SB Nation - Navarro Bowman

Top Five All-Big Ten Football Team Errors

Pete Rossman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:04:01 -0000

And here are the travesties:

5. Jared Odrick, Coaches' Defensive Player of the Year. There's no doubt that Odrick was one of the top five or six defensive linemen in the conference. However, here were the other All-Big ten first team defensive linemen named by the coaches: Adrian Clayborn, Brandon Graham, and O'Brien Schofield. If I gave you those names, where would you rank Odrick? Third? Fourth? And he's the one the coaches named defensive player of the year?

4. Eric Decker, Coaches' First team Wide Receiver. If Decker had stayed healthy all year, I'd have no problem with this placement. However, he only played two-thirds of the season, and I'm certain that there are least two wide receivers out there - Keith Smith of Purdue and Darrell Johnson-Koulianos of Iowa - who deserved the honor more than Decker.

3. Seriously, Jared Odrick? I mean, Pat Angerer can't get some love? Tyler Sash? If you were asking me, "Name two players on the same team who deserved the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award", those would've been the first two names out of my mouth.

2. Brett Swenson, non-unanimous selection. I promise this is the only section where I'll be a homer. Apparently making 90% of your field goals and being far and away the most consistent kicker in the Big Ten wasn't clear cut enough. Was it that extra point he missed in September? Is it because his kickoffs only made it to the ten? I don't get it.

1. JARED ODRICK? I don't want to bash Odrick, he's been a great player for Penn State all season. I'm happy that Greg Jones got the honor from the media, but I would've understood if he didn't receive the award. After all, I'm pretty sure Graham Zug scored again on a wheel route, and the failures of the MSU secondary drags the whole defense down, fair or unfair. However, I would've named Schofield, Graham, Angerer, Sash, Amari Speivey, Navarro Bowman, or Sean Lee DPOY before Odrick. Once again, Odrick deserved the honors he received as All-Big Ten, but there were several more deserving players this year in the Big Ten to be defensive player of the year.

Linebacker Who?

Law Buckeye — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:03:34 -0000

On Saturday, I left the creature comforts of the village by the Olentangy with friends and a fiance in toe, to head to State College for Ohio State's showdown with Penn State. What follows is a brief re-count of our trip to Penn's Woods.

11:46 a.m.: We leave Columbus late after sitting for the morning MPRE exam. Things started an hour and four minutes behind schedule, resulting in a stressful change of vehicle in front of M's carriage house. She greets us with a box of fresh pastries from a local French bakery. I change into my uniform: the Nike "Tressel" sweater-vest, complete with a Brooks Brother's undershirt and grab a cranberry scone. We point the navigation to State College, PA, and learn that our projected arrival time is 5:04 p.m., some ninety minutes after kickoff. We're down, but we're not out. We've got a perfectly good second half to live for.

12:45 p.m.: Barreling down I-70, we learn -- first over the radio, and later from a phone call from Graham, that Iowa's Ricky Stanzi has gone down whilst rolling out on a naked bootleg against Northwestern. The prognosis is negative.

3:01 p.m.: The sky is blue as we bolt through a tunnel into downtown Pittsburgh. There's an unexpected commotion near Heinz Field, and we remember that there's another team in Pennsylvania that owns a one-loss record. Alas, we have bigger fish to fry.

3:34 p.m.: With kickoff looming we scan the AM dial desperately for some resemblance of a broadcast. Finally, we hit an undulating signal from a local Happy Valley station. The signal rate drops in and out, replaced by a unrelated jazz overture. Ohio State returns the opening kickoff to the 25 and it's on.

3:49 p.m.: Terrelle Pryor skips through a fold in the pressure and burns Navarro Bowman for a 7 yard rushing touchdown. I smack my knuckles on the sunroof in jubilation. After the Buckeyes force Penn State to another 3 and out, I declare to my passengers that we've come to play. We're weaving through orange foothills and soft mountains, the open landscape punctuated by power lines. It sounds like Ohio State's defensive front is having a field day with the Nittany Lions, a fact that makes me swell with hope. An embarrassingly partisan radio announcer admits another Ohio State 12 yard gain.

4:14 p.m.: Graham Zug knifes through the Ohio State secondary for a 31-yard gain setting up a goalline standoff that ends when Daryll Clark holds the ball across the hash on fourth down. I get a text immediately from a friend's girlfriend that the score is suspect. We hold our breath, as the announcer concedes that "It's a close call." The ruling on the field is confirmed. It's a tie game, and I immediately second guess Tressel's decision to punt from the 29.

4:59 p.m.: With less than 3:00 minutes to play in the second half, and the Goodyear Blimp hovering like a winged seraph on the horizon, M announces that she has to pee. We swing into a local Outback Steakhouse to do the deed. The hostess comments on our choice attire, but lets us in. Ohio State forces a Jeremy Boone punt with approximately 2:10 left. I put my hands in my pockets, convinced we're headed to half up by three.

5:11 p.m.: Just off the exit we get our first glimpse of Beaver Stadium, a spaceship-like fortress nestled in a pastoral embankment beside the interstate. The sun is glancing off the mountains, painting the landscape in a brilliant orange halo. We swing into a non-permit space in the grass beside a local Hospital and bundle up as the clock expires on the first half. We march off through farm land for the quarter-mile walk to the stadium.

5:19 p.m.: We check in on the north end and are greeted by a labyrinth of steel buttresses and concrete. The sounds of the marching band move through the portals as we shuffle for the ramp to head to the upper deck. I'm trying to be objective here, but I've got to say, the traffic management of this stadium sucks. We've forced to zig-zag back and forth through the packed concourse, smashed between iron girders and chain link safety fences. The air is sweet and stale with sweat and hot dog buns. We earn our way to Section NKU, and finally, break out into the open space. Beaver Stadium is alive with madness, a white brimmed monster of hollow sound and fury. We climb up to the 92nd row and are greeted by the familiar faces of friends. I survey the twin-press boxes, and the natural grass surface. A colleague hands me a Camel Pak filled with rum and tells me to "Bite and Suck." I do, and am warmed to the core. The steel bleachers move with the swell of anxiousness.

5:39 p.m.: The second half kicks off and it's us against the whiteout. We hold the Nittany Lions on another series and I comment to a friend about the play of linebacker Brian Rolle. "He's everywhere," my friend responds. Ohio State gets the ball back and after a string of rushes and an incomplete pass pins Penn State at their own 13. "Ten points," says my buddy "won't be enough to win this." I agree without hesitation. Turns out, we were both wrong.

6:17 p.m.: Pryor steps up in the pocket, turns his shoulders and heaves a "Hail Mary" up into the sky. I immediately go numb -- wasn't it Woody Hayes that said only three things can happen when you throw the ball and two of them are bad? The long ball floats and bobs, as a free safety and cornerback close on the left side of the field. DeVier Posey waits and STEALS THE PASS AT THE LAST SECOND, I jump with estranged joy as Posey darts through the secondary and INTO THE ENDZONE. We roar from the high decks, trading high fives and singing low taunts of elation. We're up 10 points, and for the first time I think we just might have the game. The thought is electric. Our D is back on the field and they're playing off the momentum, dancing jigs behind the line of scrimmage. Beaver Stadium belongs to us.

