The Penn State Football Show

First off, that's a huge win. Illinois is a very good team and played a good game and we still managed to hold them off. They may have the most difficult offense to defend out of every team on our schedule, so we can all take a deep breath having gotten past them.

Other thoughts in no particular order:

Not having Jordan Norwood is a big blow to our passing game. He's been our best wide receiver, and is our best route runner. He has been Clark's favorite target all season, so we will need him back soon. Hopefully it's not too serious, although hamstring pulls can linger.

There is no reason for Josh Hull to be on the field. Many of the big runs in the first two Illinois drives were his fault. He is out of place way too often and gets taken out of plays way to easily. He is slow and can't get off blocks. They really need to give someone else a shot at middle linebacker if they want to succeed against Wisconsin and Ohio State.

Drew Astorino is a player. All over the field. He's a ballhawk and he also plays tough. I think he's a better version of Scirotto, because he's not afraid to hit. Great instincts. This kid is going to be good.

I was glad to see AJ Wallace get in at corner. He played well on defense, and is a better corner than Lydell. It seemed like maybe they went with him after Sargeant made a poor play on the Benn touchdown in the first quarter. However, AJ looked terrible on the kick returns. I don't know what has happened with him -- he used to be an incredible return man, and half-way through last year something happened and he hasn't been the same returner since. He looks timid out there and doesn't run full speed anymore. Luckily we have D-Will to make up for it.

Speaking of which - what a game by D-Will. He really stepped up with Norwood out. No more needs to be said here.

Royster is awesome. We should have given him the ball much more tonight. I like Green and his speed and potential, but there was no reason to take Royster out and replace him with Green like they did on a few series tonight. Not to mention the 4th and 1. Running the ball with Green is a bad idea, he's a small fast back, not a short-yardage runner. I know Royster was hurt, but let Clark get the one yard, or even Lawlor. That was a dumb play call that could have cost Penn State.

If Quarless can stay out of trouble he can be a big weapon for this team. Needs to block better though.

Overall a huge win. Great play-calling on offense for the most part. A few missed opportunities, some sloppiness, but overall a big win for this team. Darryl Clark showed good poise and leadership in this game as well. I'm surprised that Purdue lost to Notre Dame today. I thought they would beat ND pretty badly. Still, Purdue could be a tough game, especially on the road, so the team can't look ahead.

Gentlemen,
It's hard to call an upset this weekend worthy of being a real upset when No. 1 goes down on Thursday Night. This one was not on my radar. Two weeks ago Oregon State had nothing even resembling a good football team when they were absolutely taken to the woodshed by our Nittany Lions. I mean all the "experts" were ready to give them the trophy already. I think people are going to have to take a serious look at Penn State now.

As for people saying the Big Ten is down, I disagree. It's just not the same teams at the top. Just because Michigan and Ohio State aren't title contenders doesn't mean the entire Big Ten is worthless. Wisconsin looks solid, I liked what I saw from Michigan State and I believe when Pryor gets a little more comfortable Ohio State will make a solid team. Then there is always one sleeper in the Big Ten every year. I think we will have a solid lineup come bowl season which is the ONLY proving ground the entire year. That's when we find out which conference is legit and how full of shit Mark May actually is. I like Penn State's chances to take the Big Ten and make a title run. I said the other day, they looked as good as any team can in 4 games against nobodies.

Keys to victory: Special Teams- We've haven't been able to stop any return man on their side of the 20 so far. That needs to change againts Ahrelius Benn. The way the defense and offense have been looking I wouldn't care if we kicked it out of bounds every time. Sounds stupid but if we did that 3 years ago we would have been in the running for a title. Sorry to bring up painful memories.

Upset special: This weekend is always chocked full of upsets considering no one has really been tested too much. One's on my radar: TCU Oklahoma simply because other "experts" were calling Oklahoma the best team in the land and I like the name Hornfrogs. For some reason I keep staring at that Navy-Wake matchup. You can never really count out the Midshipmen. And here's where I lose all credibility come Sunday... Michigan over Wisconsin. I have not seen anything from Michigan that shows me they are capable of beating '06 Team VJ Pepicelli, but something about Michigan being the underdog at home just doesn't sit right with my upbringing. Once again I've gone past the normal amount but no one up here talks college football so I've been stewing these for a while.
-Respect

This game will provide the answers to a lot of questions people have for this Penn State team, but before any of that happens, I will flatter you with my thoughts.

