Big Ten to "aggressively" look at 12th team

From the only main-stream blogger worth reading:

"Speaking to Wisconsin's athletic board on Friday, Alvarez, the former longtime Badgers football coach, said the conference already has investigated possibilities for expansion "from all over the country." And though he places no timetable on the search, Alvarez thinks conference commissioner Jim Delany will respond to a group of athletic directors and coaches who want expansion."

I know Alvarez is a guy who doesn't back down from something like this. So, let's hope there is more meat to this bone we're being thrown here. Could we see another run at Notre Dame, with the new regime coming into South Bend?

As hopeful as I am that Alvarez isn't just running his mouth, there aren't too many viable options out there. Who are you going to invite? Boise State would be a ridiculous choice, with the travel issues and obvious lack of any history in that program. A Mountain West team, like TCU? I'm not sure the Lone Star State is the right place to go for the Big Ten. That would leave out Houston, too.

I'd say a MAC team, but adding that conference to the mix would be just as embarrassing as a MWC or C-USA team. Temple will become a hot rumor, for sure. However, the Owls are still recovering from the Big East years. If Temple runs off a string of MAC titles, then I'd say go for it. But it's just not logical, right now.

So, who's left? What about a servi--wait a minute! That's it! The Big Ten will pursue a service academy! My early bet is Navy -- Army is still even behind Temple's progress, and Air Force is comfy where it is. But the Midshipmen have been able to show sustained success, have recently played well against the Big Ten (Ohio State '09), and are conspicuously within range of the Big Ten.

Chew on that while you're out Christmas shopping this weekend.

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Clark: "I don't play for Todd McShay"

Joe Paterno always preaches to the media how he doesn't read the sports pages, watch television pundits, or read the internet. That's not so much the case when it comes to his players, though, as a certain quarterback didn't take to kindly to some "expert" analysis from ESPN's Todd McShay.

FOS:

Ok, so Daryll Clark has thrown a bunch of picks in the big games, but I hardly believe for a second, specifically in 2009, that it was Clark who lost those games. We'll get into all that in the season review coming in the next few weeks. But for now, Clark gets a big ole ZING! for the sound bite.

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Coverage Maps: Penn State at Michigan

Penn State will play in front of a national (mostly) audience this week. The broadcast will be split between ABC and ESPN. A good chunk of the country will see the Nittany Lions ESPN, while the regional audience will get the game on ABC.



Link: GoPSUSports.com

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Coverage Maps: Minnesota at Penn State

Penn State will play in front of another national audience this week. The broadcast will be split between ABC and ESPN. Most of the country will see the Nittany Lions on ESPN, while the regional audience will get the game on ABC.





Link: ESPN

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Blue Band on ESPN.com front page

The hype meter is officially redlining. I guess the whole revenge thing really sells. ESPN.com has an entire spread on its front page about tomorrow night's Penn State game.



There are two videos along with Ivan Maisel's article. The first was Howie Schwab breaking down the game from an average fan's perspective. Pretty good. But then we have Todd McShay, who doesn't seem to understand the importance of differentiating opponent quality when trying to prove a point. Just watch the clips and you'll know what I'm talking about. (hint: Northern Illinois? RLY?)

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Fun in the ESPN broadcast booth

On college football's opening night three weeks ago, Clemson came back from 24 down to tie Georgia Tech, only to lose on a last second field goal. Now, we're all used to seeing distraught fans taking hard their team's loss. But in this video, we have a seriously entertaining glimpse into what goes on in the broadcast booths during commercial breaks. Watch as Chris Fowler, Craig James and Jesse Palmer absolutely tear into this Clemson fan, off-air of course, after the game.



Gotta love Thursday night college football.

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Thursday Linkage is full of meaningless predictions

The main stream media is now rolling at full throttle, as we were blessed this week with their infinite wisdom in the form of predictions, power rankings and Heisman talk.

• ESPN has put together an "expert" panel to begin voting on the 2009 Heisman Trophy race. Naturally, the big three -- Tebow, Bradford and McCoy -- lead the way. But then there are the picks that you know are just made to piss people off, like Tennessee SS Eric Berry, USC Safety Taylor Mays, and TCU DE Jerry Hughes. I just wonder, if they're good enough to get votes now, where are those votes in December?

