The Penn State Football Show

I have lots of thoughts to share on various subjects ranging from the BCS to the All Big Ten team. I guess I should start with the hot topic... the BCS.

I will preface my opinion by stating the following: You will NOT hear me cry/argue/complain that Penn State should be in the national championship game this season. The way I see it, Penn State had an inside track to the championship game, they controlled their own destiny and had three very winnable games left, and they blew it. A lot of people are starting to complain that Penn State is not being mentioned as a possible candidate for the championship, and while they do bring up some valid points, all the Lions had to do was take care of their own games and they could have avoided any controversies and gotten in without any problems. Since they failed to do this, they have no right to complain about whatever fate is decided for them.

With all of that being said, there are some aspects of the current BCS standings that I have major problems with. I was happy to see Penn State jump Texas Tech and Utah in the AP and Coaches Poll after their impressive performance over Michigan State. Then, I was both shocked and upset when I saw that they were still behind both teams in the BCS standings -- the only rankings that really matter at this point. Texas Tech just got absolutely embarassed by Oklahoma. They lost 65-21. I was watching the game and could not help but feel sorry for the Texas Tech coaches and players, there was absolutely nothing they could do to stop the Sooners. Comparatively, Penn State's only loss was by one on a last second field goal in difficult playing conditions to a good team. There is no way anyone can justify putting a team in the National Championship game just three weeks after they got demolished 65-21 in a prime time game in front of the entire country.

Now some of you may be reading this wondering why I'm even talking about the national championship. It's already been decided that PSU is going to the Rose Bowl, right? Wrong. While there are a lot of unlikely things would have to happen, it is not completely out of the question... at least it wasn't when Saturday ended. When the BCS standings came out on Sunday and PSU was somewhow still at #8, that most likely ended any chance PSU had of going to the National Championship- which is why I was so upset with the standings.

But looking at the top ranked teams, Alabama has their biggest rival this weekend in Auburn. While Auburn has been struggling this year, they once again have one of the top defenses in the country, and as a result, play almost everyone close. And you know they will be up for a game against Alabama, especially an Alabama team that is undefeated and ranked #1. I expect this game to be close, and if the ball bounces the wrong way, Alabama could easily lose this game. If they win, they still have Florida in the SEC Championship - so we know one of those two will lose a game. Speaking of Florida, they also have a tough game before the SEC championship, they face a Florida State team that has a very strong defense and could still win the ACC. If they are looking ahead to Alabama, they could lose to FSU.

In the Big 12, Oklahoma could lose to Oklahoma State this weekend. Oklahoma State beat Missouri on the road and nearly brought down the Longhorns when Texas was ranked number one. Coming off of such a dominant performance, I would not be surprised to see Oklahoma fall to State this weekend. Also, keep in mind that given the current craziness going on in the Big 12 South, Oklahoma is going into this game with the inention of not only winning, but winning big so they can pick up some style points. If they get off toa bad start, things could beging to unravel when it becomes apparant that they won't win it by as many as they had hoped. That's always a contributor for a let-down.

Another monkey wrench that could be thrown into the mix is if Missouri ends up beating the Big 12 South Representative in the Big 12 Championship Game. If this happens, it would give the Big 12 South Winner (Texas, Oklahoma, or Texas Tech) two losses, and effectively take them out of consideration. There are many people who argue that a team should not be able to play for the National Championship if they don't even win their own conference. I don't personally agree with this argument, but enough people do that it would be very controversial if it came down to this. Especially after Nebraska sneaked into the championship game and got blown out after not even playing in the Big 12 Championship. So, if this arguemtn gets enough backing, it would eliminate not only the Big 12 South Winner, but also the other two teams that don't win the Big 12 South. Likewise, if Oregon State wins this weekend, that would mean USC would not win its conference, and these voters who stick to their beliefs would also refuse to vote in USC.

This has led me on a tangent that doesn't even involve Penn State, but it is so interesting that I have to bring it up. In my opinoin if the following situation arises, it will create such an enormous controversy, it would effectively mark the inevitable end of the BCS:

Say Okahoma State beats Oklahoma this weekend. Then the Big 12 South winner would be Texas Tech, since they'd be tied with Texas but they beat them head to head. So Texas Tech would go to the Big 12 Championship Game, but would still be ranked below Texas. Even if they beat Missouri in that game, it is unlikely that would jump all the way from 7 to 2 over Texas, just a few weeks after that terrible loss. So Texas, sitting at #2 behind the Florida Alabama winner, would go to the national championship game over Texas Tech despite losing to Tech head to head and the not even winning their Conference (not even winning their division of their conference). Texas Tech would have a lot to scream about in this case, and I'm kind of hoping it happens just to see how it plays out.

Back to the Lions:

Once again, I'm not saying Penn State belongs in the championship game, because if they really wanted to be there, all they had to do was win their games and we wouldn't be talking about this right now. But, if Alabama does lose, then there are a bunch of one loss teams all deserving of a shot, and I think Penn State has as good of a team as any of them.

Florida's loss by one to Ole Miss is very comparable to PSU's only loss of the season. So, the only thing Florida has over PSU is that the SEC is better than the Big Ten, so they have more impressive wins. I will not argue against that, becaus I agree their schedule was tougher than Penn States. But, at the same time, it's not PSU's fault that the Big Ten is down this year. It's not Penn State's fault that Ohio State has gotten dominated in the National Championship the last two years (which I don't think should be used as reason to keep PSU out, even though it is being used that way.) So there isn't anything more that Penn State could have done this year to make themselves more deserving than Florida. (Except beat Iowa). All of their wins outside of Ohio State came by 14 points or more.

USC lost to an Oregon State team that Penn State dismantled 45-14. Beyond that, they have won all of their games in the Pac 10. I will not try to say the Big Ten is tough this year. It is not. There is no way to deny that. And that is what is hurting Penn State. But, I definitely don't think the Pac 10 is any better than the Big Ten. In fact, it is worse. So, in my opinion, Penn State is more deserving to go than USC, since they have comparible schedules and Penn State is 2-0 vs. common opponenets while USC is 1-1.

Wow. I'm exhausted. I just laid out many various scenarios that could arise within the BCS over the next few weeks. Some if it may have been hard to follow. It's a very complex process. The bottom line is there are many deserving teams and only two will get to go. It will be very interesting to see what happens.

I intended to talk about the All Big Ten Teams which were announced tonight, but I no longer have the energy. I will mention that they were completely dominated by Penn State on both sides of the ball, and it was very nice to see. I will write about that tomorrow.