The Penn State Football Show

This past Saturday Penn State had an off week, so most would figure that I would jaunt over to Bobby Dodd Stadium and see my first Georgia Tech game. But no. Georgia Tech was even playing Florida State (in the top three of schools that I despise the most). But here I sat, in my apartment, watching every college football game that I could, not because I liked the teams, but because every game could feasibly help Penn State secure a National Championship bid.

Michigan State - Wisconsin....if MSU keeps winning, by the time we play them, they very well could be in the top 15. A victory over them would provide Penn State with another legitimate win, and in the event that Florida beats Alabama in the SEC Championship, it would also protect against a one loss team jumping ahead of PSU.

Texas - Texas Tech....I was very confused watching this game. Texas I would have to say is my second favorite college football team, and I have great respect for them ever since 2005 when Mack Brown and the boys got together with the Penn State coaching staff and basically told us how to run the spread. A couple months later, Penn State won the Orange Bowl, and Texas the National Championship. Fast forward to here and now. Texas' remaining schedule is about as difficult as Penn State's. They will not lose another game. Had they beaten Texas Tech, the only chance we would get to play for a national title would be if Alabama lost, which is very possible, but not as possible as Texas Tech's chances of losing. Texas Tech will face two more top ten opponents in the next two weeks, Oklahoma State and then at Oklahoma. They are very likely to slip up in one of these two games, and thus propelling PSU to Miami, Florida (of course PSU would need to win its games).

So that is what college football has become for me. It's no longer about which team I "want" to win; it's about which scenario betters Penn State. In the case of the Texas game, I found myself wanting Texas to win, but had to remind myself that a Texas Tech win would be far better for my Alma Mater. And so, that is how the rest of the season will go. It feels like fantasy football where I have Peyton Manning on my team. I hate the Colts, but hey, I need the points.

There are still some games on Saturday where I was able to root for the team I wanted to win since the outcome didn't affect Penn State at all. Florida State, Michigan, and Notre Dame all lost, and for Michigan, that means that they won't be going to a bowl for the first time in 34 years. Keep in mind as well that the last time they didn't go to a bowl, they had a 10-1 record (the Big Ten only sent one team to a bowl back then).