Week four saw one of the Big East elite, Louisville, take it on the chin from Syracuse. A pretty bad loss for the perception of the conference, as Syracuse had taken some beatings against other BCS conference teams prior to their matchup with Louisville. The other interesting game last week was UConn’s dominating victory over Pittsburgh. Pitt suddenly looks like a team that could finish in the bottom quarter of the conference, while UConn moved to 4-0 on the season and, coming off a pretty terrible ‘06 season, suddenly looks poised to make a bowl run. WVU, USF, and Cincy all looked good, dominating their foes.

This week is headlined by a big conference matchup between two of the Big East’s four ranked teams and an opportunity for the conference to pick up two wins against ACC teams:

West Virginia at South Florida (Fri. 8:00 PM EST — ESPN 2) — While I am not a fan of college football on Friday nights, this game does present a good opportunity for two of the Big East’s finest to put on a show for a national audience. USF came into Morgantown last season and knocked WVU out by taking advantage of the Mountaineers’ mistakes and playing a great defensive game. This game will be the biggest game in the short history of USF football and their first opportunity to play a ranked team while they are, themselves, ranked. Look for WVU to really spread the game out with the pass and keep an eye out for #22 Brandon Hogan for the Mountaineers–he is a true freshman wide receiver that will be a factor in this game. USF has a very good and very fast defense, but I feel like their strengths will not be a great help in this game, as their outstanding passrusher, George Selvie, will not have a lot of opportunities to get after Pat White, because WVU passes infrequently and, when they do, about 65% are short, bubble screen passes. I also suspect that their speed could cause them to get out of position, which will play to WVU’s big play ability. West Virginia 44, USF 24

Akron at Connecticut (Sat. 12:00 PM EST — ESPN Gameplan) — This matchup will be a good test for the Huskies. Akron is a team that is 2-2, but both losses have come to Big 10 teams, so they are somewhat of an unknown quantity through four games. UConn should win, but this is the type of ballgame that mid-level BCS conference teams sometimes overlook and lose. UConn needs to get this fifth victory, because they have a tough schedule that includes UVA, WVU, Louisville, Cincy, USF, and Rutgers in the second half of the season. It is pretty much a must-win, if they want to put themselves into bowl consideration. Connecticut 27, Akron 20

Syracuse at Miami (OH) (Sat. 3:00 PM EST — ESPN Gameplan) — This is, perhaps, the first time that Syracuse faithful have been optimistic for a ballgame in quite some time. Miami is not a great team, so this is a very winnable game for the Orange. If Andrew Robinson continues to progress, from week-to-week, Syracuse may actually begin to see some of the fruits of its labor over the past 2+ seasons. I suspect this game will bring us a bit of a mixed bag, but I think Syracuse should be able to pull it out. Syracuse 28, Miami (OH) 17

Louisville at North Carolina State (Sat. 3:30 PM EST — ESPNU) — Not too much to say about this one. This is a protypical gut-check game for Louisville. The national title hopes are long gone, as are the prospects of Brian Brohm, although he has been outstanding, winning the Heisman Trophy. The Cardinals need to get back into gear, reset their goals to winning the Big East (which is still quite possible), and get their defensive problems solved before they enter the heart of conference play. NC State has, flat out, not played well this season, with their only win coming against Wofford. They do not have a very cohesive offense at this point, so I think Louisville, despite their terrible defensive performances to this point, will be able to overwhelm and outscore the Pack. Louisville 46, North Carolina State 28

Maryland at Rutgers (Sat. 3:30 PM EST — ABC) — Finally, Rutgers ends their preseason tour and plays a real football game against real competition. I actually think this could be one of the better games of the week, as Maryland and Rutgers have similar schemes and styles and Maryland is far more battle-tested to this point, following recent games against WVU and Wake Forest. I think we could see Rutgers come out a little bit sluggish and they will need to be mindful about turnovers. Still, with the game being played at East Piscataway, I like the Scarlet Knights’ chances, but I think it will be closer than expected. A Rutgers’ loss here would be devastating for teh Big East. Rutgers 31, Maryland 24