Happy Valley Indeed...

6:27 p.m.: And just like that Ray Small blows through another leaky Nittany Lion coverage scheme for 45 yards back to the Penn State 47. Jeremy Boone makes a killer knee-cap tackle that saves the touchdown. Pryor takes the reins again, and after a short handoff and incomplete pass we're facing 3rd and 11. The student section is re-energized after the Buckeyes call a timeout, and I let doubt eclipse my mind for a brief second as we line up 4 wide. Pryor moves forward on the keep, and as he charts the open space to the left hash I see an outside linebacker is keyed in on the play. Pryor glides, flashing his trademark motionless moonwalk, and beats the defender to the sideline for the first down. Seven plays later we're in the endzone, after Pryor dishes the ball to a leaping Brandon Saine. It's right in front of the visitor's section, and we go nuts as Penn State fans fill the aisles. Confident in the seventeen point lead I throw out a few hypothetical titles for this article to a friend, including the admittedly insensitive: "You Are...Losers."

Ultimately, "Linebacker Who?" sticks.

7:01 p.m.: After an Ohio State interception, and the usual clock-killing pleasantries, I wait for the clock to hit zero before snapping the iconic scoreboard photograph.

That would be this one...

7:25 p.m.: We file out of the stadium, singing "We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan." (Love it or hate it, Ohio State is probably the only fan base that would rip Rival A, after beating Rival B). With the advice of a few helpful locals we wonder over to College Avenue, the backbone of a handsome New England downtown with shops, restaurants, and (of course) bars. We wait in line for a table at Bill Pickles Tap Room, a game day oasis with tudor-stylings, plentiful LCD feeds, and craft-beer by the pitcher. I drink a Leinenkugel's, and scarf down a soft pretzel, while we draw envious stares. The locals are friendly, even concilatory, and it's clear everyone is all in for the Big Ten.

11:48 p.m.: With designated driver M at the helm, we hop into the car and head east to Altoona -- the nearest available lodging. We buy a six-pack of Yuengling from a bowling-alley bar, and settle down at a local inn, strangely complacent with the Big Ten championship just a week away.

The Rivalry Is Watching You: Minnesota MLB Lee Campbell v. Ohio State

grahamfiller10 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:50:40 -0000

Minnesota gave up over 500 yards to a previously struggling Buckeye team. I'm going to take a concise look at Lee Campell, one of the senior leaders on defense for Minnesota. How did the second leading tackler in the Big Ten factor into this defensive breakdown on Saturday? What are the NFL chances for the Big Ten's second leading tackler? Can the 240 lb. Campbell run with Pryor?

First Possession, First Half 0-0

He's the MLB in this 5-3 formation on first down. Mini puts everyone in the box, stopping OSU for a two yard gain. After a Pryor scramble, LC blitzes from his MLB position but makes no impact on the Pryor incompletion. Punt time

Second Possession, 0-0

Again the MLB, OSU is in shotgun one back formation, while the Gophers have walked five men up to the line dating Pryor to throw. LC moves smoothly in the backfield, onlto to find Brandon Saine running free to the other side. After a quick first down throw by Pryor, the Bucks have a first on their own 19. The Gophers aren't moved by a Buckeye power run and on second down, Campbell drops deep into zone coverage. It's third and long and LC goes into man on the tight end, physically bodying up on the TE. It doesn't matter - Triplett is beaten badly on a Pryor scramble and it's OSU first down on their own 33.

Mini has backed off of their 5 man front, switching to a 4-3 stack, with the LB's focusing on the middle of the field. Spread Read right and Campell is sucked up into the blocking zone, but a Gopher cornerback pops up to make a great TFL. On second down, LC drops into zone coverage and forces another Pryor scramble for three yards. Third and long, Pyror finds a hole in this Mini zone and its first down on the 50.

Tradition I by the Bucks, LC doesn't bite on the play fake and follows Pryor on the rollout before Pryor completes a 17 yard pass. The Bucks are driving thanks to TP's arm and Campbell hasn't made an impact play yet. First and ten on the MN 34: Pryor option runs right. LC picks up his first tackle after fighting off two blocks, but he finds TP 7 yards downfield. Second and short and the Bucks run right at Campell, who falls back under the weight of Browning and a knocked over Gopher DT. First down again.

Quick slant to Posey, who gets smacked in the face by LC, forces the pass incomplete. I'll call that a pass breakup. On second zone, Saine runs righ, hurdles over a blocker and is leveled by Campbell for another tackle. We hear LC yell CMON into the HD mics. That play made me feel alive. It's third down and Pryor runs right before getting dragged down to cause fourth down. The Bucks go for it on a power dive with Saine - LC gets blocked right before he almost makes a TFL. You can't deny that this guy has a nose for the ball.

This drive is making my fingers hurt from all the typing. God. First and ten on the 13, Pryor runs away from LC's side and Triplett and Sherrills contain the play. After a TP incompletion, the Gophs blitz on third down and stuff Pryor. Field Goal MISS, the Gophers have held.

Third Possession, 0-0

A zone read doesn't fool LC, but he gets sucked into the zone blocking hole and vacates middle. Saine runs for 15. First mistake by LC. First and 10 on the OSU 37. Again LC gets sucked in middle and Saine makes a small cutback for 5. After a PI call - a really bad PI call, Pryor challenges the Gophers zone pass coverage and throws over LC incomplete. Quick pass right and its third and five. Minnesota runs a clever defensive formation, putting Triplett and LC into blitz lanes, than only sending Triplett, who knocks the ball down. No impact plays for LC, but its punt time.

Fourth Possession, 0-0

Mini is not in the 5 or six man line anymore, figuring OSU can throw the ball a bit today. A reverse is sniffed out by LC and another Mini defender for a TFL. That great play is wiped out by a personal foul...Everyone knows what happens next, Posey touchdown deep.

Fifth Possession, 7-0

First and ten on the Bucks own 33, basic 4-3 from Mini. Tackle by LC (his third), but Saine gets 6 anyways. The DT's are being moved any which way. Second and short and LC smacks Saine at the first down marker while someone causes a fumble, which apparently wasn't a fumble. Fourth tackle by LC and third and inches, Pryor sneaks for a first down.

Pryor goes deep on first down after a Minnesota blitz is stopped easily. Second down, LC misses his first tackle as Pryor shakes him off in the backfield on route of a 12 yard gain. Negated due to holding and after another incomplete deep ball by Pryor, it's third and long hasn't challenged LC in the middle zone. TP scrambles and I would like to make an observation - Triplett has looked lost today against Pryor.

First and ten, OSU runs up the middle by Small, Triplett and LC stuff him. Another TP incompletion, third and long and a bit longer thanks to a false start. Short completion and another Buckeye punt.

Sixth Possession, 7-0

Mini stunts and blitzes on first down, but TP gets away and throws over LC. First down and Mini has dropped into a zone, TP rolls around until he gets sacked. A surprisingly accurate throw right in front of Sherrills leads to third and short, when TP drives forward for a first down. After Pryor breaks two sack attempts and throws a ball away, Mini blitzes but TP throws the ball to a breaking Posey. The Minnesota man defense is giving up mucho yards. Tired of his success on this drive, TP throws the ball to Kyle Theret and the half is complete.

