The Penn State Football Show

After stuffing my face with mounds of turkey and taters and collecting my emotions in preparation for Tim Tebow's collegiate finale, I finally have some time to post about the Michigan State game, the BCS debate, and the upcoming Penn State bowl game.

It was great to see the Lions finally put it all together up in East Lansing and deliver the performance of the season with a pounding of Sparty. Lots of good things to take from this game as we head into the Bowl Season. I thought Penn State was finally clicking on all cylinders and, despite a few errant throws in the first quarter, Daryll Clark redeemed himself for some of his previous week's disappointments. Good way to end the season.

With the conclusion of the regular season, I feel it necessary to recognize some of the outstanding players and moments of the season. In other words, this is my Penn State Football Show version of the Dundies! Feel free to give them a unique name!

• Offensive MVP: Daryll Clark...A football team lives and dies with its QB and Penn State mostly lived and lived luxuriously with DC17 this season. Aside from a lousy 4th quarter against Iowa and the Ohio State game, Clark put up big numbers for this offense and the success of the offense was mostly on Clark's shoulders. The fact that he ranks, statistically, among PSU's best in only two seasons of play is a testament to his ability and leadership.
• Defensive MVP: Sean Lee-Navorro Bowman-Josh Hull...The nastiness of all three of these guys took a lot of pressure off the reconstructed secondary and was the place where opposing running games went to die. I think this is one of the few positions at PSU that re-loads rather than rebuilds so hopefully the loss of these three will not be as devastating, but you gotta give some props to the careers of these three.
• Top Newcomer: D'Anton Lynn...This kid stepped right into an athletically demanding position with almost no experience and proved to be on his way to being one of the better corners in recent PSU history. He likes to hit and he can tackle in the open field, something our corners are notorious for lacking. I envision a very successful career for DL8.
• Top Freshman: Curtis Drake and Stephon Morris...Correct me if I'm wrong, but this was the first year since 2005 that true freshmen have gotten significant playing time. Both of these kids are extremely athletic and played nothing like 18-year-olds in their first semester away from home. Drake brings versatility on offense and Morris is a tough corner who can go stride-for-stride with anybody and probably didn't get the recognition he deserved coming out of high school because of his size. Either way, I cant wait to watch these two develop and play over the next three years.
• Player who will be missed the most: Andrew Quarless...The obvious choice here would be Daryll Clark but its against PSFBS policy to win more than one award. I think Quarless' presences in the passing game as well as the run blocking often went undernoticed and will be greatly missed. LB's cant cover him and attention from DB's opened things up on the outside for the recievers. He finally shook his childish habits and was just coming into his own this season. I think he will get even better if given a shot in the NFL. I don't know if/when we will see another TE with the physical presence and abilities of AQ10.
• Mr. Hustle: Patrick Mauti...A career special teams player, PM84 seemed to always be around the ball on punts and kickoffs. A WR by trade, I don't know if he ever caught a pass as a Lion but his work ethic is unparalleled.
• Best Moment/Play...60-yard TD pass from Clark to Quarless at Michigan that started the romp of the Wolverines.
• Worst Moment/Play...TD pass from Terelle Pryor to DeVier Posey vs. Ohio State that basically put the game out of reach.

Drew and Pete, I understand that Iowa beat us, but they lost two games in November. They had the opportunity to take care of business, and they didn't do it. They most likely will still get the nod ahead of Penn State, but if not, they can only look at their November performance. Meanwhile, Penn State ended its season with its best played game of the year. Iowa beat Penn State early in the season and bowls look at who will provide a competitive game. Do you think that Penn State could hang with TCU or Oklahoma State? I think that's a no doubter. Alabama/Florida will be in the Sugar Bowl and will not play a Big Ten team. The next selection from the bowls will go to the Fiesta, and they will most likely select a Big Ten team with their first pick to ensure that they will get a team that travels well. That means that they won't get another pick until the Orange and Sugar select (my feeling is that Orange will select Big East champion if Big Ten is already claimed) and that leaves Oklahoma State, Boise and TCU to be selected by the Sugar and Fiesta.

