Photos from the weekend

I should have known better than to think I could pull off a clean sweep when Rutgers was involved, but it was still a fun weekend full of college football. Friday night I was off to Piscataway for what turned out to be a decent game between the Scarlet Knights and Pitt. Following about five hours sleep, I made the trek up to Penn State. Photos and links are below the fold. Enjoy.

If I were to describe the RU-Pitt game, it would have to be this: two teams spent three hours trying their damnedest to lose, but Rutgers was just better at it.

2009 Pittsburgh at Rutgers

Then there was the epic fail by the Penn State student section. Must be hard to walk that 1/2 mile to Beaver Stadium, huh? Funny thing about it, though, was that I guess since only the true fans actually showed up, the crowd noise seemed just as loud as a full house.

2009 Minnesota at PSU

I apologize for such crappy quality photos. I don't have my good camera anymore; so I'm relegated to using just a regular old Canon Powershot. I'm hoping to save up for a real good one again by this spring for the Blue White Game.

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Givens to Rutgers, maybe

It looks like former Penn State commit Darrell Givens is headed to Piscataway. Although ESPN first reported the potential move, the Star-Ledger brings up a problem for Rutgers that was the same problem for Penn State: Givens' grades.

A person with knowledge of the team's thought process said that while the Scarlet Knights are pursuing the cornerback, there are "obstacles and hurdles to clear."

That leads me to wonder, just how bad are Givens' grades that even other schools are struggling to get him accepted? Rutgers is not a bad school. But this should raise a red flag on Givens.

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Rutgers series made official

A mere half hour after I announced that this will happen, Penn State has officially released that the Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights of Rutgers will renew its series in 2014. It will be a home-home slate. Although, I'll admit, I think this should be a longer series, particularly since Rutgers isn't the doormat it used to be. New Jersey has always been a stronghold for Penn State in not just recruiting, but in its fan base. Next to Pennsylvania itself, New Jersey has one of the most visible contingents of Penn State alumni and fans you'll see. Also, the magnified exposure gained from playing directly under the umbrella of New York City media (even more so than usual for PSU), will always be a plus for Penn State.

This was a good decision. Now, we need more of them from the athletic department.

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

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Penn State football schedule to add Rutgers

That's right folks. From what I hear, we should expect an announcement later today. I did not know this, but Nebraska has apparently backed out of its agreement for those two seasons, opening the door for another BCS team to fill right in.

Some of you will I'm sure grumble, spouting out the customary New Jersey jokes. Fine, but beware. I'm not only from New Jersey, but North Jersey, real Jersey. So watch it.

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

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Greg Schiano, Big East Coach of the Year?

You can't deny it. Rutgers started out 1-5, with its only win over FCB Morgan State. Since the Knights' three-point loss to Cinncinati (Big East champs) on Oct. 11, they've won all six games since. That's right, a team that went 1-5 to start 2008, is now guaranteed a bowl bid, at 7-5.

Rutgers players were ready to kill each other during the bad start, and the fan base was calling for QB Mike Teel's head. Even head coach Greg Schiano was getting some heat.

Where is that program now? The Scarlet Knights crushed Pittsburgh and South Florida, and completely demolished Louisville last night on national television. Rutgers could end up going to the Sun Bowl–not a bad ending to what was looking to be a pretty dreadful season.

Oh yeah, and Mike Teel? He only went 21-for-26, 447 yards, no interceptions and SEVEN (7) touchdowns against the Cardinals. If Coach of the Year was based on which head man led his team to the biggest intra-season turnaround, my vote would go to Schiano. Remember, it's easy to lead a team that's happy, talented and benefitted from a few other teams flopping. I'm not saying Cincinnati's Brian Kelly doesn't deserve Big East Coach of the Year. I really like the guy, and think he's one of the best coaches in the game. But no one can say Schiano doesn't deserve consideration for what he was able to pull out of his team this season.

I'm just sayin...

