7th in BCS Ratings Released Today

Penn State is # 7 in the BCS ratings released today. Yeah baby!

Homecoming victory for PSU

It sure wasn't the prettiest game to watch and the outcome wasn't certain until late in the game . . . but, it's a win and the record improves to 8-1 on the season! Maybe the squad was looking past this weekend to Wisconsin . . . the next "BIG" game for the Lions. How big is that game? The winner is in the driver's seat in the Big Ten . . . run the tables and a BCS major bowl is guaranteed. For now, the 33 - 15 victory of Purdue keeps the dreams alive . . .

Halloween . . .

Dog lovers . . . this ones for you!

I'll just have the Beam, thank you very much!

Think a bad week can't get worse?

Nice . . . uummm . . . paint job!

It pretty much comes down to this . . .

While it's fun to read every article associated with Penn State's football team, the Big Ten race this year, and the final weeks of competition leading up to BCS bowl selections, it all really comes down to 2 important points . . .

First, if PSU ends up the Big Ten Champs, they are guaranteed a major BCS bowl by virtue of the Big Ten Championship. Odds are good (not great) they'll prevail in that quest.

Second, even with another loss, PSU will play in the Capital One or Outback bowls. Should their season end with an appearance in either of these bowls, my opponent choice would be either Florida State (imagine Joe and Bobby as opposing coaches) or Alabama (geez, it's been too long since the last rivalry game between them.

Purdue at home this weekend, Homecoming 2005, PSU favored by 14 points . . . should be a good game!

What it means to be optomistic . . .

350 Wins . . . Way to Go Joe!

Joe Paterno, coach and living football legacy . . . 350 and still winning!

31 out of 33

A collaborative effort, a challenge, and some good fun . . . 31 out of 33 on the brain teaser, just thought it worth noting.

The Numbers . . .

63 to 10 was the final score in the game against Illinois. We showed alot of class in the second quarter by not running the score higher. What an offensive display in the first half!

6 - the number of TD's that Robinson scored either passing or running . . . who said this guy isn't a good QB?

350 - the total number of career wins for JoePa (2nd all-time NCAA among active coaches).

3 - the number of remaining games in the campaign . . . Wisconsin may be the pivotal game in the Big 10 shoot out.

A 10 win, 1 loss season is possible, as is a major bowl appearance.

Go Lions!

I'm not a Heineken fan by any stretch of the imagination, but the idea has merit. I'm thinking Bass Ale or Negro Modelo would be suitable substitutes in this scenario.

Can you imagine morning "cooler convesations" in an office with this set up?

No doubt . . .

There's little doubt in my mind that Joe Paterno will have the squad ready for Saturday's game against Illinois. Coming off the heartbreaker last weekend against Michigan and the loss of Derek Williams, while definately factors going in to the game, won't be enough to stop PSU in this game. Go Lions!

Monday evening . . .

The first BCS standings were released today. Penn State is #10 on the list . . . WOW . . . if they can run the table in the home stretch . . . we're talking major BCS invitation! How sweet would that be folks? The experts say we'll finish 8-3 and get a minor bowl bid, but I disagree . . . worst case 9-2 the way this team is playing. Don't be surprised if they go 10-1 . . . this year's team has momentum!

Monday morning . . .

News this morning out of State College is that Freshman wideout, Derek Williams, suffered a broken arm in Saturday's game at Michigan. I join the chorus of well wishers hoping for his speedy recovery. While this appears to be a season-ending injury for Derek, he has a great future ahead of him when he returns to the squad.

OK . . . PSU dropped from #8 to #12 in one of the early weekly polls. Looking back on the weekend, I'm still very impressed with the Lion's performance and contend that this team will finish the season ranked 8th or higher at the end of November. This PSU team is something special and they'll prove it.

They can play with anybody . . .

You heard me right . . . the Lions can play with any Top 25 college football team and make a game of it. This will be a November to look forward to . . . GO LIONS!

I still believe . . .

I still believe Penn State's football squad is the class act of the Big Ten this season! Despite the heartbreaking loss in the closing second of the game against Michigan, this squad reached into its gut and has found its soul. The Lions are for real and it wouldn't surprise anyone if they run the table with wins for the rest of the campaign. A 10 - 1 season is may not be enough for a run at the national championship but this team has restored the PSU football program with impressive performances.

I look for PSU to make a run for the Big 10 championship and play in a major bowl game.

Big Game at the Big House

File this one under "cautious optomism" as we go into Michigan for the biggest away game of the campaign. The short of it is Michigan is favored by most sportswriters and prognosticators . . . but the Lions can match Michigan's talent . . . so, we'll see!

Telemarketing revenge 101

10. When they ask: "How are you today?" Tell them! "I'm so glad you askedbecause no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems; myarthritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died..."

9. If they say they're John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for aslong as necessary.

8. Cry out in surprise, "Judy! Is that you? Oh my God! Judy, how have you been?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of pause as she tries to figure out where she could know you from.

7. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up for the Family and Friends Plan, reply, in as SINISTER a voice as you can, "I don't have any friends ... would you be my friend?"

6. If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money.

5. Tell the telemarketer you are on "home incarceration" and ask if they could bring you a case of beer and some chips

4. After the telemarketer gives their spiel, ask him/her to marry you. When they get all flustered, tell them that you could not just give your credit card number to a complete stranger.

3. Tell the telemarketer you are busy at the moment and ask them if they will give you their HOME phone number so you can call them back. When thetelemarketer explains that they cannot give out their HOME number, you say "Iguess you don't want anyone bothering you at home, right?" The telemarketer will agree and you say, "Now you know how I feel!" Say good by - and Hang up.

2. Insist that the caller is really your buddy Leon, playing a joke. "Come on Leon, cut it out! Seriously, Leon, how's your mom?" And first and foremost:

1. Tell them to talk VERY SLOWLY, because you want to write EVERY WORD down.

Penn State back in TOP 10

USA Today's Coaches Poll - #10

Associated Press Poll - # 8

SUPERB

Capital One or The Rose Bowl

Cautious optomism folks . . . cautious optomism! But I must admit that the hair on my arms stood straight up when I read the revised BCS bowl projections this morning. We'd need to go undefeated to make a run for the national championship in the Rose Bowl, and one loss would still keep us in contention for a spot in the Capital One bowl. It's way too early to speculate about bowls . . . way too early! But it' sure fun to be able to dream about this stuff for the first time in 5 years!

Give Saturday's game balls to JoePa and the Defense! This game was hauntingly similiar to the PSU vistory of Miami for our last national championship. Gawd, I love this stuff!

PSU Traditions . . .

PSU 17 - OSU 10 How sweet this is . . .

How Sweet It Is . . . 17-10

PSU is back! Great game! After 5 years, it's a plaesure to watch a game of this importance and chalk up a win against the #6 team in the nation. The Lions should break into the Top 10 rankings next week and they are the sole undefeated team in the Big 10. Outstanding . . . how sweet it is! They'll be playing in a bowl game this year . . . cautious optomism . . . maybe a BCS game of some significance!

Go Lions!!!!!

Cute . . .

Only in my neck of the woods . . .

Dating my daughter . . .

Geez . . . I found this in an email . . . and having lived through most of these situations, I can relate . . . especially Rule 1o.


Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge . Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi . When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

The Big One!

With about 14 hours remaining until kickoff, my thoughts on PSU's big game with Ohio State are cautiously optomistic. Whether the Lions can prevail in the biggest test of the campaign so far will remain unsettled until late this evening. There are those faithful among us who think they chances are the best odds we've had since 2001 in getting it done!

For the past 5 years or so, I've had my buddies over for backyard "tailgate blow outs" with multiple TV set ups to watch the PSU-OSU contest. We've had alot of disappointments so we're due for one to go our way . . . perhaps Robinson, Hunt, the Frosh receivers, and our D will end the draught and restore the roar in Happy Valley and East Berlin, PA.

Can they do it? The odds makers favor OSU to win . . . but for the first time in a long time, sports writers and commentators are going out on the limb to project PSU as the winner. ESPN's College Game Day originates from Happy Valley today . . . it will very interesting to hear their slants and takes on the game as well. I have very little tolerance for Corso but also have a sneaky feeling he'll jump on the PSU comeback bandwagon at the end of the show. Well, bookies and talking heads don't win football games . . . that's left to the coaches and players. This should be a good game. A low scoring game wouldn't surprise me given the 2 talented defenses meeting tonight. Cautious optomism for a Lions win, but win or lose, the Nittany Lions are back on the prowl. Yep, long necks, brats, deer dogs, good friends, and the game on wide screen HD . . . gawd, I love it. Go Lions! Footnote (my daughter has tickets and will be at the game . . . cell phone updates live . . . love it)

PSU is 16th in AP Poll

The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions moved into the rankings today for the first time since the final media poll of the 2002 season.

2-0 in Big Ten

Hard to believe but the Lions are tied with Wisconsin for an early lead in the Big 10. When's the last time that happened?

Penn State also has the 3rd longest winning streak in the nation (7 games) behind Texas and USC. How 'bout that?!?

Cautious optomism . . .

My PSU "fan profile"

I was a senior at Mount Saint Mary's College in 1969. The Mount was known for it's basketball championships and the closest thing we had on campus to "football" was an intermural rugby team. That didn't stop Catholic college kids from watching NCAA football games . . . but of course Notre Dame and Boston College were natural "favorite teams" for most of guys on campus. In those days, happiness was defined as a Notre Dame victory over USC. Honestly, I enjoyed college football but I wouldn't have characterized myself as a true "fan of the game".