So why does PSU deserve this? Its because they have won 10 games, because they have earned this standing over the past century, because people care about Penn State, and because their last game of the season was an impressive knockout of a legitimate opponent on the road. Meanwhile Iowa had the chance to crush an inferior Minnesota team, and what do they do? They compile 171 yards of total offense, convert 1 of 13 third downs, and get a PAT blocked. Sure they beat Penn State and Wisconsin on the road, and played Ohio State tough, but who provides a better game against TCU? Iowa's starting QB is injured and might return in time for the bowl game, and that's a tough break. Penn State has proven over the years that they play well in bowl games, and money is a consideration, but would you honestly want Penn State to decline the invitation? What kind of message does that send to your fan base, to you players who have worked hard all season for the opportunity to play in a BCS game? This isn't like Penn State was given a win because of a referee's error that gave them a fifth down. Penn State won 10 games. Iowa won 10 games.

If Penn State was in Iowa's position, I can see myself arguing your points, saying oh, we beat them, we should go over them. But my parents have told me since I was 3 years old that life isn't fair. Iowa could have made this decision easy by putting away Minnesota, but now they've left it in the hands of the bowl committees. Iowa has screwed us over in football the last two years, and even basketball last year. Now it's our turn....and we can do it without even playing them, but by using the tradition of excellence and coaching that has defined Penn State. It's a tough situation, and maybe Penn State doesn't deserve the BCS bowl, but hey, remember those undefeated seasons when we were not declared National Champions? You gotta catch a break sometime, and maybe this is it.

Plus everyone from Iowa lives like 10 hours from an airport that has planes with jet engines...how are they gonna get to Arizona/Florida?

I'm sure everyone remembers when Colorado got 5 downs against Missouri to score a touchdown that would later launch them to a National Championship. Then coach Gary DiNardo thought it would be unfair to his kids to forfeit the game because of how hard they worked. The same thing also happened in a game between Army and Susquehanna some 70 years back with Army winning on their fifth down. When Army discovered this the next day, they immediately forefeit the game. Why do I mention this? Penn State should not accept a BCS bowl bid. Its an invitation, and if facebook has taught us anything, you can either attend, not attend, or await to reply. Penn State should not attend and leave a wall post to explain why.

We don't have the most national championships at Penn State, but we do have our pride. We boast a clean program, low coaching turnover, sportsmanship, and graduation. I think it would go against everything we stand for to take this away from Iowa. On top of that, if we make it and play a second place SEC team, I don't think we stand a chance against Florida or Alabama.

If you're really hard up, go back about 10 pages and read everyones pre-season predictions. I tried to copy and past a link but not working for some reason. Good reading.

-Is forefeit the past tense of forefeit?

I, like most Penn State fans, will have my fingers crossed for the next week and half, hoping that Penn State will be selected for a BCS Bowl game. With that being said, however, I’m not one of the idiots who will even attempt to argue that they deserve such an honor, because they absolutely DO NOT.

There is no way, absolutely no way, anyone can justify selecting Penn State over Iowa for a BCS Bowl. It’s not hard to see this either. They finished with the same record in the Big Ten, so what do you look at next? Head to head: Iowa beat Penn State 21-10 in a night game AT BEAVER STADIUM. They manhandled Penn State’s offensive line all game long.

Secondly, you take a look at how each team did against the conference champion, Ohio State. PSU was embarrassed at home once again, putting together absolutely no offense, and giving up 24 points to a Buckeye offense that had been struggling. It wasn’t even a game. Iowa, on the other hand, went on the road, to Columbus, and took Ohio State to overtime with their freshman backup QB making his first career start!

Also, you must consider that Iowa’s schedule was tougher than Penn State’s. Their non-conference schedule included a 27-17 win over Arizona, who nearly defeated Oregon last week, which would have put them in the driver’s seat to win the Pac Ten. Penn State’s best non-conference win was against Temple. I know they have a good record this year, but they are still Temple. Also, within the Big Ten, Wisconsin is clearly the fourth best team after OSU, Iowa and Penn State. The Lions dodged Wisconsin this year on the schedule, but Iowa defeated them on the road.

