After a Penn State loss, I dread logging on to the 'net. I dread the morose ramblings of Bob Flounders and Dave Jones.  I know that the Stewart Mandel's and Dennis Dodds' of the media are just salivating at the opportunity to blast the Nits for being overrated (side note, Mandel actually wrote a decent article on the game, praising Iowa).  Yet I still go on the web first thing in the morning.  Why? I want to find some kind of silver lining. I want someone on the team to say "It's ok...we'll get better, we're better than that."  I want someone to say that the opponent was the best team since the advent of the forward pass.  I want someone to write about the positives from the Lions' side: the defensive effort, the kick covereage--that's a reach, I guess.

Most times there is some positive to take away from a loss.  Honestly, I am struggling to find one after last night.  The offensive line is still an area of concern.  Too many times, the tackles and guards were bullied, thrown aside, run around.  First and10 from the 6, toss sweep to Royster.  Suhey is in perfect position to clear the lane, but the right guard can't hold the block and Royster is tackled at the one.  3rd and 10 from deep again, Troutman is bulled by Binns and Clark has to unload early.  I am used to PSU o-lines being the bullies, not being bulled.  I personally think that the character of this group of players will determine if the Lions move forward from this or if a return to 8-4/7-5 is likely.

Open field tackling last night was abhorrent.  The tandem of Hawkeye running backs made LBs and Safeties look slow, and normally sure tackling Hull and Astorino both had issues.  on the Hawkeye's lone offensive TD drive.

I guess one quasi-positive outcome from last night is the fact that the secondary faced a legitimate passing quarterback and performed well enough.  They were fortunate there were some drops, and the middle looked somewhat soft, but the corners played well.

I look at the future schedule, and am now not sure that what I thought were "gimmes" are even winnable.  Indiana looks more athletic, Minnesota has talent, Wisconsin has found an offense.  The coaches have their work cut out for them.  There are a ton of still unanswered questions about this team.

I hate post-loss Sundays.

"...when a defining moment comes along, you define the moment, or the moment defines you." Roy McAvoy.

Every Penn State football season has one:  a defining moment.   Pick a season. Any season.  The defining moments are easy to find in the good seasons.  The go ahead touchdown at Michigan in 1994.  The whitewash of Nebraska in 2002. The come from behind win at Northwestern in 2005.  The pasting of Oregon State in 2008.  The defining moments are also there in the not-so-good seasons (though remembering them doesn't really feel that great).  The miracle completion in 1999 (vs Minnesota).  The loss to Toledo in 2000.  The 6-4 loss to Iowa in 2004.

The defining moment goes a long way to determining the course of the rest of the season.  Had the Lions fallen to Nebraska, another losing season was imminent.  Had the Lions not come from behind to beat Northwestern in 2005, there is a very real chance that the team never competes for the Big Ten title.  Had Penn State lost to Oregon State last year, does anyone think a Rose Bowl trip would have been a reality?

This year's defining moment will not be against Ohio State.  Not against a suddenly very scary Michigan team.  No, this year's defining moment happens tomorrow night.  What Penn State does (or doesn't do) in front of a national television audience will make the difference between a BCS contender and a middle of the road team in a middle of the road conference.  A solid win against a solid opponent will likely pave the road for a shot at the Big Ten title.  A loss means that the projections of Pasadena probably turn in to reservations for San Antonio.

So much of the game of college football is based on confidence.  Had Michigan lost to Notre Dame, a sub .500 season would be considered possible.  A win over ND, and the program is "Back" (a lot like what happened to PSU after the convincing win vs Minnesota in 2005).  A good win equals lots of confidence and continued success.  A bad loss means lots of doubt, lots of questions, and lots of pressure.

This 2009 team has a lot of similarities to the 2005 team.  New wideouts, a solid running back, an unproven kicker.  The 2005 team found its identity on 4th and 15 in Evansville, and again on a bone-jarring hit vs the Gophers.  Where will this team find its identity? 

 We'll know soon enough.

For the Glory,

But, since the SEC actually showed up in its other bowl games, Alabama won't be crucified by the media.  Tide had 208 yards of total offense, gave up 21 points in the first quarter.  Somehow this was a prettier 2 touchdown loss than the Rose Bowl, I guess.

 Utah won't get the national love that USC will, even though they beat the team that beat the lads from Troy.  If the Rose/Sugar Bowls aren't proof of the need for a playoff, then the system is hopeless.

...was secretly holding out hope that when Joe did step down, the University would hold a national coaching search that would include guys like Ferentz, Schiano, maybe a Cowher.

In my heart of hearts, I know Tom Bradley is the next head coach.  I want to believe he'd do well, but I am concerned that there is a staleness building in Happy Valley.  Continuity on the staff is great, don't get me wrong.  But, keeping it status quo for so long does nothing to foster excitement or create a buzz.

Look at Alabama.  For years they tried to find the disciple of the Bear by only looking at the Bear's own players.  Mike DuBose?  The guy had a losing record as a high school coach...but he played for the Bear.  MIke Shula? Played for the Bear.  Before Shula, they did go outside of the Bryant lineage only to end up with the Mike Price/Dennis Franchione debacle.

When Alabama finally figured out that it was the type of program who should be able to get whoever they want, they land Saban.  He will have that team in the top 10 until he leaves.

Auburn has started down the slippery slope of nepotism, hiring woefully unqualified Gene Chizik (Tuberville's D-coordinator from a couple of years ago) over some other worthy candidates.  The difference between Auburn and Alabama is that Auburn simply doesn't occupy the same social strata as the Tide...hence the inability to get a Nick Saban type coach.