Pittsburgh at Virginia (Sat. 7:00 PM EST — ESPNU) — Pitt was awful last week and it is inexcusable that a big-time program does not have better depth at the quarterback position. Quite frankly, the Panthers are a mess right now and it is difficult to see many positives in the early going this season. LeSean McCoy, the true freshman running back, has been a lone bright spot, but the Pittsburgh staff seems to be married to the idea of giving undersized, but experienced, LaRod Stephens-Howling the majority of the teams’ carries. UVA, is 3-1, but have actually been outscored (77-79) on the season, while Pitt is 2-2 but has a pretty solid point differential (88-64). Neither of these teams are very good right now, but I’ll give the advantage in this one to the Cavs, as they are playing at home and Pittsburgh’s quarterback play has been wretched to this point. Virginia 20, Pittsburgh 13

Cincinnati at San Diego State (Sat. 10:06 PM EST) — The Bearcats are starting to get a little bit of buzz, after opening the season in dominating fashion, with wins of 56-, 31-, 37-, and 26-points. They also find themselves ranked for the first time since joining the Big East. I’m not exactly sure what, exactly, they are doing playing at San Diego State, but I do not think the road game will affect their average margin of victory a whole lot. Look for the ‘Cats to move to 5-0 and set up, what should be, a great matchup at Rutgers next weekend. Cincinnati 41, San Diego State 10

Last Week Record (3-2); Season Record (24-4)

A lot of Pick Em contestants are looking to redeem themselves after a poor showing last week.

Penn State (85%) at Illinois (15%)

- Paterno’s lion cubs are feeling down, and, being felines, their digestive systems aren’t exactly perked up with a big dose of Juice. – Jim Gindin, Football Frontier

- We will find out a lot about the leadership and the direction of the rest of the season for Penn State this game. The Lions by a late field goal.. - Brian Sakowski, In The Bleachers

- ESPN hates Illinois. I’m not too keen on them either. This will probably be the pundits upset special, but I don’t agree. PSU by 21. - Chris Mason, In The Bleachers

- I wouldn’t have wanted to be in a Penn State practice this week, after they stunk it up in the Big House. - Greg Gowins, Average Joe

-Zook will be pleased with the effort and see promise in the 30 point loss. – John Radcliff, Mountainlair

Alabama (62%) at Florida State (38%)

- Jeff Bowden might not be the problem after all. Fire the recruiting coordinator!!! - John, Mountainlair

- I can’t see Florida State’s offense waking up and winning this game. What is it about old coaches not being able to produce offensively anymore? - Brian, In The Bleachers

- A tossup. The Seminoles have the ACC’s best defense, but the ACC has been very, very bad this season. – Jim, Football Frontier

- Seminoles have talent edge and coming of bye week. – Tony, Sportsbone TV

- Bama is coming off a tough loss to UGA, so they could be a little down. Has FSU finally woken up, or was their outburst an anomaly? This could turn into a low scoring slugfest if FSU’s defense shows up. Bama by 11. – Chris, In The Bleachers.

- Tuscaloosa is another place where I wouldn’t have wanted to be in practice this week. - Greg, Average Joe

Michigan State (7%) at Wisconsin (93%)

- Wisconsin. Camp Randall is a tough place to play. They might win ugly, but they win. – Jon Johnston, Corn Nation

- Wisconsin is overdue to lose and Michigan State looks like they could be the team to do it. – Charlie Swager, In The Bleachers

- Wisconsin wins big at home. – Greg, Average Joe

- We get to see which team is more for real. Wisconsin should take this at home, especially after MSU looking less than stellar in their first half against Notre Dame. Wisconsin by 14. – Chris, In The Bleachers

- Wisconsin. That Pitt win isn’t looking too sexy now is it? - John, Mountainlair

- The Spartans invariably return to reality after a few delusional weeks. – Jim, Football Frontier

West Virginia (93%) at South Florida (7%)

- West Virginia. Too much offensive fire power for SFU to hang all night. – Tony, Sportsbone TV

- The Mountaineers have too much speed on the offensive side of the ball for the Bulls to handle. Grothe must have a career game for the Bulls to win, and he isn’t at that level just yet. – Brian, In The Bleachers

- The Bulls have a solid defense and have the better win so far (Auburn vs. nothing for WVU), but WVU should have the horses on offense to get past USF. WVU by 17. – Chris, In The Bleachers

- UCLA Like the S. Carolina-LSU game last week, if this one was at South Florida, the Bulls would have a chance at the upset. But the Mountaineers win a closer than expected one in Morgantown.- Greg Gowins, Average Joe.

