Blame it on the Buckeyes!

Hello faithful readers.  I have some slightly alarming news:  I am actually pleasantly surprised with the way that the BCS rankings looked this week.  Texas Tech jumped five spots after beating the number one team in the nation and settled in nicely at number 2, which is the only legitimate place to put them at the moment considering the meat of  their schedule is in front of them and Alabama is still undefeated in the SEC.  Equally notable was that USC dropped two spots which seems to be a result of their weak schedule.  With all that said I have decided to play devil's advocate and defend the leaders in the Big 10, a conference I continually attack for being weak, Penn State.  I think that if there is an argument to be made for this team to be number 2 I should be the one to make it due to my growing skepticism of the strength of the Big 10.  Remember as you read I am challenging my actual feelings about this team and their national ranks, so I am basically arguing with myself.  I am a fucking nut!

First of all I dont think that we can hold old grudges against this Penn State team.  As I watch them play I truly believe they are stronger than the Buckeyes were either time they played for the national championships.  Both last year and the year before the Big 10 was represented in the National Championship by the Buckeyes who were just completely dismantled by much faster and more athletic SEC teams. (Florida and LSU respectively.)  But, and this is a big one, Penn State can make an argument that they are equal or better to the previous years Buckeyes in both talent and coaching.  Plus The NIttany Lions run a very effective version of the spread which is the great equalizer according to one of my sources. (John good point!)  So let us put our skeptical hearts at rest and say that this Penn State team would represent the Big 10 better than it has been represented in the past and make for a better matchup against a Big 12 or SEC team.  They are faster on defense and equal on offense to The Buckeyes of yesteryear.

Now we come to the question of the strength of Penn State's schedule.  I say hogwash. If you win you win.  Other than Ohio State no team has really given them a scare.  Michigan jumped on them early but Joe Pa's team got it together and that game turned into a rout.  Penn State does what you ask of them every week and that is win and win with style.  They beat up on an Oregon State team that went on a week later to beat the mighty USC Trojans.  They havent beaten any ranked teams other than Ohio State but they have looked good winning.  The play a MIchigan State team at the end of the year that might be unranked by the time they get there if the Spartans dont start playing with a little more consistency.  The Schedule and the conference is weak but does that mean the team that wins said conference is weak as well? Who am I to decide?

The third and final factor I think that needs to be discussed is the coach, Joe Paterno.  He is right now to me the sentimental favorite, and if he goes undefeated it will be hard to vote against him, weak schedule or not.  Remember two thirds of the BCS standings are calculataed by actual human votes and it is a commonly know fact that Ol' Joe Pa is well liked and much deserving, if he stays undefeated, of a shot at the National Title.  That seems to be increasingly true as we are starting to see teams getting rid of their long-tenured coaches due to those coaches inability to adapt to the new college game. Which Paterno is doing it seems.  If I had a vote I would find it almost impossible to vote against Coach Paterno. 

Do I truly believe that the Big 10 deserves to have a team in the National Championship game? Probably not. I think they should atleast add a Conference Championship to their season if they truly want consideration.  As for the specific topic of this Penn State team I would have liked to see them play a tougher non-conference schedule and maybe look better against Ohio State.  But in all actuality I dont see how you could, in good conscience, keep them out of the National Title game if they are the only undefeated team from a BCS conference left at the end of this season. Which is very likely considering the tough roads some of the other teams have left.  I guess we will see how it all plays out.

Enjoy these thoughts to ponder and live like no one is watching and play like your in the Big 12.