• Staying with the whole best-in-America theme, NBC Sports released its All-America teams for 2009. While Penn State didn't get any first-team nods, Evan Royster and Navorro Bowman were both named to the second team. Stefen Wisniewski and Jared Odrick landed on the third team. Not bad, especially considering Wiz has never started a game at center prior to this season.

• Preseason rankings are the lifeblood of college football in August; SI.com and NBC Sports are right there with the pack. Penn State comes in at a respectable No. 11 at NBC, and a bit disappointing No. 14 at SI.com.

• ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Bruce Feldman both like Penn State to return to the BCS circuit; Schlabach pegs the Lions for the Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, while Feldman sends JoePa back to the Rose Bowl for a USC rematch.

• Adam Rittenberg says otherwise.

• Today is Penn State's media day, but if you didn't want to pay 10 bucks (!) to watch Joe Paterno's presser online today, you can see a replay of it later on the Big Ten Network, along with other Penn State goodies this evening.

• Jay Paterno would rather have his players practicing than talking.

• The always entertaining BlogPoll is reving back up.

• Just a reminder, the Buckeye Battle Cry was kind enough to stop bashing Michigan for a few minutes, and answer a couple questions for this week's First Look '09. I'll have the post up later today, so be sure to check back for it!

• And lastly, my copy of Sports Illustrated just arrived. While I'm still not crazy about the positions they placed the players, it's nice to see Daryll Clark and Wiz on there.

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NCAA 2010 initial thoughts

Yeah, ok I didn't buy the game. But I downloaded the demo yesterday, just to make sure it was worth eventually (like, tomorrow?!) buying. Well, it is worth the money, for once. Let me run down a few things I noticed, good and bad.

The Good

• Drive summaries: This might seem minor, but in '09, after kicking a field goal, the drive summary would include the distance of the field goal in the total drive length. So if my guys drive 34 yards to the 17 yard line, and my kicker boots a 34-yard score, the drive summary would say Yards: 68! That pissed me off so bad, it almost made the game unplayable. Those are the things that make me wonder just who play-tests these games.

In 2010, that problem is fixed.

• Passing motion: In '09, quarterbacks looked more like they were competing in the shot put whenever they'd launch a throw. It was terrible.

In 2010, the quarterbacks drop back and release much more like the real players do.

• Tackles/player movements: One thing I must say EA does well is animate tackles each edition. But this season is very, very good. Shoestring tackles, all-out pops over the middle, and ball carriers running through traffic are all much smoother this season.

Not that this was a problem before, but in 2010, the fluidity of player movements is much improved.

• Game strategy: I haven't been able to fully utilize this feature, but from what I've done so far, it makes the game a bit more interesting. From telling your guys to play really aggressive (strip the ball more, super-tight coverage, but more risks), to just keeping the other team in front of you (sure tackling, playing softer coverage, but not giving up big plays), it's a very nice addition.

The Bad

• There are always problems, but this year's aren't too bad. Like the commentators: Lee Corso, Herbie and Brad Nessler. First of all, they don't even do games together anymore!!! Not only that, but only Herbie works with Erin Andrews (new to the game). Not only this, but their comments HAVE NOT CHANGED since I first got the game in 2004. Sorry, but that's pathetic.

If EA really wants to 'wow' its audiences, have multiple broadcast teams. Honestly, if EA is going to suck up to ESPN so much, why not just go all out and have Brent Musberger, Herbie for the big night games, Nessler, Todd Blackledge for the big afternoon games, and Pam Ward... JUST KIDDING... someone like Mike Patrick, Sean McDonough or Ron Franklin for the day games? I also think it would be a hoot to hear Craig James on there (even if he's a douche sometimes).

• The fans/sidelines: From what I've seen, the crowds are still pretty poor. I liked the 2004 version, where if a player started our a short run, but broke it big, the crowd would actually "get up" from their seats and act more wild. In the last few versions, on XBOX at least, the crowds are in a constant state of gyration.