- A tough run defense will force West Virginia’s hand. The Bulls are potential BCS representatives. -Jim, Football Frontier

- I feel like WVU is running on all cylinders right now. They are playing much more efficiently, as far as penalties and turnovers, than they did last season. –Charlie, In The Bleachers

- West Virginia- Jorts be damned! – John, Mountainlair

Clemson (39%) at Georgia Tech (61%)

- Clemson, when in doubt pick against Gailey. – John, Mountainlair

- Georgia Tech, this will be a fun one to watch. Strong offense vs strong defense. - Charlie, In The Bleachers.

- Georgia Tech was exposed by only hanging 33 on Notre Dame. – Jim, Football Frontier

- The Tigers will control the clock and the game with Davis and Spiller. – Brian, In The Bleachers

- The Tigers win a closer than expected battle in Atlanta. Greg, Average Joe

- These games are always close, and picking between Chan Gailey and Tommy Bowden is like picking between a pre-op and post-op tranny, but Clemson has the potential to run through the ACC (at least until they play BC). Clemson by 23. - Chris, In The Bleachers

California (31%) at Oregon (69%)

- The winner has an outside shot at stealing the PAC-10 from USC and the inside track to an at-large BCS. The loser misses out on a BCS bowl and will struggle to hold off the middle of the conference. This is another one that could go over 100 points and a 1000 yards. Oregon by 5. – Chris, In The Bleachers

- Oregon because my tea leaves said so. – John, Mountainlair

- Dixon started off great last season but became inconsistent and this is about the time of year he did it. Cal has too much on the offensive side of the ball and their defense isn’t as bad as people think. – Brian, In The Bleachers

-I’m picking the Ducks until someone can keep them under 100 yards per quarter. – Jim, Football Frontier

- Oregon. Cal’s defense gives up too many points, but I suppose the same could be said about 100 teams this year. – Jon, Corn Nation

- Two very good teams here. I’ll take the home team in a close game. – Charlie, In The Bleachers

- This one was a hard one to pick. The teams are pretty even, with Cal having a slight edge in talent. But I think the Ducks get a slightly bigger edge from the home field advantage. – Greg, Average Joe

Bruce Feldman - Illinois, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, Oregon
Brian Sakowski - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, California
Charlie Swager - Penn State, Florida State, Michigan State, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oregon
Chris Mason - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, Oregon
John Radcliff - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, Oregon
Jon Johnston - Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, California
Adam Nettina - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oregon
Mike Rizzo - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oregon
Jim Gindin - Illinois, Alabama, Wisconsin, South Florida, Clemson, Oregon
Tony Delbusso - Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oregon
Cyril Tircuit - - Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, California
Greg Gowins - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, Oregon
Lorena The Dodgerchick - Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, California

Big Ten play opened last week and we get some more interesting match-ups in Week 5.

Michigan at Northwestern - For the first time this season, the Wolverines will play a game outside of Ann Arbor. Michigan got back on track with a 14-9 victory over Penn State while Northwestern got blown out of the water by Ohio State. The Wolverines will continue to use Mike Hart 35+ times a game, keeping it simple for Freshman Ryan Mallet. Northwestern is riding a two game losing streak and needs to find some semblence of an offense if they want to keep it close. Michigan will win this game and the memories of the first two games will start to fade away. Michigan 37-7

Penn State at Illinois - This game will tell a lot about the rest of the season for the Nittany Lions. Will they regroup like in 2005 after losing to Michigan or will they go into the tank? Illinois is no push over team and they have a strong one-two punch with Juice Williams and Rashard Mendenhall. The Illini rushing offense will go up against the strength of the Lions’ defense, their rush defense. Like last week, the Penn State offense will be under the microscope and will tell the tale if they win this week. I predict this game will go down to the wire with a late field goal being the tiebreaker. Penn State 20-17

Notre Dame at Purdue - The Boilermakers continue to score, score, and score more points against their opponents, and that is not good for the Irish who seem to have trouble stopping their opponents. Take a look at this stat after 4 games, Purdue averages 48.5 points per game while the Irish only average scoring 9.0 points per game. Curtis Painter threw his first interception last week but he does have 16 TD passes in 4 games, while his counterpart Jimmy Clausen is still looking for his first college touchdown pass. This is not going to be pretty for Irish fans, and Purdue continues to make a case for being a true contender in this conference. Purdue 41-17

