Penn State, at home, this year is too tough. Wow, did you think you’d hear those words this year? What a dream season this has been so far for the Nittany Lions of Penn State coached by none-other than Joe Paterno. Yes, Joe Paterno. The same guy who was being asked by the alumni of Penn State to step down after two National Championship, five undefeated seasons, and years and years of glory. But Paterno, who turns 79 in December, persevered and it looks like he may very well get the last laugh after all. Resurgence could be the word you use to describe this football team, as Joe has made some key recruits, his senior leadership led by quarterback Michael Robinson and company; the Lions continue to show us (the audience, press, etc.) that through pride, strength, and success with honor it’s never over for elite football programs such as Penn State.As the season began, Penn State fans all around were optimistic to see what kind of turn around the highly recruited Derrik Williams (who now out for the season with a broken arm) and Justin King could actually pull off. Right from the get go, DWill and JKing as they are known in Happy Valley, proved to us all they were the real deal after all. Had Williams not broken his arm in the loss to Michigan he may very well be a Heisman Candidate right now. Justin King has been just as good if not better as he now has stepped into Williams spot on offense while also playing a very good defense.
Surprises were all around Happy Valley as the season began. Walk on wide receivers Deon Butler and Ethan Kilmer, along with another freshman wide receiver Justin Norwood have been just as key to the success of Penn State as Williams and King. Tony Hunt is enjoying a great season with all the attention now being focused on the Fab Four. At the helm of the offense is the team leader, Michael Robinson. MRob is a gutsy quarterback, who may not have the best accuracy, but comes through in the clutch and is key to the leadership that has helped to turn this program back towards success on the field.
Penn State started the Big Ten Conference schedule as expected, 3-0. They headed onto the road for the first time and pulled off a thrilling come from behind victory against the Northwestern Wildcats after Robinson converted a 4th and 15 on the game winning drive before connecting with Williams for the game winning touchdown. Finally, Penn State was starting to gain recognition from the press. Penn State’s defense held Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney to a mere 48 yrs on the ground back in State College a week later as the Nittany Lions easy handled the Golden Gophers.
Rival Ohio State came to Beaver Stadium for what was at the time, the biggest College Football game of the season. Williams scored a touchdown on offense. Safety Calvin Lowry had a key interception that led to the game winning touchdown by the offense. And the presence of linebacker Paul Posluszny (Big Ten Player of the Week a record three straight times) and defensive end Tamba Hali, proved to be too much for Ohio State to handle as Penn State persevered 17-10. The Nittany Lions were on a roll. They jumped into the Top 10 that week in both the Coaches and AP Poll’s and headed to Ann Arbor for possibly the toughest test of the season.
After a 1st half (Michigan led 3-0) that was dominated by defense and two key missed field goals by Freshman Kevin Kelly of Penn State, the second half was one for the ages. Michigan took a 10-0 lead late into the third quarter when Penn State finally was able to generate the offense and kick a field goal and score a touchdown to tie the game at ten all. On the Wolverines next play on offense, quarterback Chad Henne was literally stripped of the ball by cornerback Alan Zamitis and the Nittany Lions, after a botched extra-point attempt which turned into two points, had scored 18 unanswered points. Michigan came right back and held a 21-18 lead with just over a minute remaining in the game. Penn State scored on another rushing touchdown by Robinson and had to hold Michigan off for one more second. The Wolverines scored from 15 yards out to win the game 27-25. Penn State fans were in shock. A dream season over. The thought of another National Championship for Joe Paterno gone. One second flashed before everyone’s eyes and turned into an instant classic. How would Penn State bounce back after two very emotional games?
Hold on a minute. Things have taken shape and Penn State on this day sits in seventh place on the BCS poll just a few percentage points ahead of LSU who was idle last weekend. There may still be hope for Penn State fans everywhere. A loss early in the season hurts less then it does if you were to lose your first game halfway through the season or any other weekend after. It’s almost impossible to recover- just ask Georgia and company. Advantage goes to Penn State. The loss to Michigan still had Penn State in the Top Ten during the first BCS Poll. With every win the team takes with them a greater chance of moving up in the poll. Let’s take a look at the Top eight teams in the BCS Poll’s and give a breakdown of what could/needs to happen for the Nittany Lions to head to Pasadena this January.
#1 USC: How much longer can Reggie and Matt keep it together? Will this be a third straight championship, or has the tides turned in College Football. This week’s match up with Stanford could prove to be deadly for USC. After blowing an opportunity to pull off an upset vs. UCLA this past weekend, look for Stanford to be ready this time and take down the #1 Trojans. If USC survives this weekend they then have to get past #21 Cal, #17 Fresno State, and #7 UCLA. IF USC wins-out they deserve to be National Champs, but don’t count on it, Trojan Fans.
#2 Texas: Out of all the teams ahead of Penn State, Texas has the second easiest road to Pasadena. A little hiccup last week in the first half vs. Oklahoma State was nothing too much for quarterback and Heisman Candidate Vince Young to handle. Their schedule favors them unless they have a complete meltdown for one game which isn’t all that unexpected for some Longhorn fans who have seen it happen before. Plus the Big 12 title game could turn out to be deadly.
#3 Virginia Tech: A Hurricane warning may be in store as Miami will look to hand Va Tech their first loss of the season. If Tech survives the Miami game don’t expect Virginia and UNC to take them lightly and the ACC Championship game could also prove to be deadly for the Hokies.
#4 Alabama: The Tide are treading very, very deep water. IF they survive this weekend at Mississippi State look for them to get knocked off the board by either LSU or Auburn.
#5 UCLA: After surviving last week’s scare vs. Stanford you have to wonder if the Bruins have any steam left. They head to Arizona this weekend before returning home to host Arizona State. Their final game is against USC in early December. If they get that far undefeated they may very well lose that game no matter if USC already has a loss or not.
#6 Miami: The ‘Canes have been on a roll since their opening day loss to Florida State. They clash with Virginia Tech tomorrow before heading to Wake Forest who always seems to be in games. Look for Wake Forest to make a serious effort to hand Miami their second loss of the year, if the `Canes defeat Virginia Tech first.
#7 Penn State: The most favorable schedule of anyone on this list, they play host to Wisconsin this weekend and then have a week off before heading to East Lansing to play struggling Michigan State. The Lions are too tough to beat at home this year, Wisconsin has very little options on offense after the great running game and Wisconsin’s defense will be outplayed by the Lions. Although they have been shaky on the road look for Penn State to be prepared to take on Michigan State after a week off.
#8 LSU: Only a few percentage points behind Penn State in the BCS Standings. They have the second most favorable schedule of any team behind Penn State in the BCS standings. The only bump in the road for LSU may be Alabama, if the Tide have not already crumbled under the radar.
It’s always beautiful in California; even during the winter. Penn State hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1995 (defeated Oregon) and have not been National Champions since 1986 (when they were underdogs up against a great Miami squad… The game is still the most watched college football game as of today.) Granted, this is a lot to ask for. A lot of things need to happen for Penn State to make it to Pasadena. A long shot- most likely, but if there is any level of sports that has the most upsets and greatest moments, it is definatley college sports. The roar is back in the Nittany Lions. Win out and sit back and wait for the other teams to finish out. Win out and win their first Big Ten title under Joe Paterno since 1994. Win out and put the Nittany Lions in a position to say: We told you so.
Copyright ©2005 Colin Cerniglia. All Rights Reserved.