The Penn State Football Show

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.