Indiana at Iowa - This will be a really good game between two middle tier Big Ten teams. The Hoosiers’ suffered their first loss last week against Illinois while the Hawkeyes lost a heartbreaker to Wisconsin in Madison. Kellen Lewis continues to impress me with his passing and rushing abilities but he needs to get the ball to WR James Hardy as much as possible since he is their playmaker. Jake Christensen struggled against last week, but this week it should get better because Indiana’s defense is not as strong as Wisky’s. This game will be won by the Hawkeye defense. Iowa’s offense will not score much but they will score enough to pull out a victory, by a few. Iowa 17-14

Michigan State at Wisconsin - Wisconsin is looking to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 14 games this weekend when the Spartans come to town. This will be Michigan State’s first test of this season while Wisconsin won a tough game last week against Iowa. This will be another tough fought Big Ten game. Both teams are very physical and both have good runners with Javon Ringer and PJ Hill. This will come down to which QB, either Wisconsin’s Tyler Donavan or Michigan State’s Brian Hoyer, makes the least mistakes. I like Wisconsin at home on this one, but it will be a late 4th quarter score that wins them the game. Wisconsin 28-24

Ohio State at Minnesota - The Buckeyes have to be thought as the favorite in the Big Ten right now while the Gophers are going to end up fighting with the Wildcats for the worst team in the conference. Minnesota gives up a lot of points and the Buckeye offense will not let their fans down this week. Chris Wells will score at least 2 TDs and Todd Boeckman will have a few TD throws. To stop the Gophers, Ohio State will key on RB Amir Pinnix. Ohio State 48-13

Last Week: 5-1 (.833) Overall: 32-7 (.821)

Ron and Charlie are away, but the kid decides not to play. Catch up with us next week, but enjoy this 1 minute brief info chat with Chris.

In the Bleachers Podcast - Week 5

Thursday, September 27th
Southern Miss. at Boise State 7:30 pm ESPN

Friday, September 28th
West Virginia at South Florida 8 pm ESPN2

Saturday, September 29th
Notre Dame at Purdue 12 pm ESPN
LSU at Tulane 12 pm ESPN2
Indiana at Iowa 12 pm Big Ten Network
Michigan at Northwestern 12 pm Big Ten Network
Penn State at Illinois 12 pm Big Ten Network
Baylor at Texas A&M 12:30 pm Versus
Air Force at Navy 1 pm CSTV
Oklahoma at Colorado 1:30 pm Fox Sport Net
Kansas State at Texas 3:30 pm ABC
Maryland at Rutgers 3:30 pm ABC
California at Oregon 3:30 pm ABC
Clemson at Georgia Tech 4:30 pm ABC
Louisville at NC State 3:30 pm ESPNU
UTEP at SMU 4:30 pm CSTV
Alabama vs. Florida State 5 pm CBS
UCLA at Oregon State 6:30 pm Fox Sport Net
Pittsburgh at Virginia 7 pm ESPNU
USC at Washington 8 pm ABC
Auburn at Florida 8 pm ESPN
Ohio State at Minnesota 8 pm ESPN2
BYU at New Mexico 8:30 pm CSTV
Cincinnati at San Diego State 10 pm Versus
Arizona State at Stanford 10 pm Fox Sport Net
Washington State at Arizona 10 pm Fox Sport Net

How can’t you have playmakers in uni’s like this??

This might not be considered the best rivalry week, but there are a few games this week between teams that could consider themselves secondary rivals to each other. First our big game in Eugene Oregon. I think this game is going to be a track meet between two high powered offenses. The Duck fans are not looking forward to the whiny Bears fans and are telling them to stay away. The Bears fans (and the rest of the Nation) are sick of looking at the Ducks’ ugly uniforms. The Quack attack makes claims that it has more playmakers than the Bears do:

Oregon Playmakers
Offense
Dennis Dixon
Jonathan Stewart
Jeremiah Johnson
Jaison Williams
Defense
Matthew Harper
Walter Thurmond
Patrick Chung
Jairus Byrd

That’s eight for Oregon

Cal:
Justin Forsett
DeSean Jackson (Injured and fairly ineffective thus far)
Jahvid Best
Zach Follett (may or may not play)
Thomas DeCoud

I think he went a little overboard. It isn’t Army-Navy week just yet, but it is Navy-Air Force week. The Midshipmen are hoping to keep their tight hold on the Commander Trophy. It was only a few years ago that Air Force was the class of the Service Academy Football Teams but now it is Navy and the Midshipmen are hoping to keep Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney winless in the series.