The way the schedule was set up for Penn State this year, an undefeated season was well in reach. I think most Penn State fans would agree that a two-loss season this year was a disappointment. On the other side, Iowa had their best season in years, they were in the national spotlight for a large portion of the season. Their only two losses came after their starting quarterback was injured, and they still played well with their backup. If I was an Iowa fan, and the BCS selected Penn State over Iowa, I would be absolutely furious. Especially given Iowa’s recent domination over the Lions.

I’d like to hear someone try to argue Penn State’s case for a BCS bid. I’ve heard people say “Well, I think Penn State is the better team.” Based on what?! They are not the better team. Iowa is. Go back and read the paragraphs above and tell me that you honestly think Penn State is a better team! If Penn State was the better team, they would have beaten Iowa, and they would have put up a better fight against Ohio State. Just because they are the more well-known football program doesn’t mean they automaticallyl have a better team every year. And the fact that most of Iowa’s games were close does not indicate that they are a weak team. In fact, I would argue the opposite.

The truth of the matter is though, that Penn State has a very good shot at getting the BCS bid over Iowa. Why? Because of money. Penn State has a larger following than Iowa. In turn, this means more Penn State fans would travel to the host city for the bowl game, and more fans would tune in on television to watch the game. Both of these equate to more dollars for the BCS. And, fortunately or unfortunately, however way you want to look at it, that is the largest determining factor in who gets selected for the bowls.

As I said before, as a Penn State fan, I am definitely hoping Penn State gets selected for a BCS Bowl game. It’s a great opportunity for the program. More money, more exposure, better competition, good for recruiting, etc. As a college football fan though, I think it’s bad for the sport if the Lions get selected over the Hawkeyes. This would be such a blatant case of a team being picked for all the wrong reasons. It should come down to how the team plays on the field. If your performance on the field doesn’t matter, why even play the games? It is not good for college football to give preferential treatment to the traditional programs and continuously shaft the rest of the teams. This only lets the rich get richer.

Maybe, just maybe, such a clear case of favoritism will actually catch the attention of some people and provide another argument against the BCS and be another step toward a playoff system.

What I am thankful for (in terms of Penn State football of course):

-A 10-2 record....not bad
-The possibility of playing in a BCS bowl game
-Joe Paterno
-Joe Paterno's press conferences
-One of the best recruiting classes in Penn State history
-Notre Dame/Michigan/USC/Florida State having subpar/terrible seasons
-Tim Tebow will no longer be playing college football next year and we can have analysts talk about something other than His holiness
-Assistant coaches who have been a huge asset to the team. Thanks to Larry Johnson, Tom Bradley, Ron Vanderlinden, Jay Paterno, Galen Hall and Mike McQueary
-Temple. Who thought they would be a quality win!?
-Air/Food. I'm surprised mankind has survived this long. It could be any day now that Charlie Weis and Mark Mangino completely consume the world's supply of both.
-Rose Bowl. The Big Ten might finally win one...USC isn't in it
-Recession. Without it, Iowa would surely be going to the Fiesta or Orange.
-Michigan State. Beating them the past two years has smoothed over my ire from tough losses to Iowa and Ohio State.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I actually should be studying right now, but the tryptophan has kicked in and the couch is calling my name. Keep an eye out for the games this weekend since many could have an impact on Penn State's bowl fate. After the weekend, I will breakdown some scenarios and where I think Penn State will be playing in January.

Pass the butter

Penn State played a great game against Michigan State on Saturday, and I'm sure we will get into all of that later. But before we praise the Lions, how about we praise this blog for a second, becasue we had quite a weekend. First of all: Every single upset prediction on the blog was correct (even Drew's random boxing pick, which I'll take his word for it being an upset): UConn over Notre Dame, Ole Miss over LSU, Northwestern over Wisconsin. Additionally, my game score 41-13 was only two points off the real score 42-14, and mor impressively, Rudy actually predicted that true freshman wide receiver Curtis Drake would complete a pass AND HE DID for a touchdown!

In addition to all the great predictions, this was also a ground-breaking week for the blog for two more reasons: Our first ever video post - well done Rudolf; and the creation of the PSFBS Facebook Page - well done again Rudolf.

Alright, I felt like all of that had to be said, but that's enough. Now let's talk football. .