More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

3 months ago: LSU running back Keiland Williams (5) gets away from Louisiana-Lafayette defensive tackle Jordan Topp (98) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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 Week Two - Vanderbilt Commodores

In week two the LSU Tigers defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores on a rain soaked home opener night game in front of a crowd of 91,000 fans.

Running back Keiland Williams was the star of the night scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 72 yards on 10 carries. Charles Scott added another 49 yards on 13 carries as the Tigers outrushed the Commodores 178-122.

Quarterback Jordan Jefferson dinked and dunked his way for 138 yards on 20-of-29 passing. Brandon LaFell caught 7 passes for 38 yards while senior R.J. Jackson caught six passes for 55 yards. LSU used a little trickeration on their second series when backup quarterback Russell Shepard entered the game. They ran a wildcat play with him where he gained 13 yards. Then on the next play he lined up at reciever and caught a pass for eight yards, but he fumbled at the end of the play.

The LSU defense shut down Vanderbilt quarterback Zac Stacy holding him to just 88 yards passing and under 50% completion. The Tiger defense dominated the night all together holding the Vanderbilt offense to just 210 yards and 7 points.

But LSU was far from perfect on the evening. A poor snap on a punt gave Vanderbilt a safety, and Jefferson threw a pick near the goal line. LSU was fortunate that the latter play was overturned on a defensive holding call. But it was a solid win in the second week of the season for the Tigers.

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More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

3 months ago: LSU's Drake Nevis hits Washington quarterback Jake Locker who was called for intentional grounding during the second half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, in Seattle. LSU won 31-23. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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With Bowl Season starting up Saturday and the Capital One Bowl coming up fast, I figured I would take us on a magical mystery tour through the LSU Tigers' season to give us some perspective on how they got where they are. So in this exercise I'll recap each of their games to give you some insight into the Tigers. So with that, let's recap week 1.

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Once again, don't forget to enter the BSD Bowl Game Pick 'Em. Bowl games start on the 19th, so there's just a few days left to get your picks in. As always, we'll use the ESPN College Bowl Mania.

Group Name: Black Shoe Diaries
Password: joepa

Make sure you select CONFIDENCE scoring and rank your picks.

And while I'm at it, congrats to Jimbeau Shoes for winning the regular season pick 'em game. PaJoe came in second with 6 to 4 coming in third. Your humble blogger is quite proud of himself for pulling off a tenth place finish and avoiding the humiliation of losing to his wife.

Join up and make your picks fast! Bowl games start this Saturday!

Come gather 'round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
They you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a-changin'

What started out as an off the cuff remark by Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez...

Speaking to Wisconsin's athletic board on Friday, Alvarez, the former longtime Badgers football coach, said the conference already has investigated possibilities for expansion "from all over the country." And though he places no timetable on the search, Alvarez thinks conference commissioner Jim Delany will respond to a group of athletic directors and coaches who want expansion.

"I have a sense he is going to take this year to really be more aggressive about it," Alvarez told the board. "I just think everybody feels [expansion] is the direction to go, coaches and administrators."

Is starting to pick up steam...

Later today, the Big Ten will issue a statement acknowledging that the expansion issue has moved from the back burner to the front burner. Nothing is imminent, but the chances of expansion are stronger now than they were six months ago.

Big Ten expansion is back on the table. Frankly, I think it's past due. If you conducted a poll a year ago of the coaches and athletic directors of the league I think you could have found a slim majority. But for years the talk has been of two players opposing league expansion: Ohio State and Michigan. Today, it sounds like one of those players is on board.

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More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

8 days ago: Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, left, and LSU head coach Les Miles share a laugh during a news conference for the NCAA Capital One Bowl football game in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. Penn State takes on LSU on Jan. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

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In the 2007 Alamo Bowl, Penn State unveiled the wildcat formation where they brought in Daryll Clark and spread Anthony Morelli out wide. Texas A&M was completely confused and had no answer for it as Clark rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown on six carries. It served as a springboard into the 2008 season where Clark would take the torch from Morelli and become the team leader. So this year there has been some speculation that maybe backup quarterback Kevin Newsome could see some action against the LSU Tigers in the Capital One Bowl.

But according to Paterno, don't get your hopes up.

Q. Last year you said you had wished (Daryll) Clark could have gotten more time in 2007. Do you want to try and get some work for Kevin Newsome in this game?

That's a difference situation. Clark had been here three years. It was his third year here. This is Newsome's first year. He's a true freshman even though he came in January.

