Eleven Warriors

BRAINS!!!!

Well, I guess the jokes about JoePa were inevitable. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're in poor taste or anything - I'm just, myself, not feeling them.

Orson @ EDSBS did a blog post last week about Joe, and I think he was right on the mark in that we're watching the dude die before our eyes on a week-by-week basis. And also on the mark, in that that's not necessarily a bad thing - just like the Bear, working with his team (even if it's just as a figurehead with no real authority/responsibilities) is the only thing keeping him alive. Mercifully, his poor health's necessitating his move to the box is going to spare us the horrifying possibility of his being seriously hurt or killed by a sideline collision, or being forced to watch him in the process of shitting his Depends (again).

I was nine years old when The Punch happened at the Gator Bowl. By that time, I'd seen Archie play in person at the 'Shoe (my dad was on the faculty), and between my father and my stepfather, I'd already been well-schooled in the beauty, history and importance of Buckeye football. And it was clear to most everybody that Woody should have been gone well before then, just as it's clear now that Joe should have been gone before he became a sad spectacle, an object of ridicule.

But what are you gonna do about getting rid of a legend that won't be gotten rid of? You can't. Oh well.

I guess what I'm saying is that we ought to be thinking about Joe right now what most of us thought about Bo a couple years ago, and what most of us think about Woody - mad respect for a great career, for the generosity of spirit they always demonstrated for their players and their schools, etc. I don't mean this to be a scold - ridicule comes as part of the bargain for coaches - but just my own take on things.

I also think we ought to treat JoePa's Nits (those are lice eggs, BTW) exactly the way we treated Bo's Wolverines in a somewhat similar situation: send them home with their Championship dreams in ashes. So: that's what I want to talk about this week. I've tried to watch the Nits a few times, but their games have just been so BORING...outmatched opponents that just totally give up. How do we match up against them? Is there anything that's happened on the field that leads us to believe that we can stymie the ridiculously-named "Spread HD"? Has their defense faced anything remotely resembling the Tyrannosaurus-Velociraptor tandem?

This is what I want to know this week. Not how many zombie/pants-shitting jokes can be made.

I submit that Penn State may not have the credentials they are given credit for--- anyone see a good team on their schedule so far???? I smell a fraud.

August 30 Coastal Carolina Home W 66-10
September 6 Oregon State Home W 45-14
September 13 Syracuse Away W 55-13
September 20 Temple Home W 45-3
September 27 Illinois (1) Home W 38-24
October 4 Purdue Away W 20-6
October 11 Wisconsin Away W 48-7
October 18 Michigan Home W 46-17

Stuff the run , just like this past week, and this could be a game for the ages.

Remember, no team has won an outright Big Ten Championship three years in a row. This game determines if that will be possible for the Bucks. I'd love to see it. This is going to be a fantastic game and I'm so thankful we get them at home this year.

Flip....... margin of victory is not a good determination of how good a team is. Just because Penn St. blasted Wisky, doesnt make them better than OSU. Pryor had the handcuffs on and the coaching staff is still tinkering with the O. I am not saying Penn St. is a bad team, and they may very well beat us... I am just not impressed by their schedule and who they have beat. Saturday nite will tell the tale... stop the run and make them throw is they key,,,,, no one had done that to them and I think that will be their game plan as well.... could be a low scoring event.... 16-13

Chaos - the problem is that OSU has not fared well when it comes time to man-up. That is probably the most disappointing aspect of the last few years.

If PSU comes out and punches us in the mouth, and we respond, it might be the first time I have seen these seniors not fold when someone hits them.

Here's hoping we turned a corner last week with the O.

Instead of saying, "We do need to have a 'RED-out'...'', it should read, "We do NOT need to have a 'RED-out'...''

Daryll Clark has taken over for the graduated Anthony Morelli (he will be missed). Hopefully, Clark can keep the streak alive that Morelli started two years ago and throw a touchdown pass to Malcolm Jenkins.

Penn State lurker here again;

As usual, props to the excellent website, a good mix of facts with some good satire.

Lion nation is cautiously optimistic, winning on the road is not our strong suit in recent seasons, nor is it good against ranked opponents. That being said, this team is every bit as good as the 2005 squad led by Robinson, and the jury is still out, that it might be better. That team suffered a brain fart and lost to THEM at their house in AA when they were large favorite.

Pryor scares me, I have followed him closely, being from PA. Vince Young athleticism with the potential for a much better touch passing. I wonder how much the Vest has shown from the TP playbook, didnt need to use much of it last week @ MSU. I would think tOSU wants to control the ball to keep it out of PSU's hands. Your D is good, but I am convinced you want their O on the field as little as possible. A heavy dose of Beanie is what I see, and that is our weak link, where Sean Lee would have been w/o the knee blowout in the spring. This one will come down to what many of the others have in the past, like during the Troy Smith era, where it will be close, and the team that makes mistakes will likely be on the short side.

Here is to a great game, and that the team that plays the best, wins.

PS: Oliver Stone scenarios; its very realistic that you would meet USC again in the Rose Bowl. The networks will hate it, but its a chance at redemption. All Big 10 teams have been labelled as a result of tOSU's shortcomings, and they continue to bias the voting with it, even if it happened in prior seasons. It has been said that Oklahoma can pass Penn State if both win out. Say what you want, but the computers are way more accurate (and objective) than the humans.

Grandpa's trying to bake a hot biscuit...