Disclaimer: I'm in a weird mood.

Given our "rich" history of playing UM and in the Big House, I wanted to exercise the creative part of my brain, by envisioning the most ridiculous, yet simultaneously plausible situations that could arise this Saturday...I'll give it a go...

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Way to ring in the new year. But seriously, I'm not all that upset about the Rose Bowl because as Mike put it in his latest post "It is what it is," something like this was a very possible outcome. We were the best team in a weak conference and we needed to play mistake-free football to beat the next best team (OSU) and that same consistency was needed tonight. It was never there.

I think back to the post game presser for the Coastal Carolina game, their (hilariously hickish, but nice guy) coach mentioned that a lot of his players were sort of in awe of the atmosphere in SC and maybe taken off their game a bit. He also said that it was a good gauge from themselves personally, because the cake-walk Penn State had that day was due to the difference in talent level. The loss, while most likely a scrimmage for PSU, gave the CC players something to think about.

I kind of feel the same way about the Rose Bowl. In order to be the best you gotta beat the best. It sucks that this was the way the seniors had to go out, but most of them played with a lot of heart and didn't give up until the final whistle. For the younger players, this was their chance to see how much more they need to study film/technique, and push themselves on the practice field and in the weight room. Hopefully the coaches learned a lot as well too. For example, keeping the team focused when their shooting themselves in the foot and developing a defense that doesn't involve huge band-aids in the secondary. I feel that these were the main differences tonight since PSU marched down the field on SC before the second quarter collapse. Hey how bout the staff/administration ponying up and scheduling higher visibility OOC games?

Given that the Dark Years were only 4 years ago, what's been accomplished since then is tremendous. Like it or not, success in sports in cyclical and I still believe Penn State is striving for its apex. Recruiting has been improving, and many other lingering problems (road wins, offensive production) have turned around for the better.

In close, despite the bitter taste of defeat, I'll think about how much fun 2008 was and I'll look forward to continued success in 2009.

Not trying to pull the whole "I told you so," business, but guess what?

I told you so.

Earlier this week I commented on how the team seemed to be getting away from their diverse attack which made them so successful earlier this year. In particular, where was Lawlor providing the big creases, throws across the middle to our circus freak Norwood, Clark scrambling when nothing was available?

The team came full circle today. Everybody stepped up and it was probably the best offensive performance since OrSU. Not to diss MSU, but we did the right thing by putting them away early and getting them out of their comfort zone. Call it running up the score if you're sensitive, but I call it taking advantage of mistakes and stepping on their throats to prevent a melt down.

How creative was the offensive play calling today? Clarks double fake to a streaking Butler...easily one of the coolest plays I've ever seen? Using the middle of the field which was always there? Clark scrambling on the bootleg to find Graham "tip toe" Zug? Goal line efficiency. When was the last time we didn't need to kick any field goals?

I've almost taken it for granted, but does any team shut down the run as well as this one? Great plan b Bradley and LJ. Nice to see the DBs get some picks too. I was skeptic early on, but Seargent and Rubin ended up alright out there. Seargent, while maybe not the most naturally gifted player, has improved a lot over the course of the season.

This season is one of the best I've ever seen. A+'s for everyone.