And again, I'm repeating myself, because when you guys ask questions, you ask it a thousand times. I've always said, I'd rather play a guy, all right, two weeks later than one week early, all right? Put him in, he's not ready, he doesn't play with some confidence or have some success, particularly at quarterback, you've got a confidence problem.

When I was talking about Clark playing a couple of years ago, Clark had been around and I had seen him grow and I thought he was ready to play some. I didn't think he was ready to play; Jay thought he was ready to play, and for this very reason: I just didn't want to stick him in there too soon.

And I think that was my mistake with Clark; whether it's my mistake with Newsome, I don't think so. They are two different tales. There's a tale of a kid that's really, you know, been around us long enough to know what's going to happen, and another kid that's really just learning.

In a sense, I can see Paterno's point. This is the last game for the seniors, and Paterno owes it to them to try to win the game. To do that you put your best players on the field. But at the same time, I can't help but think that next year quarterback play is going to cost us a few wins because Kevin Newsome only saw 11 passing attempts all season. Getting in a series or two against LSU could be tremendous for his development. I know Paterno is concerned about shaking his confidence, but as some point these boys have to become men and face a failure or two. To coddle them from making mistakes does them a disservice in my humble opinion.

What do you think?

Penn State Nittany Lions (6-3)		Virginia Tech Hokies (7-1)

Tonight the Nittany Lions take on the Virginia Tech Hokies at 7 PM in the Bryce Jordan Center. This is probably Penn State's biggest out of conference opponent of the year and their best chance at collecting a decent win for their resume. You can watch the game live on ESPN2. This is your open thread. Team stats after the jump.

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More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

8 days ago: Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, left, raises his fists as if to spar with LSU head coach Les Miles during a news conference for the NCAA Capital One Bowl football game in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. Penn State takes on LSU on Jan. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

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Starting next week I'll try to get into full blown LSU preview mode, but for now go read David Jones's article. He gives a pretty good recap of the Tigers and suggests their fans really aren't into this game.

But try as they might to raise their “Geaux, Tigers!” banners and smile, LSU fans do so this postseason with gritted teeth. A 9-3 ledger isn’t cutting it for two main reasons.
   
First, they are spoiled rotten. By two BCS national titles in the prior six seasons — the first under Nick Saban in 2003, the second just two years ago under current coach Les Miles. By nine straight bowls, six of the New Year’s Day variety, since Saban resurrected the program in 2000. It’s easy now for purple people to forget what a mess this operation was through the late 1980s and all of the ’90s excepting a brief mid-decade resurgence under Gerry DiNardo.
   
Second, and most acute, they are driven batty by the way their Tigers and their coach gave away the third loss to Mississippi. The abysmal management of that game by Miles in the final minute squandered a chance to win it.

Hooray Post Season Awards

Joe Paterno has been named a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno has been selected as one of 10 Football Bowl Subdivision finalists for the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. The award, now in its fourth year, celebrates college football coaches who demonstrate sportsmanship, integrity and responsibility on and off the field.

I'm happy for the coach and all, but I'm not sure he's really deserving of such an award THIS year. Penn State actually regressed from 2008 when they won the conference with only one loss. I think it's pretty obvious he was put on the list as a lifetime achievement-type thing. In my opinion there are much more deserving coaches this year like Paul Johnson, Kirk Ferentz, or Al Golden.

Basketball

Keep in mind that Saturday night is perhaps Penn State's biggest out of conference game of the year when the Virginia Tech Hokies come to the Jordan Center. The game will be televised at 7 PM on ESPN2. We'll have an open thread for you here.

Nice, uh, wrist action you got there.

Much like the gentlemen in the video, it wasn't a pretty win. Penn State stumbled through an abysmal first half shooting just 34% and actually trailing in the final three minutes before the break. Perhaps they were a bit hung over from the disappointing Temple loss. Or maybe they were looking ahead to Virginia Tech this weekend. Regardless, it was a terribly slow start against a winless opponent.

But a little spurt gave them a slim four point halftime lead. After the break a dunk by Brooks and a three from Frazier sparked the offense to life and Penn State cruised to the final 58-42 score from there.

Jeff Brooks continues to impress scoring in double figures for the fifth time this season. He's easily the most improved player this season.

Andrew Jones is showing signs of breaking out of his funk with a double-double. We'll need him to be a solid presence in the middle going forward.

It was a great team effort with 20 points coming off the bench. Chris Babb is coming around with his three point shooting. But as a team Penn State is still struggling from behind the arch only shooting 4-of-21.

Next up is Virginia Tech on Saturday.