In Purdue it is Notre Dame week…otherwise known this year as a bye week where you get a win. The Boilermakers have a high powered explosive offense and are quietly working their way up the polls. On the flip side Notre Dame is 0-4 for the first time since God invented the universe but yet are not excited to be playing against Purdue. Purdue fans shouldn’t take this as a slap in the face, would you be excited for a game where you know you are going to give up 50 points? I know I wouldn’t be.

In the Big East the Louisville Cardinals are looking to pick up the pieces from back to back losses to Kentucky and…wait…that can’t be true..Syracuse? Last week’s loss was so bad that it inspired John Radcliff to write a song mocking the upset. At the beginning of the season, Louisville was ranked in the top then, but now their fans are trying to pick up the pieces and hope for the best with the rest of the season.

Coach Wanny not happy with the way Pitt has started the season

With Syracuse beating Louisville, I think that now makes the Pitt Panthers the worst team in the Big East. Pitt has beaten such powerhouses as Grambling State and Directional Michigan, and suffered losses to Michigan State and UConn. This week they travel to Virginia who is looking for revenge for last season’s defeat. My question is; how can Dave Wannstedt have such high recruiting classes yet his team is showing nothing on the field? Easy answer, he is not a good head coach and I am not the only one who believes it.

My friend Kevin Reitmeyer came out with his thoughts after 4 weeks of the college football season. He makes some really good point but I do have an issue with his one point saying that LSU and USC are clearly the two best teams. I think you have to throw Oklahoma and West Virginia in the mix with Florida close behind. His other thoughts are right on and I suggest you read them.

Finally, no podcast this week since my recently bought laptop decided to crap out on me last night. Hopefully I get it fixed by the weekend so the podcasting should resume next week. I did however get to catch the opening show of Private Practice. I was let down, but you have to love Kate!

Tomorrow look for the picks for Week 5 of Operation Pick Em and the Big Ten and Big East predictions for this weekend.

I just love making those search engines freak out.

We are now a third of the way through the 2007 college football season and a few things are starting to stand out as definite trends. First, Notre Dame is just flat out awful. You realize that they are 0-3 against Big 10 teams and can drop to 0-4 with a loss to Purdue? The only bowl they are heading for is a fun filled evening at South Bend Lanes on dollar game night. I’m not sure what the big problem here is, but someone will pay.

Second, you have to give some serious thought to an Oklahoma-West Virginia championship game. By the time next Saturday night rolls around, it may be inevitable. West Virginia gets South Florida on Friday night and Oklahoma plays Texas next week. If they both win AND run the table, you will be very hard pressed not to have them in New Orleans. The pollsters just eat up big wins and beating the Bulls and Longhorns gives both schools a lot more ink.

Lets rank the BCS Conferences:

1. SEC- (was 2) From top to bottom, is there a stronger conference out there? They boast six ranked teams this week, none of them named Auburn. Georgia’s OT win at Alabama gives yet another team for the East division to worry about and LSU keeps rolling along. Don’t think because South Carolina lost that they still don’t have a good shot at reaching Atlanta, you aren’t beating LSU this year in Baton Rouge. The tough part for LSU is going to be keeping their wins on the minds of the voters. While most years, you could make a solid case for a one-loss SEC team to reach the championship, it won’t be this year. Win big and win everything. Georgia’s performance was enough for me to put the SEC on top.

2. Pac-10- (was 1) There are three games on the Pac-10 schedule that will determine the conference championship. One of those games is Saturday in Duckland. Cal-Oregon will be a thriller, that won’t be seen anywhere outside the Pacific time zone thanks to ABC. It’s a 3:30 regional game, because watching USC throttle Washington is much more important, of course. At any rate, the winner of Cal-Oregon survives another day to play the Trojans. UCLA still is in the mix as well, but if any Pac-10 team can sweep the LA teams, then Pasadena is the reward. For the record, the other two games to determine the Pac-ten winner are Saturday’s winner versus Southern Cal and USC-UCLA. No two conference loss team will win the BCS bid here.

