Joe should go as head coach. We should be an elite program. We have the recruits the last few years, so the difference to me is the coaching. I say this reluctantly, because I love Joe. But Joe says he needs to do what is best for Penn State, and thus it is increasingly clear that he has to leave. The trustees or whoever tried to force him out before 2005 season. He signed new contracts before the 2005 and 2008 seasons. Why No new contract this year? Let's hope the trustees have a meeting or Joe's annual review with admin, and can finally talk some sense into him, and make Joe come to the realization himself.

 When you read the stats that we haven't beaten a top 5 team since 1999, well guess what happened that year? JayPa moved to QB coach. Well that makes sense. Have a guy in Big Red who actually Played at QB and put him somewhere else and let your son who couldn't even play in college coach QB's. Then split up the play-calling duties so you are guaranteed frustration and disagreement at least part of the time.

When you take too long to relay plays, that is on the coaching. When you get delays of game and waste time outs, that is on the coaching. When you offense plays with no sense of urgency when you are down by multiple scores, that is on the coaching. When you can Never play with any hurry up to throw the other team off guard, that is on the coaching. When you call some good plays, then keep going to them (Run between the tackles, then do it 3 more times), the playcalling gets stale and predictable. That is on the coaching. And most of all, when your DB's play 10 yards of the ball, and the opposing team can kill you with a thousand paper cuts of 8 yard out routes, and 12 yard over the middle plays that keep drives alive, that is on the coaching. Now, not all of the above happened today, but over the last 3 years it has. (At Iowa 2010, USC Rose Bowl, at Alabama today and last year, etc. )) And it all comes back to JoePa.  And don't you just know at any other school JayPa would have been fired 10 years ago? 

Today, Bolden should have played all game. No consistency Killed the offense. This should have been solved last year. That is on the coaching. A QB controversy for 2 years? Who has that? Where is the leadership? 8-4 this year will be a disappointment. We should be and deserve to be better. Even 9-3 does not take away the fact we should be an elite program or advancing there. I don't see it happening.

 And next year we lose DB's and linemen, so don't expect a magical MNC run because remember: it all comes back to coaching. And all of Penn State's problems that will not allow them to compete with and beat Elite Top 5 or even Top 10 teams will not be solved until the philosophy and leadership changes.

Suckees are vacating wins from last year, which means Penn State has 818 wins, 1 behind tOSU. .  Check out the chart below which is current through the end of 2009. 

According to my calculations State is 6th with 818 adding 7 wins from last year to the chart..  Then Sooners 7th with 811, then tOSU with 807 since they gained no wins now in 2010 , and in 9th is Bama with 802 (since they won 10 games last year).   

Will Sooners catch us this year?  Or will we stay in Top 5 this year and beyond?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_win-loss_records

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/m-footbl-quick-facts.html

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1081209.html

Is Mauti the best player a bit of a leap?

How many games will Penn State win this year?

Falling off the map and 7 wins again this year? Enough to get a new coach? 

Is 9-4 a bad year for this team?

CFN thinks 9 and a bowl win which seems about right to me.

Will 10-2 get us to the BCS?

Would 11-1 be National title game?

Phil Steele #24 team

Does this mean 9-4 in his opinion? as that is what 2006 and 2007 records got us in the final polls right around 24 or 25th..

IMHO, I would take 10-3 with a bowl win and a win over either Nebraska, TOSU, or Whisky..

Words words, blah blah..would 10-2 get us in the title game with a loss to Alabama included in that record?  Beating 2 of the last 3 opponents would get us to Indy IMHO

Ok, so the drama is who do we play in the bowl game?  Figuring Indiana as a probable win, and MSU as a probable loss (although possible win), let's say 7-5 (4-4) in conference. Looking at the current standings,  assuming NW loses to Whisky and Michigan loses to Whisky and OSU or at least one of those games, we are in a tie for fifth place.  Even if Illinois wins next week, we are still tied and bowl selection committees will probably chose us.  So are we a lock for the Gator Bowl with Florida, or where do we go?

