The Penn State Football Show

First of all...what's with the name....in fact it is named after the people it was originally meant to serve, those from the Northwest Territory. Boom, now you know.

Now to the football

I never gave a recap of last week's action since I have been incredibly busy getting massacred by this Aerospace class that I thought I'd take "for fun". That's like stapling razor wire to your chest "for fun". Anyway, I was really impressed with the Lions, and like I said, the coaching wasn't very conservative as they haven't been the past few years. There were times when they went old school like when they didn't go for it on 4th and short early on, but they played the field position battle a little bit and it was a huge advantage. With the outstanding defense they have and the potential firepower on offense, this team can mix in the conservative play calling or light up the sky. It gives them a lot of mobility and they can win in a lot of different ways whereas Michigan will need to outscore their opponents. Enough of Michigan though, that's over with and I feel great about that win.

Northwestern was down last week to Indiana 28-3 at one point and stormed back to win 29-28. I don't care if you're playing against Groton School Thirds (Freshman) Football, that is unreal. Kafka, the NU quarterback has been around for a while and is actually their leading rusher as well with only 206 yards rushing. Needless to say, this Northwestern team doesn't run very effectively and are currently averaging only 122 yards a game, good for 92nd in the nation. What this means to me is that we will see a lot more of Sean Lee in this game than we have in the past two weeks, not only because he is getting healthier, but because they feel confident putting him in for passing situations as they have done against Michigan and Minnesota. I'm going to predict that Lee picks off a pass in this game. Although their running game is less productive than trying to do homework at a strip club, Kafka, in addition to writing "The Metamorphosis", is the Big Ten's leading passer in terms of yardage. They do air it out, and this should be the biggest test for the Penn State secondary. I know we have been saying this for the past 3 weeks, but Minnesota is garbage, and Michigan just isn't prime time yet. Northwestern is a solid team that will be able to move the ball effectively, they are well coached, and will have a good strategy coming into the game.

With all this praise I'm handing out it in no way means that I expect Penn State to lose this game, though I think this is the best team PSU has seen since Iowa. When a defense is able to focus on one aspect of an opponents offense, especially if the defense is as talented as Penn State's, it makes the game a lot simpler. Northwestern isn't going to be able to run the ball, and Bradley and crew can focus on defending the pass knowing that if they decide to run, it's not going anywhere except in Navarro's belly. This season NU has gotten off to some slow starts, and if they do that again, it will be a long day for the Wildcats. Keep in mind that this team lost to Syracuse AND Minnesota and their defense is suspect.

Not only is Daryll looking sharp, but he has targets all over the field. Quarless has stepped up, the running backs are all good receivers, and the wideouts have shown that you can't focus on one of them. The offense is dynamic, and in this game I expect Clark to throw for 400 yards. Yes. 400 yards. Now, Rudy that sounds like a career day for Clark. Yes that is a career day. It's actually 50 yards more than he's ever thrown. I checked....online. Paterno all week has been saying how Clark isn't getting any hype and how he deserves more credit...are you pondering what I'm pondering? I think so Brain, but if they called them sad meals, kids wouldn't buy them. I think Paterno lets them air it out so Clark can get some props. You don't see Joe talk up his players much more than you've seen this year and it might be time for Clark to make a statement...especially with the upcoming extravaganza next week. I don't think Clark deserves a Heisman, but you have to put the guy on the list (he's got a passer rating almost equal to Tebow and has accounted for 7 more TD's than His Holiness). Hopefully the team stays focused for this week and isn't looking ahead at Ohio State. I don't think they are, and this team is peaking at a good time. Penn State rolls in this cat fight.

On to Halloween news, I am not being a Native American for the first time since Sophomore year of Penn State when I was Rex from Napoleon Dynamite. I will be dressing up as a hick and hopefully people know its a costume. What about the rest of y'all?