Also, would it kill EA to make more than four or five different movements for the fans?

In terms of sidelines, the players' shoes are still a sticking point for me. Of course, because Penn State wears BLACK shoes. I'm not sure, and would love it if someone came forward to give us a heads up, but do the Penn Staters on the sidelines still have white shoes?

When I played the demo, I picked (depends on the team) black shoes for Oklahoma, but their sidelines were clad in white shoes. Terrible.

Overall

Not bad this season. I'm 99 percent sure I'm going to buy it by this weekend. The graphics, animations, and overall game play is markedly improved from even last year's edition, which actually begs the question: why are there so few improvements each season?

But otherwise, it's a great game, and worth the money.

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Did we mention Joe Paterno was on ESPN

Every other Penn State blog has this, so I guess I should put it up. You know, to be cool and stuff...

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Official prime time schedule released

We all had a clue last week that Penn State would play Iowa at night, along with an early evening kickoff in Evanston against Northwestern. But since it's all been made official today, here's the earliest announced kickoff times for 2009:

PENN STATE IN PRIME TIME 2009

Sept. 26 -- IOWA at PENN STATE, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN

Oct. 31 -- PENN STATE at NORTHWESTERN, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN2

Get the full release from the Big Ten site.

*Have something to say about this post? Let your voice be heard, in the ZN Message Forum!

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FSU and the Media: Where's the blood?

◊ I didn't intend to write anything too deep the next few days, with spring ball heating up soon, figuring I'll be plenty busy as the Blue White Game nears. However, has anyone else noticed this mega-hypocrisy going on between Florida State and the media?

When Penn State players were getting into all sorts of legal trouble the past few years, which came to a rolling boil in 2007 and 2008, there was non-stop outcry from the main stream media (MSM).

"Joe Must Go!" and "Joe has lost control" were all very common phrases thrown around during the faux outrage. It was widely asserted that since Penn State football players were out drinking, partying and acting like 20-something men, subsequently getting caught by a corrupt district attorney on a mission, it was worthy of severe MSM scrutiny.

No one can argue that "Fight Club 2007"––when several prominent Penn State football players beat up other students, who had in fact initiated the altercation earlier that night––was a serious case of bad judgement by the players. They should have made better decisions.

The problem, however, in the MSM came after that event. It was used as a spark to ignite a firestorm of yellow journalism and shoddy investigative reporting, anchored by ESPN's Outside the Lines' 14-minute, skewed feature on Penn State's legal issues. The segment portrayed Penn State as a thug institution, hell-bent on winning football regardless of anything else.

After watching it, viewers were solidly turned against Penn State.

Why am I bringing all of this up now? Because Bobby Bowden and Florida State are pissed off that the NCAA didn't just let another infraction slide, the AP reported.

I'm not going to be an apologist on Penn State's behalf. They made their own mistakes, and have to deal with them. But the fact that this entire story has been treated by the MSM as "poor Florida State, too bad they couldn't avoid this," disgusts me personally.

Outside the Lines did a feature similar to, but very different from, the Penn State one last year. It touched on the recent issue at hand, talked to coaches and "experts," and reviewed past problems in the program. That's about where the comparison ends... abruptly.

OTL's angle on Florida State was one that made you almost feel bad for Bobby Bowden and the university––at least a little sympathy. It was a far cry from the hatchet job done to Penn State last year.

Have some in the MSM come out to denounce Florida State and agree with the sanctions? Of course, but individuals don't carry much weight in the MSM.

To question the NCAA's actions against Florida State is equivalent to burying one's head in the sand. Yet, no one outside Happy Valley ever questioned the validity of the MSM's claims that Penn State has gone off the deep end.

Florida State has been living on thin ice with the NCAA since 1989. That year, Seminoles star Deion Sanders stopped going to class his senior season, and didn't take any final exams. The NCAA decided to implement the "Deion Rule."

How many rules are named after Penn Staters?

The forfeit of games, loss of scholarships and probation should not come as a surprise to anyone. Florida State had this one coming.