Current Standings 

 ESPN Bowl Projections- Week 10

Who Transfers?

Do you really think 3 top level QB's with elite talent/and or potential will all stay at PSU?

Once Jones, or Bolden realizes that they are stuck for three years behind Newsome, Mcgloin and the other frosh and the nearest Nebraska, tOSU, scUM or VT comes calling,  they are off.  Rotate that scenario any player you want and someone is left is the dust.  Who knows, maybe they will go to Delaware and take over for Devlin..

Anywho, Why have we never played VT? That would be a great matchup. 

 BTW, I wrote an email a few years ago to Fran Ganter, JoePa, and either the AD or someone else about scheduling and got a response or two from Fran. Sent me his business card and 2007 PSU Ftball Yearbook.

Congrats on the National Championship!

Anyway, next year was wondering about tixs for the PSU-Bama game. Does anyone have any links, student ticket info, tickets they would be willing to sell, etc. 

 Right now, Bama is sixth in wins with 813, while PSU is 7th with 811.  Bama still has the appeal to deal with.  Bama is 8-5 against PSU.   Just filling up the 75 word limit here.

I expect you guys will beat us bad, but would stil love to see my team and JoePa at your stadium.  Thx..

PSU 8-4 unranked vs 9-3 #17 Tennessee

Jan. 1st, 2007
PSU 20

Tenn 10

Penn State's defense was outstanding in the Outback Bowl. It was able to get pressure on Vols quarterback Erik Ainge and force three turnovers. The Nittany Lions pass rush matched up well with Tennessee's offense and kept the Vols from making big plays. Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli had a good game, establishing the passing game early and making plays to keep the chains moving. Running back Tony Hunt continued to impress as he's done all year. When the Lions are able to get something out of the passing game, it eases the pressure on Hunt. He took the team on his back in that last drive. Overall, Penn State was well prepared, having added a few new wrinkles on offense, and did what it needed to do to win the game. -- Jim Donnan (former Georgia, Oklahoma coach)

Tony Hunt against Tennessee-Fast Forward to 0:47 until the end for the Real Truth

Outback PSU

Don't Sell Penn State short. We are not the Big Ten. We are not Ohio State. We have won 3 of our last 4 bowl games.  You are not USC. This WILL Be a good game with BOTH teams prepared.

Like the Rambler, I come from "enemy territory", Blackshoediaries.  Hoping for a great game. The folks on here same a little more level headed than some of the other LSU blogs I have been perusing in the last few days. I did not go to Penn State, but grow up there and wanted to give some facts, stats, etc. Forgive me if you know them.

1. Beaver Stadium-largest stadium in the country for the last 2 years. Michigan is adding more handicapped seating, but is currently smaller.  

2. Penn State-largest paying alumni network.

3. Joepa-most bowl wins as coach (23-11-1).  Has been at PSU for 60 years, 44 as HC.  Only LSU-PSU previous meeting 1974 Orange Bowl: 16-9 Penn State won.

4. We have 810 school wins, 7th all time. 16-16 against the SEC all time. 

As for the game itself,  Line play will be key. If you have athetic DE's we are in trouble. Holliday will be trouble, and special teams is a definite advantage for you.  PSU is like 4th in scoring D, at 11.8 ppg, against some lesser opponents.   A KEY matchup not yet talked much about is your offense against our line and linebackers. Secondary is a question mark for us. 

 I know you have a great D too, giving up something like 16 ppg.  I think your offense has struggled somewhat this year, but you definitely have athletes.  Our QB Clark can look great against the same talent teams, but has not won a signature game. RB Royster also had a better year last year.  Should be a pretty evenly matched game. 

With the win next week vs. Illinois 2A, State will be 5-1, which leaves us on pace for 10-2.

