are squandered by penalties and mistakes (resulting in field goals). The remaining two will end in a turnover (whether from an interception, fumble, or downs I won't venture to guess. The Penn State defense will create two turnovers which will each lead to one of the scoring opportunities mentioned above.

GO STATE! BEAT THE VOLS!