Blue & White Roundtable :: Livin' on a Prayer

The questions this week were brought to you by... me. I sent them to all the Penn State bloggers listed below, but not all of them may have gotten around to answering yet. I know TNL and TINNOMJ have, so be sure to check those sites. But I recommend visiting all the blogs for only the best PSU football coverage!

There is No Name on My Jersey
Tangled Up in White and Blue
YF Yurasko
Happy Hour Valley
Black Shoe Diaries
The Nittany Line
We Want the Lion
Zombie Nation
Nittany Whiteout [Welcome back!]

1. Penn State has the best scoring offense (55.3 ppg) in the Big Ten, and top-five nationally. Of course, this has been against two bad teams and a mediocre Oregon State squad. This week's Temple game should be another 40-plus game for the PSU offense. That being said, do you think this has been a fluke so far? Or is the Spread HD for real?

ZN: I really think it's for real. Jay Paterno just works better when he has a quarterback who can run. Anthony Morelli was a good QB, but not the right one for Galen Hall and Jay Paterno. And don't hink for a minute that Jay's the sole creator of the "Spread HD." Galen has been running spread-like offenses since the 1960s. Temple will be a great chance to get more of the younger guys experience in this system, before the dog fight with Illinois next week.

2. If Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma are convicted, what are the chances Joe Paterno will play either by the Illinois game? What message does it send to the team, and the nation, if both players are given light punishments? Conversely, what if the punishments are seemingly too severe, like dismissal?

ZN: I think Evans and Koroma will get similar punishment to what Andrew Quarless received. They will not play this week, but will dress next week vs. Illinois. Evans and Koroma won't get into the game much, but will be on the sidelines in pads. I think Joe has to do what's best for the team, and not what's best for headlines. He's not stupid and not senile, and since it's both players' first run-in with the law, he'll give them appropriate time to think about what they've done.

3. Leadership has been a huge part of this year's team's ability to move past distractions. Who has to really step up this week and keep this team focused? How does the coaching staff figure into this, or should they just let the players handle it by themselves?

ZN: I was really happy Anthony Scirrotto ripped into the team last week. This week I'd expect all the captains to get up and get vocal with the team. Even though teams would normally take Temple lighter than Illinois--trap game, anyone?--Penn State won't. This team has been amped up for every game so far, and this week shouldn't be different. The coaches don't need to do anything. Captains are there for a reason, and if the coaches feel there's a problem, they should have the captains address the issue. It's very different when getting yelled at by your peer leaders, as opposed to some old dude giving a lecture.

Lightening Round

Penn State throws its first interception this week? NO.

Evan Royster's YPC vs. Temple? 9.5 ypc.

Coke or Pepsi? Coke. Then Pepsi for a while (during PSU games, of course). But now Coke Zero has really brought me home.