1) Arrelious Benn was unstoppable last year vs. PSU with a KR touchdown and 6 grabs for 84 yards including a touchdown strike where the entire Penn State secondary couldn't bring him down. How are they going to fix this?

Everyone frrreeeaks out about kick coverage. Relax. Yes he is dangerous, and yes he took one back last year, and Penn State certainly didn't look great against Temple, but lets analyze the kickoff. This is the most dangerous play in all of football. The kick team runs full speed for 40 yards before getting met by awaiting blockers who they try to avoid while still maintaining their coverage lane and keeping an eye on the elusive returner. Now when playing a team like Temple, it is understandable that the coverage team would be more concerned with not getting blindsided, than going 110% to make the tackle. They will be well prepared for Benn, and put it into perspective...the guy will return maybe two kicks for TD's all year...what's the chance he does it at Penn State? Kevin Kelly is also very capable of putting the kicks through the end zone. I have always been against giving in to kick returners, and now is no different. If Illinois beats Penn State it won't be because of special teams play.

2) The defense is....good. But how good? They certainly aren't up to par with the past two years. Illinois beat us last year...and with a worse defense, what's to say that won't happen again?

This defense is not as good as it has been mainly because of the linebackers. Middle linebacker in particular. Currently the starter in that position is Josh Hull, a walk-on who works hard and has improved...but he is no Sean Lee, Paul Posluszny, or Dan Connor. He lacks the speed and natural ability of these great players, and will have to deal with one of the best ground attacks in the Big Ten, and possibly the country. This could be an issue because Illinois knows that this is the defense's weakness and will try to attack it. However, regardless of this matter, Penn State will prevail. Not because of their defense. Because they will score more points that the Illini. The ultimate quest of a football game. In the past, the Nittany Lions have won games because their defense has done the job and the offense provided what it needed. This year is completely different. Even more different than 2005 when we last witnessed an explosive spread offense in State College. Illinois was torched by Missouri who was able to run and throw at will, and with the weapons Penn State possesses, I can't see the Leman-less Illini defense getting many stops. This will be a shoot-out, but the better offense and defense belong to PSU.

3) The Spread HD...looks good, but why isn't Clark running more?

Joe Paterno and his staff are one of the best in the business of holding on to their cards until the right moment. Alamo Bowl last year...A&M had no idea what to do with Clark. We all know he can run, he's a monster, but when the game is over when it starts, as has been the case the past four weeks, why tip your hand? And who knows, maybe Illinois won't even see that hand if Penn State puts points on the board early. As of now, teams will have trouble preparing for Penn State simply because they haven't been challenged and haven't needed to show off the full extent of their playbook. Another missing aspect? The Penn State running backs. Yea you've seen them run at around 8 yards a clip, but nearly all of those runs have been between the tackles. If the offense gets into a bind against Illinois, look for them to start running more options, and getting the ball to Stephfon Green and Evan Royster on the edge.

4) How is Illinois going to stop Penn State's offense?

That I can't answer, and this one I hope is still uncertain on Sunday morning.

The big news thus far is the fact that Evans and Koroma were back at practice on Monday. While Joe said he wasn't sure what he would do with them for the rest of the week, that's just Joe being his typical vague self.

After attending his press conferences for the past four years, I've become pretty good at deciphering Joe-speak. These guys will definitely practice the rest of the week, and almost certainly will see playing time on Saturday. How much? It's tough to say. They won't start, but I expect to see them come in to provide some much needed rest for Ogbu/Odrick and Maybin/Gaines. Joe usually likes to ease guys back out of the doghouse by listing them as third string and making them work/earn their way back to a starting role. I expect to see both back as starters after probably two games as back-ups.

However it plays out, the return of these guys is huge. This is Penn State's first test against a good offense. So far, the defense hasn't faced much of a challenge and hasn't been on the field for extended periods of time, so backups have not been needed. They will be this week. I hope to see Evans and Koroma play with some fire and passion after being benched for three weeks. Look out Juice.

Welcome to the Penn State football show. Our first blog will be available Friday afternoon recapping the Temple game and looking ahead at Illinois, one of the biggest games of the year. Penn State will get its first real test of the season and kick off the Big Ten schedule with an 8pm home game that will be nationally televised.