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Labor Day: Not for College Football

Just because the rest of us had the day off, doesn't mean college football did the same. Rutgers did more to beat themselves than Fresno State, and Tennessee kicks off at UCLA in a few minutes. It's been a sloppy weekend so far, and the first game today did nothing to buck that trend. Can UCLA/Tennessee do anything to resemble a good game? I'm not so sure about that. I'll give UT the edge right now. Actually, it will be more than an edge. UT should run up four touchdowns, while UCLA will struggle to do much on offense. Hmmm... Tennessee 31, UCLA 14.

Coming tomorrow: My Top 25; Joe Paterno's press conference coverage.

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NY Times and the Syracuse Orange(men)

I don't regularly read the NYT down here in DC, what with the Post and all. But I was ferociously searching for something to write about today, and stumbled upon the NYT's blog The Quad. Not too bad, more about general college sports than a football blog, but still fun to read. They're doing a countdown of the 119 (or 120, I don't exactly know) teams until the season starts. I was curious to see where some of our opponents ended up.

Ironically, Syracuse was the lowest ranked of all Penn State's opponents--No. 98.

"...Game(s) to watch: The first month of the season. The Orange could enter October at 2-3 or even 1-4, in which case it’s another losing season and the door for Greg Robinson. However, if the ‘Cuse can get a win at Northwestern and steal one at home against Penn State or Pittsburgh, then it will go into the Big East schedule 4-1, needing only two or three wins the rest of the way to make a bowl game."

Not exactly the glowing prospects of, say, nearly all other teams this year. I agree with most of this. It's not hard to predict a team like the Orange(men), but I really can't believe that they would take the shot in the dark to pick PSU as a possible upset. I don't like Pitt, but I'll go so far as to say I wouldn't even pick Syracuse over the Panthers. Not in a million years, never mind over Penn State. Get real. But moving on.

..."Quick facts: When I refer to Greg Robinson as the worst thing to ever happen to Syracuse football, this is not just an opinion. The numbers back me up. No coach in Orange history had ever lost 10 games in a season — Robinson has done it twice in three years. No Orange coach with more than two years on the job has compiled a losing record — Robinson’s career winning percentage is .200. His two predecessors, Dick McPherson and Paul Pasqualoni, won at least seven games 12 out of 13 years from 1987-99; Robinson has won seven in his first three years combined. ‘Cuse fans can bemoan how Pasqualoni allowed the Orange to slip in his last six years (39-33 from 1999-2004) but I would venture to guess that most, if not all, Orange fans would accept a similar record over the next six years. The program that gave us Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Larry Csonka, Art Monk and Donovan McNabb, among others, deserves better."

I with Syracuse could get its act together. I'm an eastern kid, growing up in New Jersey with Penn State, Syracuse, Boston College and the like, doing well every year and stealing the headlines. Eastern football is going to come back. Penn State, BC and WVU are helping that along, but without Syracuse, frankly, it won't happen. Rutgers can't replace the Orange(men), no matter how hard they try. Penn State should roll in the Carrier Dome, but I'll save my prediction for game week.

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Schiano to PSU in 2009?

The whole 'Schiano might succeed Paterno' base is getting all riled up, with The Phanatic Magazine reporting that the final details are being worked out by the Lasch Building suits and Schiano. Uh huh, right...

For a detailed rundown of the situation, I'll send you over to BSD, where Mike has way more time than I do to get something out right away on this:

"[Schiano] took a position as a graduate assistant at Rutgers after college and one year later accepted a job as a graduate assistant at Penn State in 1990. One year later he was promoted to defensive back coach where he served under Paterno from 1991-1995. In 1996 he was hired by Dave Wannstedt as an assistant defensive coach for the Chicago Bears. Serving in that role for two years he was promoted to defensive back coach. One year later he accepted a position as defensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes. He was with the Hurricanes during the 1999-2000 seasons in which Miami was 12th and 5th in the country in defensive points allowed those two years.

In December of 2000 Schiano accepted the head coaching job at Rutgers where he has coached ever since. He took over a struggling program that had only appeared in one bowl games in their entire history. Schiano struggled his first few years failing to achieve a winning record. But several years of good recruiting started to pay off in 2005 when the Knights won seven games and an invitation to the Insight Bowl. Though they lost the game 40-45 to Arizona, everyone could tell progress was being made. In 2006 Rutgers experienced their best year since 1976 going 11-2, winning the Texas Bowl, and finishing the season ranked #12 in the country. An amazing feat for a program that only won one game just four years earlier. In 2007 Rutgers went to their third straight bowl game winning the International Bowl against Ball State."

