One Loss And We're Not Out

I came across this picture today, showing Penn State's offense lined up against a Dan Marino-led Pittsburgh team in 1982, and it made me think. Everyone's so worried about losing to Ohio State--nothing suggests we will win--in Columbus, which would effectively end our National Championship hopes. Wrong. During the '82 regular season, Penn State was clobbered by Alabama 42-21 in Tuscaloosa. A few months later, the Nittany Lions were National Champions. I'm not saying PSU will definitely win the MNC this year, but don't freak out if the only loss is to Ohio State in the 'Shoe. In fact, Ohio State could beat USC, then as No. 1 or 2 beat PSU, then lose to another Big Ten team in November--ehem, Illinois. If the only PSU loss was to an undefeated top-ranked OSU team in October, it would not hurt the Lions' ranking as much as a late-season letdown for Ohio State. And as we all saw last season, cards fall in tricky places, and PSU could very well end up in the NC with only one loss. Just thought I'd mention that.

Dammit, I just spilled Kool-Aid all over the desk!