Well, that happened.

While a lot of people were saying that Alabama was ripe for a loss against a Texas A&M team that’s been playing really well over the past few weeks, most of this felt like lip service. You know, the kind of things that ESPN makes one person say on the Gameday set in order to appear unbiased.

And then- “Johnny Football”.

There are a lot of reasons why Alabama lost- coming off of an emotional win on the road in Death Valley, LSU’s offense showed a lot of people the issues that the Tide have in their secondary, Saban’s fear of the high speed offense is based on his knowledge of his team’s weaknesses; but the fact of the matter is that the Aggies outplayed Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, in several key areas of the game.

The Crimson Tide defensive … [Read More]

The Buckeyes went into insanely hostile Beaver Stadium and shook off a tough first half to knock off the Penn State Nittany Lions 35-23 to take sole possession of first place in the Leaders Division. The 9-0 Buckeyes were led by Braxton Miller’s legs as he went 124 yards for 2 touchdowns on 24 carries. He also threw the ball 19 times for 7 receptions netting 143 yards and a touchdown. Carlos Hyde was relatively bottled up for the game, and only picked up 54 yards on his 20 carries, but he did pick up an important touchdown at the end of the first half. For his part, Matt McGloin had a good game throwing the football, picking up 327 yards and 2 touchdowns on 27/45 throwing.

It seems like this team is making baby steps in the right … [Read More]

Kenny G. We talk about this a lot; implying that Ohio State should be ahead enough to get the backup some time. However, after Saturday’s performance, the “old right-hander” has deserved a series or two… mmmm, smooth jazz.

Pick Six U. It’s a legacy for the Lions, and even something McGloin has been a part of. PSU loves to work the short passing game, it would be amazing to continue this part of the “curse” that we have on their season.

Silence. OK, you can’t really “see” silence, but taking the crowd out of this game will be important.

Poise. Maybe if I write it this way, the offense will focus enough to not have any you know whats.

Linebacker? You. On the first play Saturday, Ohio State’s LB corps put them in a difficult hole with poor play. The Lions run a no-huddle offense that looks to … [Read More]

I hate Penn State.

No, really, I loathe Penn State.

Now, when I tell people this these days, I’ll get responses telling me to have a heart and to have some sympathy for what they’ve been going through the past nine months.

They don’t realize that I grew up in Penn State territory, about an hour and a half away from State College.  My dad is a Penn State fan.  My grandparents are Penn State fans. My brother and sister-in-law are Penn State alumni. My mom and I are the lone ones that wear scarlet and gray in a sea of blue and white on football Saturdays in the fall.

As a kid, my dad used to take me to Penn State games to try to convince me to become part of “Nittany Nation.”  It … [Read More]

Throwing the forward pass is a big question mark for the majority of Big Ten quarterbacks. Their athleticism, though, is not.

Many of the 2012 Big Ten starting quarterbacks are doing everything they can to fight the stereotype of “game manager.” For a conference usually classified by others as boring, I see only four of the 12 projected starters as “pro-style” quarterbacks; the rest can be classified as “dual-threats” or “athletes.”

With that said, I give to you my 2012 Big Ten quarterback rankings.

12. Matt McGloin (Penn State): McGloin has started ten games in his Nittany Lion career, but just hasn’t gotten any better. However, he’s far and away PSU’s best option at quarterback. Last year, McGloin threw for 1,571 yards with 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. With the Penn State program … [Read More]

After returning from his 10 game suspension, Devier Posey received a warm welcome at his introduction during the Senior celebration; there was speculation that the fans might not have responded well to the last member of the Tat 5. His presence helped in the game, but in the end it wasn’t enough.

Ohio State deferred to the second half, and PSU started on the OSU 20 after a huge kick. However, on the first play, Howard committed pass interference after biting on the play action.  OSU’s D managed to shut out the Lions on first … [Read More]

Penn State spent a good portion of the early part of the season struggling to find an offensive identity.  Has the coaching staff worked out some of the kinks, or is the PSU offense still a work in progress?

The offense suffered a pretty big hit this past week losing Mike McQueary’s services on the sideline. He was the guy running the show, calling in the plays, substitutions, personnel packages. Granted, the reasons for his absence dwarf the … [Read More]