Yet we're being led to believe that this is something other than a double-standard in the MSM. The funny thing about it all is that I think I know why the two stories have been given completely different coverage.

Florida State has always been known for its flashy players, flashy wins and "too cool for school" attitude. When the Seminoles were logging top-five seasons every year, this was just all part of the coolness. The MSM played right along because it was good for readership and ratings.

On the other hand, you have Penn State, the uptight, straight laced program that solidified that reputation against another Florida team, just as Florida State was earning its own.

Florida State has always been a media darling. Even when the coverage goes sour, Bowden just says "dagummit!" and everything is wonderful again.

Penn State, particularly Joe Paterno, has a sharp distain for the media, much of which stems from one night 1979 when a football writer (now a popular NFL reporter with ESPN) released Paterno's off-the-record comments to a group of writers about Barry Switzer and Jackie Sherrill.

Florida State is getting a big pass from the MSM. Granted, the NCAA took care of most of it, but we haven't heard the constant berating of Florida State that we heard about Penn State.

So it doesn't surprise me that Bowden & Co. have begun using the MSM to build a sympathetic base going forward. Will the MSM play any part in what the NCAA ultimately decides? Probably not, but that's not the point of this.

History is what matters, especially those who write history: the MSM. No one remembers what the history books don't tell. If Bowden and Florida State can come out of this whole thing with the general public feeling like they were screwed, and that somehow works its way into the history books... mission accomplished.

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A blurb on the He-is-man

Was I the only one utterly shocked that Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night? I don't know, but I really hedged by bets on Tim Tebow repeating, or Colt McCoy nabbing the award. I mean, really, come on.

I do think Bradford was the best quarterback of the group, and should have a fine career in the NFL. However, all the media flash and glam was behind Tebow and McCoy.

"Will Tebow repeat?"

"Texas was snubbed!"

"Tebow is a great leader. Listen to The Speech!"

"McCoy led his team in passing, and rushing!"

Bradford, meanwhile, was just your average, run of the mill pocket passer. I'm not arguing against Bradford. He deserved it just as much as Tebow or McCoy would have. I'm just a bit surprised that he was able to squeak by the two we all considered the frontrunners. You have to say, though, ESPN wasn't just blowing smoke when they said it was the closest, most suspenseful Heisman ceremony ever... ok, maybe not EVER, but it was really, really good.

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ABC Coverage Map: Penn St vs Michigan St

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World caving in on the SEC crew

Sure, we in the Big Ten know all too well what it's like to scream, week in and week out, that the SEC isn't the NFL-lite. Right now, the only friends of the SEC are ESPN and CBS (note: the two networks that have financial interests in hyping up the conference), while everyone else outside of the SEC/ESPN/CBS axis of evil knows the truth: The SEC just isn't that good this year.

Take a few minutes, and read this blog entry. It's worth the time.

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ABC Coverage Map: Penn State at Iowa

Penn State will have plenty of eyes on it this weekend. Let's hope the Nittany Lions take advantage of it. Here's the coverage map for Penn State at Iowa, 3:30 p.m. ET, on ABC and ESPN:

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Thought the Big Ten wasn't any good?

So, if the Big Ten is so horrible, and doesn't deserve any respect whatsoever, then why was it more popular than the freaking World Series? Yeah, I know it was the Rays and Phillies, but come on. I thought the Big Ten wasn't worth a penny. No so fast, my friends! From GoPSUsports.com:

"Penn State's thrilling 13-6 win at No. 10 Ohio State delivered the seventh-highest number of viewers ever for an ABC primetime regular season college football telecast.

According to data from ESPN, 7.35 million TV households tuned into the clash last Saturday night, as the No. 3 Nittany Lions scored 10 points in the final 6:25 to improve to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten. Penn State held the Buckeyes to their lowest point total at home since a 6-0 loss to Wisconsin in 1982 and the Lions won their 10th consecutive game, tied with Texas Tech for the nation's longest winning streak."

And if you want to take it one step further, how then, did the Penn State win over Ohio State garner more viewers than all but SIX ABC college football broadcasts ever aired? I for sure thought the SEC games, or the Big XII games would be so mammoth, so grand, that a pesky little Big Ten regular season game wouldn't come close. Ha!