What team will we lose to get that mark? Minny, homecoming game 3-2, sorry Decker, PSU wins. At ScumRod, they lose next week to Iowa, and their confidence starts fading. We win that one by 10, and we STILL have the biggest stadium, so choke on that.  At Northwestern, hmm, they sit at 3-2.  Trap game between Scum and Tosu, could be here. Tosu, wish it was a night game, like 8 oclock.  50-50 here on W-L.  Beat Indiana at home and then beat the scowl in East Lansing, and call 17 timeouts at the end while winning by 50.

Does 10-2 get us in the BCS? Right now, Iowa and Tosu would be ahead of us. What about Wisky? Waiting for their mid-season meltdown to start any game now..

And 1989 Holiday Bowl: Penn State -BYU kicks off the new games tuesday at 8.

Also on is 1985 Alabama v. PSU

1993 PSU v. Michigan St.

2006 Orange Bowl vs. FSU

http://www.bigtennetwork.com/corporate/Greatest-Games-Season-3-FB.asp

Maybe next year it will be 94 v. Mich or OSU. or 2005 v. OSU. All in all, 4 games out of 24 is not bad.  Would like to see 82 v. Nebraska as well

Follow the link below and Strongly urge the BTN to put on PSU-OSU 05, or any other game you feel neccessary, Perhaps the 06 Orange Bowl, the 87 Fiesta Bowl. Some of the games may not be able to be put on for copyright reasons, but you never know.  Just saw the 95 Rose Bowl today, tied in the 3rd qtr at 14 with less than 5 minutes left.  Perhaps those darn ducks cost us a shot at the NC in 94. 

Big Ten Greatest Games request form

Phil Steele has us #5 in the country. #1 Linebacker corp with Lee and Bowman pictured on the same page of the 09 preview. #1 in the Big Ten over OSU, with a good chance at going undefeated. And once again playing the Trojans in the Rose Bowl.   #1 Stadium size, is this accurate? thought Scum took back the lead this year.

Sorry to ruin it for you if you get it tomorrow, but hey, that's life. still good info inside.

Right now Joe is 383-127-and 3. His winning pct is something like 74.6.

If he fulfills the rest of his contract, he needs to go 31-8 in the next three years to finish at 75%.  That would be a 11-2 and two 10-3 records.

80-48 record since big ten play opened.

5-3 or better in 11 out of sixteen big ten regular seasons. 4-4 or better in 14 out of sixteen seasons.

Watching the Ohio State game the Aflac Trivia was how many games has Ohio State and won since 1966 compared to Joepa and PSU. The answer

both at 380.   Both won three more games the rest of 2008 so both schools have 383 since 1966 i am pretty sure.

2nd most wins since 1946, according to soonersports.com.

2009, 2010, 2011 OR later

I am thinking 2010, or 2011. Alabama gives us the strength of schedule to play them, OSU, Mich, and a great team like USC, VA tech, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Miami, etc for the MNC. That means really good competition like in the 80's. Michigan should be good enough by then to count as a quality win.

2011, OSU, Alabama, both Home. And Newsome will be a Junior by then.  AND 25 year anniversary of 86 title team!

Even this year we win all of our games this year, we only play OSU, and then one other opponent for the title. Would love to win this year, but think schedule plays nicely next few years. so whatcha think

Here we have collegefootballnews.com, and pete fiutak giving his analysis of joe v. bobby 60;s-08. And the verdict is JOE PA!

Impressive body of work. cfn.scout.com gives the wins by year on the main page. Long live the King. joe v. bobby

and how bout that basketball team, are they in the tournament or not? will they win any games? who cares?? overanalysis, you bet, find out sunday.

We are Penn State

intersesting on Oklahoma fan site debating about the espn ranks.

we are #2 in wins since 46 and #3 in win percentage.

also click on the recognized by the ncaa and it willl link to the voters record for national championships and all the organizations. going by this we have more than 2 mnc's. pretty sweet stuff we are...