At the half - 279 Buckeye yards, 7 points, one missed FG, one interception

Seventh Possession, 7-0

A Gopher fumble hands OSU the ball deep in Mini territory. LC and Triplett get sucked into the middle again and Jordan Hall gets a first down before LC late hits him oob - no call. First down on the OSU 15 - a simple off tackle picks up four before Campbell makes a big hit. On second down, Minnesota plays the zone read perfectly, except TP stiff arms a defender in the face and glides in for a TD.

Eighth Possession, 14-0

Zone read is stuffed by the DL, but second down sees a TP scramble right for a first down. No way Campell is catching TP from the side pursuit. First and ten from around the OSU 40, everyone takes a shot at Jordan Hall and then LC cleans up - 5 tackles, 1 TFL. Incompletion, punt time

Ninth Possession, 14-0

Weber fumble and I'm back already. Buckeye ball on the MN 22. Finally, an effective Gopher blitz and a dump down leads to a loss of four. Second and long, Pryor runs for a TD on a cutback - this is quickly negated by a holding call. First down on the MN 16, power run up the middle and Campbell wards off a block to drag down the RB before the chains can be moved. Third and one, Campbell gets another tackle, grabbing Small's foot and tripping him after a two yard run. OSU is running downhill now, as the momentum has tipped to the Bucks. Hall runs away from LC's side and #4 of Minnesota gets sucked in horribly. LC drags Hall into the end zone and pops up to stare menancingly at the side of the Gopher defense which showed so little panache on the last run.

Tenth Possession, 21-0

Campbell hides between two blockers and stands up Hall for a one yard run. Another LC tackle, he is a monster run stopper. Second and 9, TP throws a strike to the sidelines on a rollout, first down OSU. Rollout pryor on first down and #27 got beaten like a mule. Game over flip flip flip.

In other news, Bob Griese cannot imagine why fans would be upset with Tressel after OSU imploded against a 1-5 Purdue team. In other news, Bob Griese went to Purdue in the 1960's and can't imagine why any team would be upset after losing to that superpower program.

Eleventh Possession, 28-0

A power I formation for OSU leads to a power run up the middle. Campbell is set as the MLB and slams into Jermil Martin for another tackle, but Martin gets six yards. Second down and short, OSU is just pounding the ball and it's another Buckeye first. The Bucks haven't fallen asleep and run a reverse - the ball carrier is pulled down by Triplett but LC had smelled it out also. Second down and here comes Martin again - the Gophers are worn out and LC is eaten up by an unimpeded blocker while Martin rolls into the endzone for a long TD run. I've had enough of this, time for conclusions.

Conclusions, Statistics, etc...

Stats: 10 tackles, 1 TFL

Discussion: Campbell hits with all of that 240 lb. frame and he is rarely overrun by lineman (except on the final TD). He missed one tackle all day, whiffing on Pryor in the backfield. His lateral movement is not as fluid as Greg Jones, but that's expected of a 240 lb. man. As run stopping linebackers go, Campbell is right there with Pat Angerer as the complete package.

One issue I have is the schematic problems that Minnesota's defense sets up. The two stud linebackers, LC and Triplett, are grouped too closely together in the middle of that 4-3 when they should have had more space between. This bad spacing led to about 5 instances where they both flowed to the play and then watched the ballcarrier cutback for big yards.

Campbell will quickly find himself in the discussion for All-Big Ten. As of now, I say: First Team: Pat Angerer, Greg Jones, Brian Rolle. Second Team: Some combination of Campbell, Triplett, Jeremiha Hunter, Navarro Bowman, Josh Hull...

Week 8 Big Ten Recap: McNutty, Bowman's Back, Comeback Cats

grahamfiller10 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:52:50 -0000

Iowa 15, Michigan State 13

This was an SEC game at heart, let's be honest. Two defenses stuffing every possible offensive thrust, both coaches conservatively running and rarely throwing down the field. And in honor of the thrilling style of play exhibited by both squads, I took an hour nap starting in the early third quarter and ending with about 8 minutes left in the fourth, which turned out to be perfect timing...

Stanzi didn't look comfortable all night, throwing short of his wide receivers and accumulating only 78 yards up to the final drive. But three perfectly thrown passes brought the Hawkeyes down to the MSU 7, where Stanzi would connect on the do-or-die TD to McNutt with 0 seconds remaining.

That's now four game tying/game winning 4th quarter comebacks that Michigan State has allowed this year. CMU, ND, UM, and now Iowa. Passing lanes open up late against the Spartans, lanes that were closed the rest of the game.

Ohio State 38, Minnesota 7

Terrelle Pryor, who's taken more shots this week than a frat boy celebrating his 21st birthday, threw a couple beautiful deep passes for touchdowns. The 2nd TD came on a ball that Pryor heaved close to 70 yards. So in conclusion, Pryor can throw the ball accurately on deep posts, but he can't throw short out routes...

Adam Weber, 10-23, 112 yards, 2 picks, 3 sacks...He looked confident on approximately two slants, but the wide receivers didn't help at all. If Joey Elliot wasn't so effective last week, we'd be talking about the great quarterback killing OSU defense. Ah well, we can talk about them anyways..

We could also talk about the interception, penalty and fumble prone Golden Gophers. Three TO's, 72 yards of penalty yardage...

Penn State 35, Michigan 10

The commentary during the game flowed easily thanks to the Michigan ineptitude. "Hey guys, we're running really effectively up the middle, let's throw into coverage on second down...PERFECT!"..."You know, it looks like they're getting 8 yards a pop on quick throws to the wide receivers - let's pull our corners a little further from the LOS"...

If you watched this game, you share my immense confusion with Defensive Coordinator Greg Robinson's pass coverage. I've visited this concept here (with Smart Football), but it boils down to Michigan cornerbacks being instructed to play 7-10 yards off the wide receiver. Most teams had been exploiting this incredibly stupid coverage via bubble screens and swing passes, but Daryll Clark just turned and whipped the ball to his wide open receiver for 5-10 yards EVERY SINGLE TIME. Who do I have to sleep with around here to get some press coverage? Jesus...

The hyperbole about Forcier reached new heights early in the broadcast, when the announcers said Tate Forcier might be the best quarterback in the Big Ten. I have him somewhere around 7th best in my latest rankings, as the incompletions, intentional groundings, and general ineffectiveness have rendered him semi-useless against Iowa and now Penn State. Note to ABC, BTN, ESPN: He's an injury ravaged freshman who has crashed back to earth; save the annoying over hyping comments for next year...

Navarro Bowman looked pretty comfortable defending the Michigan passing game and butting heads with Minor in the trenches. I'm guessing 10 tackles, one sack, one pick, one recovered fumble...

Purdue 24, Illinois 14

NO PURDUE TURNOVERS SWEET MOTHER OF MARY. Purdue refused to shoot themselves in the foot, reversing a season long propensity for self-destruction.