Penn State is on the same level as Alabama, at least in perception.  A storied program that has been mostly successful.  The University could get a Saban (or a Cowher?) if it tried...but it won't.  It will settle for a loyal, nice guy who bleeds blue and white.  As a result, we (the Nittany Nation) will forced to accept 9 win seasons as "a good effort," and watch as the programs we used to be on par with continue to surpass us.

It seems to me that the Big Ten Conference has not only lost its place among the nation's elite athletic bodies, but that there is no indication that the conference will get back on top any time soon.  Barring a miracle Buckeye win over Texas, the conference will go 1-5 in bowl games this year.  In fact, of the 4 losses in the books, all have been by double digits, ranging from Wisky's 30+ point debacle to Sparty's 12 point defeat.

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Like an oasis in the middle of the Sahara, the NFL Draft serves as a shimmering, fleeting beacon of football in an otherwise barren wasteland.  In what can only be described as a sure sign of the apocalypse, the NFL Draft has become a marquis sports entertainment event.  Some of the talking heads on ESPN even commented that the Draft's second day gets better ratings than most ESPN baseball and NBA telecasts.  Unbelievable.

So now that the draft is over, I have some thoughts.  Some are original, some I can't claim as my own but thought that they were interesting.  First, Charlie Casserly (former GM of the Washington Redskins) was on the John Riggins Show and said that after 4 years, only 30% if the players drafted in this year's draft would be starters on NFL teams.  He broke down the rounds like this: 75% of first-rounders, 50% of second-rounders, 30% of third-rounders, 25% of fifth-rounders and 10% of sixth and seventh-rounders.

Second, I always get a chuckle out of the draft grades.  I think folks like Mel Kiper Jr should grade drafts after the 4-year period that Casserly references.  I bet there are some "A's" out there now that would've graded much lower on draft day...and vice versa.  My beef with draft experts is that there is absolutely no way of knowing which college players are going to be successful at the next level, regardless of their performances in college.  Yes, there are exceptions.  Peyton Manning was probably as close to a sure thing when he was drafted as John Elway was when he was picked by Baltimore in 1983.  But, for every Manning there is a Ryan Leaf.  For every Anthony Munoz, there is a Tony Mandarich.  And for every Adrian Peterson there is a (gasp) Ki-jana Carter.  Yes, I know that Carter's injury in the first preseason game he played effectively ended any shot he had at being a feature back.  But, Cincinnati doesn't get a compensatory pick just because he got hurt.  

When I watch Sunday/Monday Night Football, I always find it fascinating to hear where these guys that are playing at the highest level went to college. (As a side note, I am sick of the high school/elementary school crap that some of these guys spout off...just my peeve.)  Next time, pay attention to all of the Central State's, Tennessee-Chattanooga's, and Appalachian State's that are in the lineup.  I don't have numbers to back this up, but I would venture to guess that for every player that comes from a school you'd equate to a tradtional football powerhouse, there is probably one that comes from a school that most of us PSU fans would chalk up as an automatic win if we were to schedule them.

The bottom line is that when it comes to judging collegiate talent, there is no template or formula.  What I like to see are the Kurt Warner's and Brian Westbrook's of the league succeed even more than the latest strong safety from "the U."

Just my two cents.

One of the questions I enjoy watching Joe answer during press conferences has to do with the challenges of relating to todays players.  If I'm not mistaken, his response is usually the same...it's no different today than it was 20 years ago.

Is any similarity between the nature and character of the players today, and players from, say, the 1970s and 80s?  Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that all the kids on the squad this year are thugs.  In fact, listening to guys like Deion Butler and Derrick Williams continues to make me proud as a Penn Stater. Additionally, I don't presuppose that all of the guys on the earlier teams were angels.

I just wonder if there is some breakdown of fundamental societal values that makes someone even contemplate brandishing a knife at a teammate, organizing a group of friends to go play party-crasher, or shoot a crossbow in a college town.  

It is my opinion that even teams with strong leadership won't be able to corral all 80+ players on the team all of the time.  The dynamics of human nature dictate that somewhere, someone is going to make a bone-headed decision that will reflect poorly on the team.  The key is to minimize those occurances through leadership and vigilance (and kicking miscreants out of the program).  That being said, the Poz's, Connor's, and Lee's of the program shouldn't have their leadership style questioned everytime something like this happens...

In my line of work (USAF), I have had as many as 100 people working for me.  Everytime one screws up, I get called on the carpet by someone.  Sometimes there are things I should have done, should have seen.  Sometimes, there was nothing that I could have done.  People can and will be idiots.

One of our (USAF) core values is Integrity First.  I often ask my airmen if they don the right thing all the time, or only when someone is watching.  Sorry to ramble, but oh well.

Just stumbled on to this site today...immediately marked it as a favorite! It is always difficult to find information this time of year, since it doesn't seem the CDT or other papers cover spring practice with a whole lot of depth.  Call me cheap, but I refuse to pay for Fightonstate.com or BWI.rivals.com.

Really curious to see how the quarterback battle develops.  I know the standard lines about both contestants, but I think the defining quality is going to be seniority.  If both are strong coming out of spring practice, I think Joe probably goes with Clark, given his track record to reward those players who wait their turn.  If that is the case, I don't think we'll ever see Devlin in a Penn State uniform.  Right now, his high school coach dismisses any hint that Devlin is unhappy, but expect that to change if he ends up on the short end of the depth chart.

Who knows...maybe there is a Sacca out there who still has eligibility.