Face it, ESPN, you need Penn State and the Big Ten. ESPN has been using us as a media punching bag for the better part of three years now, and have already begun your quest to doom Penn State's national title legitimacy. But what the national media has cleverly swept under the carpet, is that Penn State draws viewers, and boosts ratings. But I'm sure this will turn into just another version–well, we PSU fans hope–of 1986. Yeah, remember that year? Penn State was the weak Eastern football lot, without a chance in hell of beating the bigger, faster, future-NFL roster Miami Hurricanes–1986's version of this year's Texas, Alabama or Florida. Penn State proved them all wrong. Will ESPN look bad, yet again? Maybe... maybe.

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Jim Rome trashing the Big Ten

I was flipping through the channels, and came across ESPN. I don't like Jim Rome, and never watch his show, but in his rundown I saw Penn State-Ohio State. So I figured I'd see what he would spew out about the game. The following is rated 'R' for anyone with a brain:

"Look at the bright side Buckeye fans, at least you won't get jacked up in the title game again, so you've got that going for ya... and if you do play your cards right, you might earn another trip out here to get hammered by USC again."

Oh, but then he turned on Penn State:

"As for Penn State, can you imagine Joe Paterno in his swan song, going undefeated, and getting blocked yet again from a shot at the national title? Even then, that might be better than going and getting hammered, something that happens every year to the Big Ten now. Do the right thing, 'Big Eleven,' just decline the invite."

Wow. I really thought ESPN couldn't get much worse. I'm not sure if this is just a quest for ratings, but it seems like it's officially gone too far. It's one thing to debate how things will play out, but to sink to these levels is just repulsive.

I never would have thought anyone could make Dennis Dodd and Stewart Mandel look like Penn State/Big Ten cheerleaders. At least they have dignity. Rome should take notes from those guys, you know, the real journalists.

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Gameday going to Columbus

Like the post's headline says, ESPN College Gameday will make the trip this week to Columbus for the Gigantor football game between Penn State and Ohio State.

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500th post; Vote! and Success with Honor

·It didn't seem all that long ago I was all proud about my 100th post. Yeah, dorkism, to the max. Well, with 27 hours before Penn State begins its destruction of Michigan, I'm proud to post No. 500.

·I'd also like to remind everyone that the "Winner" poll this week is going great (93% for PSU!). So be sure to cast your vote.

·On last thing I want to share, NittanyWhiteOut wrote a fantastic "booyah" post today, smacking ESPN in the face with PSU's graduation rates. Go check it out.

·The day of redemption will soon be at hand...

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The media's love affair with Penn State

Following a slew of upsets, and the consequential rise of Penn State in the national polls, a love affair has begun yet again between the main stream media and the Nittany Lions. Every few seasons, Penn State puts together a dynamite team, makes a run at the national title, and sports writers across America take back all those nasty things said in the off season. You know, like "Joe Paterno's lost his touch," and "Penn State will remain mired in mediocrity." But with the emergence of Penn State's explosive offense, and traditionally stout defense, Paterno & Co. have become, once again, poster children for college football.

ESPN columnist Ivan Maisel points out this week:

"Penn State, like Williams, is performing in a way that is attracting national attention. During a weekend when six ranked teams lost, the Nittany Lions overcame two early Illinois leads and won their league opener. That might not sound like much, but Penn State had lost eight of its previous nine Big Ten openers... Penn State looks real. Williams looks like a star..."

And a traditional skeptic towards Penn State, Stewart Mandel had nothing but praise for the Lions.

"...at least one of this conference's teams will be playing in Pasadena, if not Miami -- and the Nittany Lions look more and more like they could be that team. I had been leaning toward Wisconsin, but the Badgers' offense leaves a lot to be desired. While Michigan's fourth-quarter surge ultimately did in Bucky, the seeds were sown when it failed to convert any of the Wolverines' five first-half turnovers into a touchdown.

