Get used to this stuff hometown fans.  In what is the next logical iteration of global economics on a microeconomic scale in NCAA football, marquee teams will play each other for the right price.  However, these games won't be at home.  They'll be promoted like Ali-Frazier and both schools will get big exposure and make a killing.

I don't have a problem with it necessarily, but it's another example of money being more important than giving your captive hometown fans what they want/deserve.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/sfl-hyde-uf-arrests-s052809sbmay28,0,1709945.column

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I have gone back and forth with some on the site here about the importance of recruiting.  I am of the opinion that recruiting is like almost everything else in life......its about perspective....when you are in the top 5 you think its much more relevant than when you sit at 36.  Here is an interesting little study on the topic.  

http://sundaymorningqb.com/story/2008/1/21/1614/43228

I think its always interesting conversation.  Down here I can go to the ESPN Zone in Buckhead (where Ray Lewis is no longer welcome :)) on Signing Day and it will be crazy down there.  As I have pointed out in other posts, it appears that if you recruit well, you tend to do well.  If you don't recruit well, that doesn't mean you are done, I would rather take my chances.

The idea that certain schools let anyone in and other schools have much higher academic standards and that is why they don't recruit as well as others seems a bit convenient to me and I don't know how you quantify that anyhow.  I have a buddy whose brother is the OC at a recently promoted to D-1 football program.  That OC has told his brother that every program has a few passes they can hand out when it comes to entrance requirements.  

I was just listening to Beano Cook on his weekly ESPN Podcast with Ivan Maisel.  Maisel asked him Beano what he thought of PSU and what does the OSU loss mean........Beano said, I have no idea what it means.  He then went on to say:

If you would have told me in 1993 that by 2007 Penn State wouldn't have won the Big 10 4 or 5 times, I would have told you you are crazy.

So as Mike's WebPage Headline implies, a season or seasons of mediocrity can be explained away, as many of us have, but when you look at being in the Big 10 for 15 years or whatever it has been and you only have 2 Conference Titles to show for it......how do you explain that and what does it say, if anything, about the program.

As you can tell from my signature, I live in Atlanta. I am originally from Erie, Pa and have been a lifelong Steelers, Pirates, Pens, and Penn State fan. I even pull for Pitt if they aren't playing PSU. I was 7 in 79 when Guman was stopped at the Goal Line and I remember wondering how a 7 year old was going to resuscitate 2 Uncles, 2 Aunts, my Dad and a Grandfather. Anyhow, I have always prided myself on "choosing" to align myself with Penn State and Joe Paterno. I am sitting here at work wearing my Joe Knows Football t-shirt in anticipation of tomorrow night. So consequently, I have a hard time laughing at jokes people make about Paterno. I also have a hard time listening to people talk about how he is senile or crazy. Down here on ESPN Radio, the local drive time guys, Buck and Kincade, tend to get on Paterno. Buck is the QB who threw the pass in 1980 to Lindsey Scott that won Georgia the National Championship. He doesn't crack on Paterno. Its Kincade. Kincade is your typical overly provincial holier than thou jack off from Philadelphia. He went to Temple. He loves to take shots at Paterno. So every week they do a segment with Jim Donnan. A couple weeks ago, after the "road rage" incident, Kincade tried to goad Donnan into commenting on Paterno. Donnan wouldn't do it. Donnan instead a few complimentary things to say about Paterno and wouldn't bite as Kincade would have liked. I thought that was interesting given the comments Paterno had for the Oklahoma program in the 70's and Donnan's affiliation with Switzer and the Sooners. I thought Donnan would jump at the chance to make a comment. He didn't. Then a couple weeks ago, I read a MB post where a guy said that his father played football for Marland back in the mid 60's. The son was attending PSU currently or recently and he and his Dad were walking around campus. They ran into Paterno and his Dad struck up a conversation with Paterno about the Maryland PSU game that the Father played in. Long story short, it was one of Paterno's first games as HC and the Father told the son that he couldn't believe the clarity with which Paterno recalled the game and the players on both sides of the ball who played. Then, yesterday, Donnan is on again with Buck and Kincade and Kincade is talking about he would never want an 81 year old CEO of his company and how Penn State fans rival Alabama fans in their arrogance of the program except that Penn State fans don't have the NC's to show for it like Bama does. So he says to Donnan........Coach....seriously.....when is Paterno going to hang it up ? If he had the record, don't you think he would have hung it up already. The tone of the question and how loud Kincade was when he was asking it completely signalled how much he disliked Penn State and Paterno and that he was trying to lead Donnan down a path. So Donnan starts laughing and says......."I don't know if Paterno cares about the record or not....... I do know this.......not many people love football more than Joe Paterno. Its what he does and its who he is. When I was on the Nike Coaches Tour with him a few years ago.......all he wanted to do was talk Football. All the other Coaches were trying to make t-times and Paterno would come up and say "Hey Coach, can we talk about what you are doing with your spread option package"." Donnan went on to say.....I love football.....but not that much. I think Paterno will be Coaching for a few more years yet. It seemed that despite Kincades desire to get somebody like Donnan to throw Paterno under the bus, Donnan wouldn't do it. So I wondered if Was that because its taboo to do so or because there is nothing Donnan could say to give Kincade what he seemed to want. An indictment of Paternos character or current state of mind. So..........the question is.......is Paterno all there ? Do any of you have any stories that would support or refute the "mental well being" of our beloved Coach Paterno ? Sidenote.......its funny........if you are 45 and run down the sideline and stuff a picture of a blown call into a referee's shirt pocket a la Bill Cowher, you are passionate.........if you run down the sideline and grab the referee by the arm and you are 79 (at the time) you have Alzheimer's.

ESPN is reporting that Austin Scott has been charged with Rape.  He is proclaiming it was consensual.  I guess I shouldn't have made the smart comments about that FSU LB a couple years ago to some FSU fan in the Luxury Box at the Miami - LSU Peach Bowl about how it wouldn't be a Bowl Season with a Criminole getting arrested.

In all fairness, my wife was a 2nd Team All American High Jumper at Boise State (she is only 5"5 :)) and she told me that you wouldn't believe the girls that would do anything.....and she means anything.....to try and bag a football player they thought might go pro.  And that was at Boise State in the early 90's, so who knows.

While I would like to root for Randy Shannon given the odds he has defied to get where he is.....I simply cannot.  The Hurricanes seem to be no different than ever.  Every single play, almost no matter the outcome, results in half the team celebrating and dancing around like they just hit the lotto.

Does anyone know when the last time a PSU Football recruit didn't enroll due to not qualifying academically ?  Does PSU go along with min. requirements set forth by the NCAA or do they up the bar a little like Stanford does for its Student-Athletes ?  I know the JUCO guys they have this year are the first JUCO recruits since 1985, but after reading an article on Rivals about last years class and who didn't qualify.......it started me thinking.  The SEC as a conference had 44 recruits not enroll in school this fall.  PAC 10 was next with 23.  Big Ten had 4.