3. Big 10- While there is nothing titanic about the week ahead, Penn State’s rather troubling performance in the big house against Michigan might ask more questions then it can answer. Case in point, that game plan was just dreadful, and Joepa needs a headset. Leaving play calling unchecked is just silly. It may be foolish to think that Michigan has cured what ailed them, but they were the better team last week. Then again, if Ohio State plays as well as they did last week, then the conference title will be in Columbus as the Buckeyes have arisen. We’ll see what comes out of the Michigan State/Wisconsin game, a Sparty win puts them a strong third in the conference.

4. 5. 6- Too close to call.

One has to give the ACC some credit. After Miami’s upset of Texas A&M last week, the maligned conference has gained a bit of strength. Also, the pollsters seem to love BC and Clemson. We know Virginia Tech is good, and Georgia Tech slides down to underrated. Clemson-Tech in Atlanta is the highlight game, and if Clemson wins big, then the ACC may have pulled themselves out of the cellar. Yes, BC’s Matt Ryan is getting some Heisman love and BC is a legit team, but you would have to think hat it wasn’t the Chestnut Hill boys the conference had in mind when they pulled off The Great Poach. I’m not bitter or anything about the best hoops conference in the country getting destroyed, not at all. Maybe bring back the 16 foot 3-pt shot we had in 1982?

Louisville’s rather stunning loss to Syracuse really makes you wonder just how strong the conference really is, because the Orange aren’t good. While we think we know that West Virginia is a top 2 team, they can actually test that Friday. While the Mountaineers would rather take care of business early against South Florida, a close and well played game will make the doubters sop, and if South Florida can pull the upset, they will have arived on the football mountain. Rutgers needs to take care of Maryland too.

That leaves us with the Big 12. With Ball State a wide left from upsetting Nebraska at Lincoln, the strength lies between Texas and Oklahoma. The good news for Texas is they easily disposed of Rice, the bad news is that Oklahoma easily disposed of Tulsa. Whomever survives the tilt in Dallas ill need to back it up with big wins the rest of the way, especially Texas because outside of Rice, their games have been much too close for a team that has championship aspirations.

We suggest that Mike Patrick stick to thinking about football and suggest that you listen to the podcast when it gets posted as our pundits dissect the week ahead and we suggest that Britney Spears stay out of the news, or Todd Blackledge will have to cry.

Tough week for a lot of people in the Pick Em. Our pro, Bruce Feldman lost his grip on the #1 spot to Pitch Right’s Adam Nettina and Mike Rizzo becomes the first person to pick all the games correct for an entire week.

Adam Nettina - 18-7 (4-2)
Bruce Feldman - 17-8 (2-4)
Mike Rizzo - 17-8 (6-0)
Tony Delbusso - 17-8 (3-3)
Jim Gindin - 17-8 (4-2)
Lorena The Dodgerchick - 17-8 (4-2)
Greg Gowins - 16-9 (2-4)
Cyril Tircuit - 16-9 (3-3)
John Radcliff - 15-10 (4-2)
Charlie Swager - 14-11 (2-4)
Jon Johnston - 14-11 (3-3)
Chris Mason - 14-11 (4-2)
Brian Sakowski - 12-13 (2-4)

We own…Penn State…9-0…are two cheers that were echoing through the parking lot of Michigan Stadium after Michigan’s latest victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions 14-9. Really what could a Penn State fan say to that? Absolutely nothing! Since 1996, Penn State has had better teams a few years but has yet to score a victory. Is there a curse? Is Michigan that much better? No, but one thing is constant through out the years…coaching.

I don’t have the time, nor the effort, to go through a detailed analysis of the game like Run Up the Score did, but I did see a lot from the end zone seats of Michigan Stadium, and most of it I didn’t like.

First of all, I cannot blame the defense. They were on the field for the majority of the game and in one instance had only 45 seconds of game rest between possessions. There is very little that a Lion fan can bitch about when it comes to the Defense, unless you want to complain about the soft zone.

Offensive the Nittany Lions are a college football team with a Pee Wee Football playbook. The playcalling is so predictable that fans sometimes bet in the stands on what play is going to come next. Year after year, big road game after big road game, Joe Paterno continues to play NOT to lose instead of playing to win. This is a trend that can be traces back to the 60s. It might have worked back then Joe, but it is time to get with the trend and adjust.