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/m-footbl-no1-program-modern-era.html

Penn State is number 11 in ESPN's college football prestige rankings.  I like that we are ahead of all the SEC teams like Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and LSU. I sent this to my brother in law who is a big UGA fan, and my other brother in law who is a big UT fan. Being here in Georgia, I hear all about the Dawgs, but we know PS is Slightlyy better than them. After all we beat them for the 82 title.

For both titles, (82, 86),  Were we ranked #2?

ESPN Prestige Rankings

The 2005 season highlight DVD said WE ARE...BACK.

But I don't think we are and here is why.

Our national reputation is okay, not great. The Championships in the 80's and the Grand Experiment earned us favor far and wide. But as the SEC player, can't remember his name now, as his comments show We are not respected right now.  Because we didn't win that game against USC, people will say PSU is overrated. Hey look, they can't beat Iowa, and then they were supposed to compete with SC, c'mon.

And because we are in the big ten, we are sullied by reputation in the last few BCS bowl games.

With 800 wins and 6th all time, we are among the nation's elite college teams over time. But last year, Brian Norwood left. And this year, LJ may be leaving. Even if he stays, why is he looking? Cause Joe just does not know when to exit. Who will be next? Is Scrap loyal for the next 3(?) years? 

Say LJ leaves, and we win the NC next year or in 2010. What will be left of our current coaching staff by then? Has Joe thought about this? Has he consulted his assistants, or made decisions for them so that hopefully they will stay? 

We may be fine, we may not. But the smooth transition of coaching that would ensure we remain a top tier program is currently very much in jeopardy.

So I will

Happy Happy B'day Grandpa. We all love you.

Ohh, this is not my family blog.  I meant JOEPA, 82!! 3 more years, 3 more years...

AND

Congrats to the BACK to BACK NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, Women's Volleyball.

maybe someone can do a t shirt with the mens and womens national champs. that would be Sweet.

Merry Christmas y'all, and to y'all a good night. is that 75 words yet...

GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!

37-10 Oregon......

We will we will beat dem Trojans.

Down with Pete Carroll..down with them punks, bring back John Robinson and let's go State..the Rose Bowl has new meaning. I can breathe again. Directv is the best, versus network lets me watch the beatdown. Check out Jeremiah Johnson, He is something...you heard it here first.

We play at Beaver Stadium, we don't need know more Beavers, chuckle..

just made it 37-17, big woop.

We are Penn State!

Link to an article from collegefootballnews.com

Why not a 1 loss PSU team for the national title this year?

I know the scenarios have been posted before, but cool to see a national writer give it some attention.

Go DUCKS, joepa successful surgery. when will we get a quality qb or reciever next. receiver, stupid spellcheck. 75 words. run the ball at Iowa on third and forever and get a field goal attempt.

Why not 1 loss Penn State

Next week, a lot to play for. Maybe Gameday will be coming to our city. Wonder what time it is?

A Big Ten Title, third since joining, so they don't come along every day.

A trip to the Rose Bowl, first since 94.

School win # 800 on the line. to stay ahead of Bama.

And to stay ahead of Bobby Bowden. Right now Joe leads 382-380..

Oh, and for the seniors a chance to finish 40-10 in their careers.

A lot on the line next week.

major champions:

Basketball: Celtics: last title 1986

Football: Giants: last title 1990

College Basketball: Kansas: last title: 1988

College Football: PSU? (last title: 1986)

anywho,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,anyone else have other sports.

blah a a a a a a a a a a a  a a a a a b b b b b b b b b b bb c c c c c c c c c c d d d d d d d d aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Which game will we be in? It all depends on the next three weeks. Win all 3 and we are in the hunt for the big prize. Win Two, or even beat Um and we will be in the BCS hunt. Lose all three and it is outback bowl again. I believe the middle scenario is most likely. Ohio State is just a tough place to play..

Little concerned about the secondary. We can stop the run, but the middle of the field is wide open.  We had a few penalties today, avoided the turnovers, and got the win. Next week, we need Enthusiasm and Flash.  Come to think of it, the last two games we started off slow, but we came through.