Joey Elliot - 63 yards rushing and an excellent nose for when to scramble out of the pocket...

You know I hate generic stupid statements like the one I'm about to make, but...Ron Zook looked like a man resigned to losing. Yelling at no one in particular, tossing his politician's hair around wrestlessly, continuously pacing...and always angry...

Intriguing decision by Zook to give three quarterbacks meaningful snaps. The redshirt frosh Charest looked good, but playing QB carousel is the kind of thing the worst offense in the Big Ten has to deal with...

Northwestern 29, Indiana 28

How in the world did Indiana let NW back in this game? 28-3 slowly morphed into a close game, which of course quickly turned into a barnburner. The difference was a Northwestern front four that stepped up and rushed Chappell, disrupting the efficient Hoosier offense and giving Kafka opportunities to pull NW back into the game.

The second half scoring drives of 97 and 65 yards were keyed by Concannon and Kafka. These two pushed the Wildcats, picking up big gains on the ground and keeping the chains moving.

IU in the second half: Punt, Punt (safety), Downs, Punt, Downs, End of Red. 6 possessions, 0 points, 111 yards.

Hilary discusses the horrible start by NW and the subsequent comeback here...

Nitt Picks Can Taste It

Kevin HD — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:31:42 -0000

Ah yes, the cryptic pressers. Paterno had his weekly press conference yesterday and the news was mostly of the standard variety. Some things of note:

Wallace must have been on his very best behavior since earning a suspension for cutting class. Paterno mentioned that he stands a chance of actually seeing the field on Saturday.
Some freshman may "see some time." I know it's still Paterno, but is this still news?
There have been no decisions on redshirts yet.
And of course we have to talk about practice, and the response was not yeah everyone does it: "We never use (the) 20 hours. If we go, we'll go maybe 17.5, 18 hours. So when they passed the rule, I don't know how many years ago, that you could only go four hours a day and 20 hours a week, it never had any impact on us."

FWIW, the general disagreement is that there are other hours that aren't practice that may or may not have been implied as practice hours in that Freep story that everyone is all huba-huba about. Joe doesn't really address that here, but he did do something you would expect from the champion of the Grand Experiment, something that is kind of getting lost:

I think kids are here to get an education. If you don't interfere with their education, you give them an opportunity to achieve success in the classroom, whether you practice 20 and a half hours a week or whether you practice 18 hours a week, I don't know what kind of a deal that is.

Eric Thomas has more bullets if you're interested, and tPN as well. As always the full presser is here and game notes for those interested.

Let's hear it. Your Saturday announcers will be Matt Devlin, Glen Mason, and this guy (H/T: AA):

But they don't take themselves too seriously. The NYT did a story on The Bowdens and they were able to fill up almost the entire thing with arrogant quotes. Terry Bowden came out firing:

"This game ain’t over yet," said Terry Bowden, who starts his first season as the head coach of Division II North Alabama on Saturday at Southern Arkansas. "There is nothing less important in life than the score at halftime. Well, it’s halftime with the Bowden family. I’m ready for the second half, and Dad has a finish on his career that has yet to be written."

And the Undeniables:

"Who else has three family members that coached teams that were undefeated in Division I? Who else had a father-son coach at the same time, or coach against each other? Nobody, and they never will. Who has 70 years of head coaching in one family and 500-and-something wins? Darn it, heck with y’all."

Who else walked out on their team mid-season after being criticism for recruiting no-nos? Who else was fired mid-season after 9 years and no top-20 finishes at a BCS program? Who else can't keep a job working for their own dad at a program he apparently owns? Who else built a large part of their reputation at Samford? Nobody.

And this is too perfect:

Bowden has signed 25 Division I transfers to help make up for the loss of 15 starters from last season’s 12-2 [North Alabama] team.

[...]

Seven transfers are on the roster from Florida State alone, including Preston Parker, a leading receiver for the Seminoles in 2008. He was dismissed from Florida State after being arrested and charged with driving under the influence. That came after an arrest on drug and weapons charges prompted a two-game suspension to start the season.

So we can add this to the list: who else is building a D2 program on the backs of Criminoles who somehow build a rap sheet that FSU couldn't even take on? Nobody.

"We’ll go up against anybody right now, and we’re going coaching," Terry Bowden said. "We’re not apologizing for nothing."

Of course you're not.

One game at a time. No need to worry about 2010 draft picks now, but you kinda already have a feeling it might end like this way:

Royster said he would consider leaving early even if he isn't evaluated as a first-round draft pick.

"At the end of the year, I'll weigh my options, see who else is coming out and stuff like that," Royster said. "I mean, it's gonna take a pretty good year for me. It's hard to say exactly what kind of year, but I'll talk to some people at the end of the year, definitely my parents, and weigh my options."

Don't let it come to this. Rittenberg on Penn State's week one:

Whether it's fair or not, everyone expects a blowout here, and Penn State needs to deliver. The Lions' schedule forces the team not only to win, but win in very impressive fashion.

There is no question that it isn't "fair". It's not fair to the winning team, who should only ever have to win, and it's not fair to the paycheck team, who just want to get their money and save face. No one benefits from 70-point blowouts unless pollsters decide they'll start factoring that into their vote. They don't have to do this.

And besides, while games have gotten lopsided at times, Paterno is not the kind of guy to keep the starters in and throw bombs in the 4th quarter of a 30-point game. If the only way Penn State can "win" is to win by eight touchdowns and three field goals every week, I don't like our chances.

It's brilliance. Nothing to add:

That's TNIAAM, but you knew that. He's full of satire this week.

In scores of other games...RmN's computer likes Penn State...pure gold for Onion fans courtesy of BHGP...Bowman fluff, it's good for you.

The McTeford Trophy - Heisman Hype in Big Ten Land?

grahamfiller10 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:15:17 -0000

In Year Two of Bradford/Tebow/McCoy, easily changed to McTeford to save time, the Big Ten and the rest of the nation seems to be on the outside looking in. According to all the Playstation-like statistics put up last year, this is perfectly logical. But is it wrong to flat out say that no Big Ten player could win the Heisman Trophy?

As I happen to be in a giving and sympathetic mood today, here are the Big Ten players I could possibly imagine making waves in the Heisman race: Juice Williams, Arrelious Benn, Terrelle Pryor, Navarro Bowman, Daryll Clark, Jewel Hampton, Evan Royster, Greg Jones. Obviously most of these are longshots (um, defensive players?), but I wanted to plug them into my McTeford Heisman table to look at the possibilities anyways.

	Heisman Hype?	Stat Friendly Offense?	Probable BCS Team?	Game to Shine
Pryor	Yes	Yes	Yes	USC
Clark	Yes	Yes	Yes	OSU
Juice	-	Yes	-	PSU, Mizz
Benn	-	Yes	-	PSU, Mizz
Bowman	-	-	Yes	OSU
Jewel	-	-	-	PSU
Royster	-	Yes	Yes	OSU
Jones	-	-	-	ND, UM

Defensive players won't even take a look inside the Heisman race without some spectacular plays and a highly ranked team, so Jones and Bowman are going to have a tough time here. As for Jewel Hampton, I read a rumor today suggesting he might redshirt because of injuries. Well, that can't be great, but Shonn Greene's miraculous 2008 year showed me that apparently it's possible for an Iowa RB to explode onto the national consciousness due to a talented offensive line and a smashmouth attitude. The two Illini's studs (who have their own Heisman website dontcha know) have little chance due to the rollercoaster ride that is Illinois football, but each player obviously holds great potential.

