The Penn State Football Show

Probably no one in the SEC, or most Big 12 members, but pretty much everyone else says hell yeah to this question. These talks are preliminary in every sense of the word, but make no mistake, it's a big deal. Joe Paterno's been stumping for another team in the Big Ten since PSU joined in the early 90's, just like he stumped for Eastern Elite athletic conference way back in the day. Will anyone ever listen to guy?

Colin Cowherd talked Big Ten the other day. A lot of people like him, a lot of people hate him, but damnit, the guy is interesting. I like him. He said the slam dunk no brainer to add to the Big Ten is Rutgers. He focused on size, academics, and location as primary factors. And they all make sense. Huge state school, great academics and research, and close to somehow still untouched New York market as it relates to college football.

The obvious downside to this that everyone would go on record as saying is, who the hell wants to make a road trip to New Jersey? Just think...Ann Arbor, Madison, State College, Piscataway? I don't think so. You don't need to be a huge school to match up academically with the rest of them (Northwestern). Athletically, I don't really see it either. For every Ray Rice and Kenny Britt there are 10 walk on guidos. Basketball, I can't even really comment because I know nothing about the program. Average across the board. Very good baseball program though, not surprising.

Time to turn to my buddy Ron Cook
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09351/1021570-87.stm

Would the Big Ten dare? I say yes for several reasons. We would be doing a great human service to all the Kenny Rayls and other shapes of Pitt fans by validating their existence. And if you had to add another stop on the Big Ten roadtrip map, why not the City of Champions? 70,000 seats, as good a tailgating as you'll get inside city limits, and a casino with table games right next door. Immeasurable improvement for Big Ten basketball as well. And while it's always enjoyable to make fun of Pitt, don't forget. Pitt's academic chops stack up against anyone and would fit right in with Big Ten standards.

It would also make Pitt/Penn State relevant again, and this time with the context of ever important conference implications at the heart of it. Outside of Notre Dame, Pitt makes the most sense to add from every standpoint, including location. Notre Dame will never happen. I don't think Pitt will happen either. Everyone loves Rutgers for some reason. Am I only one that notices that they still haven't ever done shit ever? A couple trips to the International Bowl and they are big timers? I don't get it. People are trying to get out of New Jersey, not stay there. That's why they come to Penn State. Let's make this happen. I hate to say it, but Hail to Pitt!

I'm sure when you read the title of this post you immediately had visions of Ryan Reynolds, Juan Guzman, and some of the ridiculous malformations you can sculpt out of certain parts of the male anatomy! But, since this is a football blog, I will save my Roger Ebert skills for another time.

Instead, I am concerned with the amount of time between the last Penn State regular season game and the upcoming Bowl game. I must admit, I am excited for the LSU-PSU matchup. An SEC opponent in a rather meaningful bowl game will give Penn State, and the Big Ten, a chance to see where they stand in relation to the almighty SEC. But, like a 6-year-old counting down the days on his advent calendar, I am really getting sick of waiting for Jan. 1.

Apparently, the NCAA and the Big Ten feel preparation for a bowl game deserves more practice time than preparation for the season opener. Penn State will have had more "official" practice time to prepare for LSU than they did for Akron, in terms of days. Either way, the time off between the end of the Big Ten regular season and the Bowl games is absolutely atrocious (Penn State will have 33 days off between games and this year the waiting time is relatively short). This is entirely too long to go without playing a football game. It's like starting over again. Teams lose their rhythm, players lose their competitiveness, and we have nothing to blog about! As a result, many of the teams have sluggish first quarters in the bowl games because the players are still waking up to game-type action. Two, maybe three weeks is PLENTY. Any coach or sportswriter who tells you that this is not a problem nor a disadvantage is simply giving the PC response...a response which is also BS! I have a feeling that this lay-off has been the reason Big Ten teams have underperformed in recent bowl games.

I am not positive about this, but I think much of this malarkey in scheduling revolves around the Ohio State-Michigan game (a game that nobody outside of Ohio or Michigan really cares about...but fans of the respective schools will tell you different). This game is always the last weekend of the Big Ten season and Jim Tressel does not want to play this game the weekend of Thanksgiving because it will interfere with Thanksgiving break for his players and his fans. Tressel wants this game played before Thanksgiving so his players can "go home for the Thanksgiving break." Tressel has also denied the long lay-off as being detrimental when it came to getting whacked in the '06 and '07 Title games. Why Jim Delany and staff entertain this idea, I dont know. And, if this game is such a huge rivalry like they claim, why isnt it played on the final college football "rivalry" weekend?

A few suggestions for the future...

• Push the start of the season back a week or two into September. Do we really need to be playing football in August, sometimes before school is even in session? As a result, the season would extend well into December.
• Build a bye week into the Big Ten schedule. We don't need 12 games squeezed into 12 weeks. Give everyone involved (players, coaches, media, fans) a breather half way through!
• All non-conference games must be played BEFORE Big Ten games start. That mid-season Eastern Illinois game was flat out stupid.
• Develop a Big Ten Championship game. Whether its 11 or 12 teams, lets determine the champion on the field like everyone else does. Enough of this co-champ nonsense. The Big Ten falls off the map in December while everyone else is playing Championship games.

I still think the whole college football season could be one week longer and extend into mid-December. I hear there is talk about making changes to the Big Ten schedule. Feel free to share some insight...

After reading some of the Capital One Bowl Media Day interview transcripts, I learned that Jerome Hayes is appealing to the NCAA for a sixth year of eligiblity. He did have two season-ending knee injuries, so I suppose he has a shot at getting a sixth year granted, although I don't know how good his chances are.

Personally I think it would be great for the team if we got him back next year. When he's healthy, he is a great player. He is also a veteran and a leader, and he has experience at both linebacker and stand-up defensive end.

It takes about two years to fully recover from a torn ACL. He's had one in each leg. But next fall he would be 2+ years removed from each one. He wasn't even close to being 100% this year, and you could tell. He really didn't make any plays in the first half of the season, but he did improve toward the end. I think he would be much better next year and could be a big help. This will be interesting to keep an eye on.