School Win #795! hope to see Joe on the sideline next week..

Joe is #1 again, with 376 career wins, poor old BB could only score 3, and he is at 375. I think this is the first time JoePA has been in sole possesion of first place since 2003. Congrats. Let's keep it rolling next week as we beat Illinois, and they lose to Colorado.

also next week prediction: PSU 34 Illinois 23. A late field goal puts them away and we move into the top 10. Cue Zombie Nation

The big ten network is debuting PSU's sugar bowl win over Georgia, I think Wed. from 7-10. i could be mistaken on the time, but it is running several times over the next few days after the initial broadcast, and also it is 3 hours long, so no cut offs. Could this be a preview of the 2008 finale? anyway, check it out if you have the btn on your service provider. joe pa, blah blah, 75 words, blah

FSU
9/06/08 vs. Western Carolina Tallahassee, Fla. 6:00 p.m. ET (WIN)
09/13/08 vs. Chattanooga TV Tallahassee, Fla. 3:45 p.m. ET (WIN)
09/20/08 vs. Wake Forest Tallahassee, Fla. TBA (LOSS)
09/27/08 vs. Colorado Jacksonville, FL TBA (WIN)
10/04/08 at Miami Miami, FL TBA (WIN)
10/16/08 at North Carolina State TV Raleigh, NC 7:30 p.m. ET (WIN)
10/25/08 vs. Virginia Tech Tallahassee, Fla. TBA (LOSS)
11/01/08 at Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA TBA (WIN)
11/08/08 vs. Clemson Tallahassee, Fla. TBA (LOSS)
11/15/08 vs. Boston College Tallahassee, Fla. TBA (LOSS)
11/22/08 at Maryland College Park, MD TBA (WIN)
11/29/08 vs. Florida Tallahassee, Fla. TBA (LOSS)
PSU
Sat, Aug 30th, 2008 Coastal_Carolina 12:00 PM Beaver Stadium (WIN! and tied record)
Sat, Sep 6th, 2008 Oregon_State 03:30 PM Beaver Stadium (WIN)
Sat, Sep 13th, 2008 at Syracuse 03:30 PM Carrier Dome (WIN)
Sat, Sep 20th, 2008 Temple 12:00 PM Beaver Stadium (WIN)
Sat, Sep 27th, 2008 Illinois 08:00 PM Beaver Stadium (WIN)
Sat, Oct 4th, 2008 at Purdue TBA Ross-Ade Stadium (WIN)
Sat, Oct 11th, 2008 at Wisconsin 08:00 PM Camp Randall Stadium (LOSS)
Sat, Oct 18th, 2008 Michigan 04:30 PM Beaver Stadium (WIN!!!!)
Sat, Oct 25th, 2008 at Ohio_State 08:00 PM Ohio Stadium (LOSS)
Sat, Nov 8th, 2008 at Iowa TBA Kinnick Stadium (WIN)
Sat, Nov 15th, 2008 Indiana TBA Beaver Stadium (WIN)
Sat, Nov 22nd, 2008 Michigan_State TBA Beaver Stadium (WIN)

Does anyone see any similarities between the two men.

Both are relatively old for their positions.

Both have been tried to have been forced out the door (Favre-GM Ted Thompson, Paterno, Pres. Graham Spanier)

Both have said NO, not until I say so because I LOVE my job, and told the brass to kiss it

Both have replacements waiting in the wings for years (Favre-Rodgers, Paterno-Bradley or other)

Some differences in specifics, but hey so what..

Athlon's #23

Projected wins 8

Projected Losses 2

Toss Ups 2

Lindy's: NR top 25

Phil Steele: #10

Same as last year. This one seems too high to me.  Looking at 10-2 at best or 9-3 this year.

We should have two goals: BEAT michigan and pass Bobby.

If we get lucky, great, but we haven't been a ranked road team since 2002 at Wisconsin, and it looks like losses to OSU and Whisky this year