Help us Terrelle Pryor, you may be the Big Ten's only Heisman hope.

As for Clark, the cake schedule will hold potential for big stats. However, the Spread HD was incredibly balanced last year, so it seems a long shot that the Nittany Lions would become a one dimensional offense and thus push tons of yards and touchdowns toward Clark or Royster. Interestingly enough, Clarks outstanding 2008 season pales in comparison to Troy Smith's Heisman season of 2006, which in turn pales in comparison to McTeford's numbers from last year. So it's all relative.

That brings us to Him, or Terrelle Pryor. A weak receiving corp and unspectacular running backs will make Pryor's legs and arms the most important features of the Buckeye offense. This in turn will make him the focal point of any statistical wonders that come out of Columbus this year. So yeah, he's got the legs, the Vince Young comparison, and a much improved arm. He may be the Midwest's only contender.

Ten Big Big Ten Questions

grahamfiller10 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:00:10 -0000

In concert with SBN's excellent menagerie of Big Ten minds, we bring to you nine of the most pressing questions facing Big 10 football this year...and one rodent-infused query. Will Terrelle Pryor push the Bucks to another conference title? Which coach won't survive to lead his team in 2010? What is Brutus the Buckeye compensating for with his oversized melon? Enjoy our extensive look at Big Ten football in 2009.

Who is the Big Ten's Player of the Year in 2009 and why?

Kevin HD from Black Shoe Diaries:

What, we aren't just accepting the Big Ten media's pick? The homer in me says it should be either Daryll Clark, Evan Royster, or Sean Lee — all players that I think are the best at their respective position. None of these guys are as far ahead of their competition, though, as Illinois' Arrelious Benn. His game changing ability is bigger than the new Kings Of Leon album and it’s straight scary how easily and unpreventably he can change the direction of an entire game.

What 2008 Big Ten bowl team misses the post season in 2009?

Pete Rossman from The Only Colors:

Seven teams from the Big Ten went to bowl games in 2008. Ohio State, Penn State, and Iowa are shoe-ins for the postseason. Despite question marks at quarterback and running back for the following teams, Michigan State should get there on the strength of eight returning starters on defense, and Northwestern will get to December under a solid coaching job from Pat Fitzgerald.

This leaves Wisconsin and Minnesota, and of those teams, I feel Wisconsin underachieved (stunning loss to Michigan and an implosion at Michigan State last year), and Minnesota overachieved (4-0 in a weak nonconference schedule, and they did not beat a Big 10 bowl team last season). Wisconsin will get luckier this season, and Minnesota less so. Thus, Minnesota will be the Big 10 bowl team that misses the postseason in 2009.

When does Michigan win their next conference championship?

Dave from Maize and Brew:

Probably 2011. As much as I'd love to say 2010, Michigan's going to have a load of holes to fill on the offensive line next year. By 2011 Tate will be a junior, the line will have recovered from this year's coming graduations, and the defense will be veteran. Plus, it'll be year four of Rodriguez offensive system and year three of Robinson's defensive system. There are some obvious counter arguments, Pryor will be a Senior at Ohio State, Michigan State will be in year four under Dantonio, Brewster's got Minnesota on the upswing, yadda yadda. Based on Michigan's recruiting, the time it takes to implement this system, and the kids already in place I think 2011 is Michigan's first real shot since 2007 (we all know what happened then) to capture a Big Ten title.

Are the same 11 head coaches on the sideline at the start of the 2010 season?

Adam from Bucky's 5th Quarter:

No. Ten of the 11 coaches will remain the same, but Indiana will have a new leader after Bill Lynch is let go in the off-season. He took over the IU program under tough circumstances when Terry Hoeppner passed away and whether it's his fault or not, the program has lost all the momentum Hoeppner had going. Rich Rodriguez and Bret Bielema are two other coaches that need to have good seasons, but neither will be fired after this season no matter how hot the seat gets.

Other than your own, whose mascot would you like to have walking your sideline?

Gopher Nation from The Daily Gopher:

A little known fact: Goldy the Gopher is actually a chipmunk with the teeth of a beaver. One of the first cartoon depictions of the Gophers, the artist mistakenly drew a chipmunk, but it stuck and nobody really knows the difference anyway. Here is the wikipedia explanation...

"In a comparison between Goldy and several kinds of rodent, the gopher was judged to look least like Goldy -- the results judged that his appearance was closest to a chipmunk or squirrel. Another animal Goldy is claimed to look like is the beaver, due to the buck teeth and tail. These inaccuracies are because when the gopher was declared the mascot of the University, the artist hired to create the mascot did not know what a gopher looked like. As a replacement, he drew some furry animals he saw at a rest stop."

Here is my answer to the question though: It is undeniable that there are some lame mascots in the Big Ten. Exhibit A: the Ohio State Buckeyes! Really? Years of a Napoleon Complex with their mascot as it's root (pun intended) is probably what led to developing such a dominant football program. If I have to pick something other than my beloved Goldy Gopher I would go sans mascot. While Zips, Banana Slugs, Salukis and Hilltoppers are all clever and very unique I want to stand out from the crowd by being nothing. We would be the only team in the country without a mascot, everything would be non-descript except our dominating football team. One can dream can't he?

Who would you rather have as your starting quarterback in 2009, Juice Williams or Ricky Stanzi?

Toki Wartooth from Hail To The Orange:

I will be brief and to the point. Based on last season's statistics. Juice has a higher QB rating, more passing touchdowns, a higher QB rating, more completions, a slightly worse TD to INT ration (1,5 for Stanzi, 1.38 for Juice) only 2 points lower in the completion percentage, and all with an injury inflicted O-line and nowhere near the RB support that Stanzi had in Greene.

Juice also ran for 700 yards and 5 ground TDs. He may get a bad rap based on his early seasons, but Juice is easily my choice over Stanzi.

If any Big Ten team plays for the National Championship, who is it?

Sam from We Will Always Have Tempe:

Penn State. The schedule is simply set up for it. Both Ohio State and Iowa - almost universally considered to be two of the top three teams in the conference this year - come to Happy Valley, and the OOC schedule is Charmin Soft. Darryl Clark and Evan Royster should keep the Penn State offense at an explosive tempo, and the presence of Jared Odrick, Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee ensure that Penn State's front seven will be one of top 5 in America. If Penn State can get by Ohio State at home and Illinois on the road, there's no reason they shouldn't be playing for the national title in Pasadena.

Indiana or Purdue...who is closer to making a bowl game?