I accepted an invitation to watch the Orange Bowl at a girl friend's house in 1969. She was a PSU student and she and her family were PSU fans. I think Joe Paterno's appearance on the field was the first thing that struck me as unusual . . . be wore "flood pants" and white socks. What a character I thought. PSU was playing Kansas in what proved to be an interesting game. Having never seen PSU play, I had no idea about the legend of linebackers and smash mouth ground games associated with their program. The experience is over 35 years old and I can remember but one detail of the game . . . PSU scored with only a few seconds left in the 4th quarter to set up a tie in the game. I didn't know that Joe doesn't play for tied games. The Lions went for a 2 point conversion and missed. Everyone watching the game got up and left the room. I thought I had seen a penalty flag fly across the bottom of the screen, so I stayed seated to be sure. Sure enough, Kansas had too many players on the field and PSU went for 2 points - successfully this time - and won the game 15 to 14. Everybody who had been watching the game missed the "bonus play" that took place with no time on the clock - except me, a new-born Penn State fanatic!

I've been hooked on Penn State football ever since the 1969 Orange Bowl. The Lions have given me much to cheer about in the 35+ years I've followed them, including 2 national championship teams. My 2 children were featured in a television special covering PSU's send off to their second national championship game . . . little Lions!!! My kids knew all the Penn State cheers before they knew how to recite the alphabet. I had a friend who was a trainer at PSU who found a way to secure 2 PSU game jerseys that I ended up giving my son and daughter. We've been to dozens of PSU games over the years but the statistic I'm most proud of is that I haven't missed watching or listening to a PennState game since December of 1969. Love my Lions!

I've followed JoePa through most of his head coaching career at Penn State. Say what you may about him, I think he is one of the finest individuals ever to be associated with the sport. Joe's standards of academic and athletic excellence are second to none. I hope the year Joe picks to retire will feature the Lions in a close bowl game win . . . over Oklahoma or Alabama . . . those of you who know, know why that would be so sweet! Oh . . . and Joe, wear the floods and whale tails!

Can you say Top 25?

I look for Penn State to be ranked in several Top 25 polls this week. It will be nice to see the Lions back in the national rankings after a long drought. The first indication of how important Saturday's game was against 18th-ranked Minnesota was the appearnace of the Goodyear blimp above Beaver Stadium . . . so, it must have been considered a "big game" in the sports reporting community.

It's way too early to speculate on probable bowl opponents, but in all likelihood the Lions will return to the bowl circuit after being absent from post-season play since 1999. You may recall PSU's last bowl game - Alamo Bowl, PSU beat Texas A&M. After watching the Nits totally dominate Saturday's game against Minnesota, I get a warm feeling that this year's squad just might be a "team of destiny" about to surprise a whole bunch of people! Only time will tell. For me, it's cautious optomism, the team certainly has the potential to emerge as "The Beast of the East" once again!

Next week . . . Ohio State! The Buckeyes are ranked #8 in most polls. They are one of the 2 designated "rivals" on Penn State's schedule (we play OSU and Michigan State every year as designated rivals, the rest of the Big Ten teams rotate on or off the schedule). There is positively nothing sweeter than beating Ohio State (well, thumping Miami, Oklahoma, or Florida State is real close) and we finally have a squad that could do it. You have to give credit to Galen Hall for revising and reviving the PSU offense, and credit to JoePA for allowing Galen free reign with the script and the use of all that awesome Freshman talent. We are 9 - 6 against the Buckeyes overall - a 60% winning percentage - let's hope we are 10 - 6 next Sunday! If we win that game . . . can you say Top 20?

The Lions Roar!!! 44 - 14

They needed to make a statement . . . and did they ever!!! 44-14 over Minnesota in what was one of the best played games I've watched since PSU joined the Big 10. Looks like JoePa and Galen Hall have put together an offense that can get the job done! The Lions held off the nation's #1 rushing offense, had a near-perfect game holding on to the ball, scored on 8 of their drives, and ooooooh . . . those Freshmen!!!

Next week . . . we have Ohio State at Beaver Stadium . . . the BIG GAME!!!

The victotry today was SWEET . . . it's beginning to feel like old times again!!! Brats and longnecks for everyone!!!

Could be a pivotal game . . .

OK . . . my Nittany Lions haven't been 5 - 0 in a long, long, long time! As a matter of fact, their current record of 4 - 0 going into to today's game with Minnesota seems odd as well. This could be the pivitol game of the year for Penn State. A win today would set the stage for the return of the "Lions-As-We-Once-Knew-Them".

Seems like the Gophers have pretty much owned us in previous meetings . . . we have managed maybe one win in the past 5 meetings. The keys today are PennState's rushing defense holding off one of the nation's best rushing offenses, no PSU turn overs, and a PSU Freshman Class explosion for 35 or more points.

This is probably the "biggest game" we've played in 5 years. A win against a nationally ranked opponent would mark a change of direction for JoePa's program. The Lions will face additional top ranked teams later in the campaign . . . so the opportunities to knock off one or more of them exist. I'd like to see the Lions make a statement today and go into the follow week's contest with Ohio State undefeated. Like I said, today's game may prove to be the pivotal game of the campaign.

Regardless of the outcome today, it's great to watch the Lions claw their way back to glory. Go Lions!