Most of the blame I have to lay on the coaching staff. They a QB with one of the strongest arms in the country throwing 5 yard outs. They have a set of 4 receivers and 1 tight end that a lot of teams drool at running routes and stopping. And when they aren’t stopping, you have two receivers finishing their routes in the same area of the field. Sixty percent of high schools have offenses more complex then this, it is time to get with the times or find a new offensive staff.

Can any Penn State fan seriously tell me that Anthony Morelli has improved since last year? If you say yes, you need your head examined. I am was a huge Morelli supporter, but it is time for him to put up or shut up. Watch Morelli throw the ball, most of the time he throws off of his back foot, his body is wide open because he does not step towards the target, he stares at his main receiver, and pats the ball numerous times before he throws to a receiver. How can a washed up ex-Division II quarterback see this from the stands and his QB coach Jay Paterno not see this? Why does Michigan allow a TRUE freshman QB audible out of plays when Penn State does not let their Senior do the same?

It is either that Jay does not know the first thing about coaching QBs or Mr. Morelli does not follow instructions. If it is the latter, it is time to get someone in there that will do the job. Penn State needs a qualified QB coach. When is the last time they had a great quarterback. You have to go back to 1994 in Kerry Collins. In all reality, they have had 3 great QB’s, Collins, Todd Blackledge, and Chuck Fusina. The talent has been there with great recruits, but the coaching cannot bring them to the next level.

Austin Scott should not see the field again. I was hoping Scott would be the feel good story of the year for the Lions and rip off a year comparable to Larry Johnson’s senior year. In 4 games of the 2007 season he has fumbled 4 times in 57 carries. Sorry Austin, it is time to let Kinlaw or Royster get playing time. You had your chance and didn’t produce.

The offensive line (except AQ Shipley) did not have a stellar game, but I am willing to over look that a bit since they are young. But boy do they need to work on some technique and strength. The Michigan defensive line ran over the Lions’ offensive line play after play.

Penn State fans are sick of this, sick of seeing the coaching staff go into a conservative shell on the road year after year. There was no excuse for Saturday. No, Penn State did not have a running QB like Oregon or ASU did, but they could’ve watched what USC did to Michigan last year in the Rose Bowl. The Lions may not have the overall athletes the Trojans did last season, but they could’ve taken some tips on the play calling and overall offensive scheme.

I guess what I am trying to say is that Penn State fans should just accept these facts. Accept the fact that they will not beat Michigan/Ohio State/Wisconsin on the road until a change happens. Accept that they will have to rely heavily on the defense on the road and hope they do not have a bad game. Accept that we can get 4 or 5 star QBs and as Seniors they play like Sophomores. Accept the fact that this won’t change. In 40 years Joe hasn’t changed, so why do we always thing that he might do it the next game?

Rank
1 Montana (20) 3-0
2 UMass (4) 4-0
3 North Dakota State (3) 3-0
4 Northern Iowa 4-0
5 Appalachian State 3-1
6 Southern Illinois 4-0
7 McNeese State (1) 3-0
8 Wofford 3-1
9 James Madison 3-1
10 Youngstown State 3-1
11 UNH 2-1
12 Delaware 4-0
13 Hampton 3-0
14 Hofstra 3-0
15 Sam Houston 2-1
16 Illinois State 2-2
17 Montana State 1-2
18 Western Illinois 3-1
19 Furman 1-2
20 Yale 2-0
21 Eastern Illinois 2-2
22 Nichols 3-1
23 Eastern Washington 3-0
24 Cal Poly 2-2
25 Richmond 2-1

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Villanova (31), Lafayette (29), UC Davis (22), Grambling State (21), San Diego (21), Missouri State (20), Elon (17), Holy Cross (17), South Dakota State (15), Delaware State (13), Georgia Southern (13), South Carolina State (13), Southern (13), Alabama State (12), The Citadel (12), Tennessee Tech (9), Lehigh (8), Alabama A&M (7), Texas State (7), Drake (5), Princeton (5), Butler (2), William & Mary (2), Chattanooga (1), Eastern Kentucky (1), Northern Arizona (1)
DROPPED OUT: No. 23 Lafayette, No. 25 Alabama A&M