BoilerTMill from Hammer and Rails:

Purdue, and for reasons other than me wearing Gold and Black colored glasses. If both teams are supposedly worse than last year there is no way that Purdue has fallen from that 52 point thumping they handed IU. Purdue's defense is also expected to be much, much better and one of the top units in the Big Ten. I wouldn't be surprised if Purdue squeezed out six wins and went to Detroit, Indiana is a different story, however. If both teams have five wins going into the Bucket game I am picking Purdue solely because of last year's 62-10 drubbing when both teams were "even" coming in.

If Ohio State or Penn State doesn't win the Big Ten, who is the most likely to end up in Pasadena?

Hawkeye State from Black Heart Gold Pants:

It's Iowa, and it's not even up for debate.

Yes, we've heard the critics: Shonn Greene is gone, Mitch King is gone, Bradley Fletcher is gone. But what returns is the best offensive line in the conference, a line so good that I could rack up 5 yards per carry running behind it. What returns is arguably the best linebacker corps and secondary in the conference, 6 starters with a combined 18 interceptions between them (including last season's top 3 conference interception leaders). What returns is a quarterback who entered last season without a meaningful snap under his belt and ended the year by winning 5 of his last 6. What returns is a team drinking its own Kool-Aid, confident in itself in ways we haven't seen in 5 years. On talent and schedule, Ohio State and Penn State might be the preseason darlings. Go ahead. Give them the love before the ball has even been snapped. Once the games are played, once those snaps have been taken, someone else will be getting all that adoration. Mark my words: Iowa is taking the Big Ten.

Who wins the Big Ten?

Law Buckeye from The Rivalry, Esq:

Conference races are frequently defined by three personalities. There's the favorite. There's the challenger. And, there's the darkhorse.

What makes the Big Ten interesting this year is that there are two favorites (Ohio State, Penn State), two challengers (Iowa, Michigan State), and a wild orange Stallion (Illinois).

Each team will probably stumble during conference play. Ohio State has to face Penn State in State College in November. They get Iowa at home, but it's the week before they play That State Up North, up north. Both teams could run over a young Buckeye linebacking corps that (with Tyler Moeller out) doesn't have a clear speedster on the strong side. Penn State gets Iowa at home the week before it hits the road to face Illinois in Champaign. Both Ricky Stanzi and Juice Williams are capable of shooting up a weak Nittany Lion secondary that replaces all four starters from 2008.

Although Iowa is more experienced -- and probably more talented -- than the Spartans, the Hawkeyes have to play away at Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Ohio State. At least one of those games will be a deal breaker. Michigan State, on the other hand, gets lucky with visits from Michigan, Iowa, and Penn State. They don't have to play Ohio State either. Finally, Illinois is the rogue outlier. The level of talent Zook brings in is as good as anyone else in the conference, but he hasn't developed his guys to play as a team. Count on the Illini to pull at least one major upset down the stretch.

Ultimately though, it's Ohio State that will carry the day -- adding another entry to a resume that's already littered with four consecutive Big Ten titles. The reason is simple: Terrelle Pryor. Like Vince Young, Pryor has the size, speed, and natural instincts to pick up a team and carry it on his back. Clear gains in passing prowess over the offseason put him in a position to explode out of the gate in 2009.

If he does, the absentee Buckeyes will return to Pasadena. They just won't be there on January 7 when the BCS National Championship is played.

The Hit List

Law Buckeye — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:06:34 -0000

As teams continue to hum through fall practice benchmarks (first pads practice, first contact scrimmage), let's talk a little snap, crackle, and pop. There's nothing more unique to football than the tackle, and nothing more gratifying than seeing an opponent stopped dead in his tracks.

The hit is the lone surviving vestige of ancient Roman sport. It's a decisive, bone-crushing shiver of a blow that overcomes an opponent in a millisecond -- a kinetic kill that draws an unsettling groan from the crowd. While we at The Rivalry, Esq. always put safety first, there's something that's just plain awesome about a big hit. A tough tackle doesn't just stop play, it wrests momentum from the offense and transfers it to the defense.

In a league that prides itself on defensive domination, we figured there was bound to be a few pile-drivers in the house. Here are my picks for the scariest in the conference:

5. Amari Spievey (CB, Iowa)

Last season Spievey racked up 68 tackles and four interceptions. Additionally, he disrupted six passes and forced a fumble. One of only two Big Ten players to make the Thorpe Watch List, this 190 pound corner is a dangerous combination of speed and hustle that knows how to lay the wood down.

4. Thaddeus Gibson (DE, Ohio State)

In 2008 this successful sophomore did more than wrap around opposing offensive lines: he wrapped up opponents in the backfield, cementing himself a place on the defensive line in the process. This brief bio says it all:

"26 tackles, 5 sacks, 9 TFL in 2008 … 6-yard sack in opener with Youngstown State … sack against Troy … four tackles in Big Ten opener with Minnesota … forced a Wisconsin fumble … forced a Purdue fumble and recorded two TFL, a sack and six tackles against the Boilermakers … returned a Michigan State fumble 69 yards for a touchdown … 3-yard sack and five tackles against Penn State … two TFL and an 11-yard sack in Fiesta Bowl."

3. Navarro Bowman (LB, Penn State)

Like a cheetah in the open savanna, Bowman's quickness and decisiveness make him a predator in open space. In 2008, he made 61 solo tackles, including 16.5 for a loss and 4 sacks. He also forced two fumbles with his fearless tactics.

2. Greg Jones (LB, Michigan State)

Described by one source as "raw" and "instinctive," the first team All Big Ten and Preseason Offensive Player of the Year led the Spartans in tackles in 2008. The 6-1, 228 pound Jones has recorded over 205 career tackles, including 22.5 for losses and 6.5 sacks. It's no surprise that Jones is a preseason candidate for the Butkus Award (top collegiate linebacker), Lombardi Award (college lineman of the year) and the Lott Trophy (defensive player of the year).

1. Jay Valali (DB, Wisconsin)

Don't let his diminutive stature fool you (5-9, 197 lbs), this kid bites like a snake and hits like an elephant. As Adam Rittenberg describes:

He knocked the 'M' decal off the helmet of Minnesota running back Shady Salamon last November and delivered huge blows against Ohio State, Indiana and others. He led the team in forced fumbles (3) in 2008 and knocked out four players from games.

Valai also led Badgers defensive backs with 56 tackles (35 solo).

"He thinks he's Brian Dawkins," cornerback Aaron Henry said. "With Jay being so small and compact, he can hit somebody and it'll seem like a bullet hit 'em."

As Valai steps into a bigger role this fall for the Badgers, his goal is simple.

"Controlled violence," he said. "That's the key."

King of the blackout, Valali earns our top honors on the hit list.

I'm The Luckiest Man Here. My Hearing Aid Doesn't Work.

Run Up The Score — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:45:38 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

4 months ago: Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, center, laughs with quarterback Daryll Clark, left, and linebacker Sean Lee, right, during Penn State Football Media Day in State College, Pa, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Browse more photos »

That quote is from former Penn State football radio broadcaster Fran Fisher, as he sat in the back of the media room inside Beaver Stadium yesterday. Yeah, I miss Frannie too:

Enis scores the game winner in the '97 PSU vs. OSU game (via BeltwayLandLion)

Anyway, Fisher's quote could not have been more appropriate for a Joe Paterno preseason press conference. If you've paid attention to these things at any point during the last 25 years, you already know Paterno's answers. We're not very good right now. I'm just worried about [name of first opponent]. They have a [totally obscure skill position player] who can really give us trouble. I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't coaching. I don't know why you guys care about this stuff. I'm just happy to not be dead. You shut up.