In its first game against a ranked opponent (Illinois), Penn State showed exactly what the skeptics were waiting to see: An explosive spread offense with a plethora of weapons and a defense that wasn't exactly immune to big plays but produced enough turnovers (three) and key stops that the Illini couldn't close the gap. The Nittany Lions are the league's most complete team right now."

But that's not all, folks. After giving into the Penn State gush-fest, Mandel later went off about Beaver Stadium and Penn State's "White Outs."

"If I was a Circuit City employee trying to woo a customer into buying a $2,000 HD plasma TV, the first thing I would show him is Saturday night's broadcast of the Penn State-Illinois game. Even seeing it for a third time, it was impossible not to be awed by the visual grandeur of Penn State's "White Out," which manages to turn a 110,000-seat stadium one enormous flashbulb. It's powerful, it's organized (right down to the block "S" in one corner) and, quite frankly, it's awesome... Two words of advice to all the other schools trying to mimic it: Just stop. Seriously."

Gene Mendez is SI.com's resident Heisman pundit (no relation), and for the first time in years, a Penn State player has cracked his top 10 list. The scary thing about it, though, is that Evan Royster isn't the guy. It's the Penn State quarterback! What?! Yup.

"8. Daryll Clark, Penn State, QB, Sr. (*Ed-This is misleading, as Clark was granted a fifth season of eligibility for 2009)
Last week: 14-of-20 passing, 181 yards, 2 TDs; 11 rushes, 50 yards, 1 TD in a 38-24 victory over No. 22 Illinois.
Season: 62-of-98 passing, 896 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT; 23 rushes, 131 yards, 3 TDs.
Heisman-o-meter: Penn State running back Evan Royster has been on the verge of breaking into this list and could easily be here instead. Teammate Derrick Williams had a sensational all-around night Saturday. But Clark is the choice. While he ran more against the Illini than he ever has in college, Clark is a capable passing quarterback who just happens to have the ability to tuck the ball and take off. With him, the Nittany Lions have found balance on offense, averaging 267.6 yards on the ground and 247.6 through the air, while becoming the team to beat in the Big Ten.
Up next: Saturday at Purdue."

Not wanting to be left out, College Football News' editorial staff weighed in this week on where the top teams should be ranked. Not one disagreed that Penn State is a title contender.

Pete Fiutak:

"Penn State - Top five. I'm still not sold on Daryll Clark when the pressure is on in a really tight game (and I hate having to look up how to spell Daryll every time I refer to him). However, the offensive line is among the best in America, the receiving corps is playing like the veteran group that it is, and the running game is tremendous. It's unfortunate, but this team might get dragged down in the court of public opinion because of the bad PR problem for the Big Ten."

Rich Cirminiello:

"Penn State – No. 5. The only thing I’d alter here is to bump the Lions ahead of Texas, which will wind up getting exposed over the next month, and has yet to beat an opponent that’s remotely close to being ranked."

Matt Zemek:

"Penn State should be somewhere around seven or eight. Top 10-worthy for sure, but not yet able to graduate to the head of the class. Beat Wisky and Ohio State, and we can reserve a comfy spot in the top three for JoePa."

Those were all fair, balanced assesments of where Penn State is, and should be, right now. Penn State is not the best team, nor should it be ranked in the top three, but it has definately proven to be top-10 worthy. But one last CFN writer doesn't see things that way.

Steve Silverman:

"Penn State -- I would make Penn State No. 7 right now. In addition to how I spelled things out for Alabama, I think Texas and Texas Tech deserve to be ranked higher than the Nittany Lions. I know JoePa bashing has gone out of fashion, but I just think Mike Leach's Red Raiders would be more prepared for a head-to-head meeting than Penn State. Texas Tech would whip them big in Lubbock and would be competitive for 60 minutes in Happy Valley."

Looking at Silverman's view towards Penn State as the outlier, this is still a program that the media and fans want to win. College football just seems right when Penn State, Alabama and Notre Dame are in the title discussion. Why do you think 2005 was labeled as "The Greatest Season" by so many? Which teams did very well that year? You guessed it. There's no way to predict--rationally, at least--just how well all of these teams, including Penn State, will do this year. But for now, college football as a whole should just sit back and enjoy.

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