Okay, okay, here's the actual quote:

Nothing excites me yet. I'll be honest with you, we're lousy. I have nothing to be excited about right now as a team. I'm serious about that. We got too many things we got to get accomplished. I mean, we got a lot of work ahead of us to be a good football team. So I'm excited to be alive. That's about it.

If you really care, FOS provides a handy audio file of Paterno's presser.

As for actual news, there was some:

A.J. Wallace -- Supposedly could be suspended by Paterno for a few games to start the season for cutting classes:

"Yeah, I told A.J. I might not play him in a game or two because he cut classes," Paterno said. "If he cuts any more classes, he won’t play. I think you gotta send a message. No sense sending a message if somebody isn’t a player. He’s obviously one of our better players.

"I think he’ll be all right. Now, when I’ll play him will depend on what I hear back from our academic advisors, and find out whether he’s going to class and he’s doing what he’s supposed to do academically. If he does, then we’ll think about when we want to play him."

In my view, Wallace is the most important player to the defense this season. If he plays up to his potential -- and haven't we been saying that since he arrived? -- he could be a tremendous asset to a Nittany Lion secondary which is rightfully perceived as a weakness in 2009, and spent a good portion of 2008 doing this:

Suck! Suck! Suck! (via 3Honks)

Whatever A.J. Wallace's issues are (and I'm afraid to even guess at this point), if Penn State is going to be even remotely competent in the secondary, he needs to get on the field and be productive. To this point in his career as a defensive back, he hasn't done much of either. And he's supposed to be our good cornerback.

Daryll Clark -- Supposedly has "more swagger". Hard to know what the hell that even means, because he wasn't exactly a shrinking violet last year. Every Clark article inevitably includes the required "must not get another concussion" warning, but the York Daily Record article gets to the heart of his other big problem in 2008:

So what can Clark do better, do differently?

One is limiting his knack for fumbling. He said carrying the ball higher and tighter against his chest should help.

Isn't "oh crap, you better not get hit" a bad thing to endlessly drill into the head of a quarterback?

The Offensive Line -- Rightfully has Paterno worried. DeOnt'ae Pannell is your starter at right tackle, due to the coaches' desire to have Dennis Landolt protect Clark's blind side:

The Pannell-Landolt switch leads one to believe that the staff is not entirely comfortable yet with more than just the instability at left guard, where Johnnie Troutman and his sore hamstring had a summer of training that underwhelmed Paterno and thrust redshirt freshman Matt Stankiewitch onto the first team as of Wednesday.

Pannell needs time and work to acquire what football players always call "game speed."
"He's already used to the speed of the game," admitted Pannell of Landolt. "I'm still getting comfortable with it. I think that's the main reason they're doing it."

Navarro Bowman -- I'll just lift this from Mark Wogenrich's excellent Morning Call blog entry this morning:

The linebacker said his offseason trouble is behind him and he’s doing the community service that was an issue at his parole violation hearing last spring. "I think that he realized that he's wasting a great opportunity in his life," Paterno said.

Bowman said he and Paterno met, with each explaining his side. Bowman said he wanted the coach to understand how the recent deaths of his father and high school coach affected him. Asked if Paterno did, Bowman said, "I’m still here, so I think he did understand."

And while we're on that Morning Call blog, a bit about Brandon Ware:

Every time someone brings up the intriguing redshirt freshman defensive end from Harrisburg, Paterno mentions his weight. "Brandon Ware is 20 pounds away from even coming close to being a football player," Paterno said Thursday. "He’s just too heavy."

Ware checks in at 340, about 45 pounds lighter than last year. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson Sr. pegged Ware’s weight closer to 5-10 pounds too much. But Paterno’s point went more to discipline than to size.

Poor guy. I hope we see him on the field this season, because he apparently has a ton of skill and quickness for a big boy (and his Twitter/Facebook pages are hilarious -- he's truly a legend in waiting).

Wide receivers -- Not causing Paterno nearly as much worry because most of them have playing experience, as opposed to the offensive linemen. We know that Graham Zug, Brett Brackett, Chaz Powell, and Derek Moye return for Penn State, but that hasn't stopped the coaching staff from trying some formations with Stephfon Green at running back and Evan Royster in the slot.

If the guys moving up the depth chart stumble, and if Royster's occasionally sliding over to slotback proves to be more of a gimmick than a staple of the offense, Paterno and McQueary could take longer looks at a couple of true freshmen who could work their way into the rotation. [Justin] Brown, a 6-3, 210-pounder from Wilmington, was widely considered the best prep player in Delaware a year ago, and it'll be interesting to see whether super-quick Devon Smith, just 5-7 and 153 pounds, can find his way onto the field in some capacity. Smith, from Waldorf, Md., ran the fastest 55- and 60-meter dashes in the nation during the 2009 high school indoor season and he won the 60-meter national title in March in a time of 6.63 seconds.

That's not a misprint, of course: 5'7", 153 pounds. To see this in action, just do yourself a favor and skip to 2:15 of this video:

Devon Smith Returns Kickoff for Touchdown (via allinbroadcasting)

Finally, the guys over at the Patriot-News would like to know, what's up with Joe Paterno's tooth?

An Early Look: Penn State

Sam @ WWAHT — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:00:16 -0000

Let's excuse our Penn State friends for a moment. I've just given them beaucoup spank bank material.

2009 is going to be a very, very important year for the Penn State program. It may end up being the most important of the decade, outside of 2005's Redemption Tour. The Age of JoePa is coming to an end, and soon. The program has largely put the struggles of the early 2000s behind them, and on the strength of a Big Ten championship and a shocking win in Columbus last year, Penn State is considered by many to be the Big Ten's other program-of-the-now, as Michigan has placed itself firmly in the midst of a massive rebuilding project. What is it exactly that Penn State has to do in 2009 to have a successful season?

Well, first off: the program has its doubters. Despite the lopsided Rose Bowl loss to USC, Penn State is a program that has largely been innocent of the non-conference embarrassments characteristic of other Big Ten programs lately; the Nittany Lions had won two bowl games prior to the Rose Bowl meltdown, one against an okay Texas A+M squad in Texas and another against Tennessee, a game prior to which Tennessee boasted a top-20 ranking and the Lions had been unranked. The program, however, still bears the mark of what its fans call The Dark Years, and up until 2008, the struggles against Ohio State and Michigan had held the program back from rejoining the ranks of the truly elite. 2008 was in many ways a breakthrough year; Penn State beat both Ohio State and (an admittedly down) Michigan, and if the Big Ten's championship-deciding rules weren't so archaic, the Lions would have won the conference outright. Up until the final weeks of the season, Penn State was seen as a national title contender, whose legitimacy was questioned - in my mind, unfairly at times - due to Ohio State's falls-from-grace in the prior two championship games. While the losses to USC and Iowa stung for Nittany fans, 2008 provided renewed confidence in Paterno and the newly-explosive offense.

But they still have one more hump to get over. They have to be able to repeat that success to at least some degree, and channel it into another solid (i.e. no more than two loss) conference season. If they don't, the "once-a-recruiting-cycle" nature of Penn State's national relevance will continue to stain the program. The Big Ten will have to suffer through another year of being considered Ohio State, and then everybody else. No pressure or anything, guys.

But if they're relatively successful, Big Ten detractors will have a difficult time deriding the conference as a "one-team league", and it'll only get more difficult if the Rich Rodriguez experiment shows signs of life at Michigan. I frequently find myself reminding my fellow Ohio State fans that if the conference is to truly get better, the Buckeyes will have to take their share lumps in the process.* Personally, as a fan who wants to see his team win every game, I don't think it's worth it, but perhaps that's just me. However, if you're one of the people who really, genuinely cares about "conference strength", you want Penn State to show some sort of staying power. They don't necessarily have to win the conference, but they have to be competitive in every single game, win about ten of them, and ideally, they need to win their bowl game as well.

Penn State players you should care about:

On a schematic level, Jared Odrick had about as much to do with Penn State's win as Aaron Maybin swallowing Bryant Browning whole. Odrick literally tore up the offensive interior for four quarters, and was a big reason why Beanie Wells was held to 55 yards rushing on 22 carries. Of course, Navarro Bowman, he of the 106 freaking tackles in his redshirt freshman year, had a bit to do with that as well. Both will terrorize the offensive line, and if neither can be blocked, Ohio State's offense will be done. Evan Royster didn't quite tear up the Buckeye defense last year, but he provided some consistency on a night where Daryll Clark could provide none, toting the rock 19 times for 77 yards.

Fun with statistics:

Penn State's rushing defense last year was a killer, killer outfit, and given that they return Odrick, Bowman, and Sean Lee (from injury), it might be even better this year. Five teams - Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Illinois - went over 100 yards rushing on the Nittany Lion defense, and all of them except Wisconsin had one run that went for 30 yards or more on its own. Oh, and Iowa. But Iowa had Shonn Greene. Basically, if that one run that killed them against Indiana, Illinois and Michigan didn't happen, it would have been in the conversation as one of the most dominant rushing defenses in the Big Ten this decade. USC, a little busy torching the Lions' secondary through the air, managed only 61 yards on 35 carries in the Rose Bowl.

Penn State had nine guys with over 100 yards receiving at the end of the season to Ohio State's five. Fortunately for us, the three most productive of those guys - Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Derrick Williams - are gonesie.

How big was Aaron Maybin to Penn State last year? Well, he account for more than 1/3rd of their 33 sacks. Odrick was their next-leading sack artist, but Josh Gaines and Maurice Evans, a due that accounted for seven combined sacks last year, are lost to graduation and the draft. All told, Penn State lost more than half of their sacks off of last year's unit.

As a result, this is where I start salivating: Lydell Sargeant, Tony Davis, and Mark Rubin are no more; they have ceased to be, and the only returning guy of note in the secondary is AJ Wallace. And uh, yeah about AJ Wallace....

My prediction: Alright, you're going to have to bear with me on this. I think Terrelle Pryor is going to do fairly well against the Nittany Lions, and here's why: last year, he had his best passing day of the season, yards-wise, against the Lions. This year, he'll do much of the same. Expect him to get a good amount of time in the pocket and rack up some impressive stats, but the Penn State front seven is going to clog the rushing lanes at critical junctures late in the game. In the end, Penn State will walk away having given Ohio State a tough 17-13 loss, as the Buckeyes end up settling for one too many field goals after multiple promising drives. I should note that I personally do not think this Penn State squad goes undefeated in the Big Ten, losing probably at Illinois. Nevertheless, Penn State's front seven, featuring what might be the best linebacking corps in America , will be simply too good for a Buckeye offense that'll probably still be relying quite heavily on its ground game to overcome.

A Nittany Lion's Thoughts: Kevin from BSD was kind enough to oblige us with his opinions on the game, as well as whether or not this really is a rivalry.

1. Do you consider Penn State - Ohio State a rivalry? If so, why?

Yes, and I'll try to keep this concise.

I wrote a bit about this in the magazine, but basically I see the evolution of this thing following the path that the some southern schools have taken. For so long you had OSU and UM as consistent Big Ten winners, with others unable to maintain any lasting stature as a consistent threat.

The way this works is if Penn State is able to put the Dark Years behind them and become that third party threat. Purists on your end will probably claim there can only be one Game, but guess what: Michigan has a pretty solid rivalry with Notre Dame, and that's been able to co-exist for an awful long time with their conference finale.

So how is a school like Florida is able to have multiple rivals and no one gets into pissing contests about which one is best? FSU is an important game for them, but so in Miami, and they have the Cocktail Party with Georgia...it's all gravy and it only makes there season better.

And it's really only discussion about Michigan that makes this a question in the first place. PSU and OSU share a border and recruiting ground and your Best Player Ever is from our state. Only our two schools have won the conference championship in the last four years and we are picked 1-2 again in 2009. Gameday has been to this game four years in a row, they've only been to Ohio State-Michigan twice in that time.

I'm not trying to discount your game with UM, it's great yada yada, but I do find it funny how important it is for Big Ten lovers (from all schools) to put games into very distinct and well defined boxes rather than just looking at the reality of the situation: which is that when teams repeatedly compete for high stakes natural "rivalness" occurs.

I blame it all on the damn trophies.

2. Name a player opposing fans should be aware of; preferably one that don't already know about.

Well you might have heard we lost the three long time, well regarded receivers who dominate Penn State's career receiving records. Even though just about everyone bashed them in their 2008 previews as undersized and over-hyped (or alternatively: underwhelming and unimpressive), we are apparently all going to die and looking at the total abomination of our passing game.

But the team will try to throw anyway, and although I could pick a couple of guys who may or may not break out, I'll name-drop Derek Moye. He'll be the deep threat and at 6-5 has the ability to (in time) be a more imposing Butler-type because of his athletic ability. He can by most accounts fly and should help at the very least open the field up a bit.

3. Taking off the blue and white-colored rec specs, what do you think Penn State's regular-season record will be?

I hate making predictions and so prefer a kind of caveated cop out. We looked at some of the early lines and Penn State isn't a pre-season do g in any game they play. This makes me want to say 12-0 is saying something like below 11-1 is a kind of disappointment.

But I'm not really that optimistic. Ohio State as you know will be very good this year, Iowa is early enough to give a developing team some problems, and Illinois scares the hell out of me because if Williams shows up that offense will be impossible to stop. Basically: 9-3 is a very real possibility.

4. Make an off-the-cuff prediction for the Ohio State game.

Off-the-cuff? Sure: Penn State 16 Ohio State 10 on a cold as hell day where Royster and Green outplay Herron and Saine.

I can personally verify from extensive playing and replaying of this game on NCAA 09 that Derek Moye is indeed a terror to cover. Well, pixellated Derek Moye anyway. Leave your thoughts on the game below.