In case you didn't go to BSD before reading this, I'll remind you that this is just a part of what Mike had to say. So go check it out, and then come back after dinner to check out what I have to say.

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Ranking the bowl games, Part 1

Yes, this is completely my opinion. How I ranked the bowls were based completely on how much I will pay attention to each game. This has nothing to do with intriguing national story lines, talent match ups or whether or not Stewart Mandel thinks it's worth watching. (or any of the other "experts'" bowl rankings) Also, you can just assume PSU vs. TA&M is ranked No. 1 in my mind, just because I want to see the Lions play more than any other team. That ranking has nothing to do with ratings appeal and such. So, here's the other 31 bowls:

32. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 21, 5 p.m.) Memphis vs. FAU - Absolutely horrid game, not worthy of ESPNplus+ coverage in August. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: FAU 30, Memphis 17.

31. New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 22, 1:30 p.m.) Nevada vs. New Mexico - Besides the fact that Nevada almost beat "The U" up in the Humanitarium Bowl, there is nothing in this game that will hold even a five year old's interest. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: New Mexico 42, Nevada 31

30. GMAC Bowl (Jan. 6, 5 p.m.) Bowling Green vs. Tulsa - How dare they call themselves a "January Bowl Game," without even one BCS school on the field. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: Tulsa 27, BGSU 21.

29. Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (Dec. 23, 5 p.m.) Boise State vs. East Carolina - I've got a lot of shopping to do, but if I'm home for dinner, I'll throw this one on. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: BSU 52, ECU 21.

28. Roady's Humanitarian Bowl (Dec. 31, 11 a.m.) Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State - If you can see the players' breath during a bowl game, is it really a privilege to play in it? Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: GT 24, FSU 13.

27. Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 31, 9:30 a.m.) California vs. Air Force - Just seeing if the Bears can complete their colapse will be good enough for me. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: AF 28, Cal 27.

26. Motor City Bowl (Dec. 26, 4:30 p.m.) Purdue vs. Central Michigan - I hate rematches in bowl games, mainly when the regular season score was so lopsided. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: PU 41, CMU 28.

25. Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 22, 5 p.m.) UCLA vs. Brigham Young - Did I mention I hate rematches? Well, this one may not be so bad. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: BYU 28, UCLA 14.

24. International Bowl (Jan. 5, 9 a.m.) Rutgers vs. Ball State - Another bowl posing as a "January Bowl," but at least this one has a BCS team in it. It's only this high because I like the Scarlet Knights. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: RU 34, BSU 7.
23. San Diego County Credit Union Bowl (Dec. 20, 6 p.m.) Utah vs. Navy - I like watching Navy's offense, and should be interesting against the spread. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: Navy 24, Utah 21.

22. Texas Bowl (Dec. 28, 5 p.m.) TCU vs. Houston - This game really isn't significant outside of the Lonestar State, but their tradition is better that some other match ups. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: TCU 17, UH 14.

21. PapaJohns.com Bowl (Dec. 22, 10 a.m.) Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati - Morning kickoffs suck, but otherwise I'd say this was a decent game. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: Cincy 33, USM 20.

20. PetroSun Independence Bowl (Dec. 30, 5 p.m.) Alabama vs. Colorado - Big names without the big bang are on this game's slate, but I'll still watch for tradition's sake. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: CU 28, Bama 21.

19. Emerald Bowl (Dec. 28, 5 p.m.) Maryland vs. Oregon State - This one could be interesting, but it's really about how much weight will it carry for each team going into 2008. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: OSU 35, UMD 24.

18. Meineke Car Care Bowl (Dec. 29, 10 a.m.) Connecticut vs. Wake Forest - - Randy Edsall against Jim Grobe will be more interesting to watch than the player match ups. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: WF 27, UConn 20.

17. AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Dec. 29, 1:30 p.m.) Central Florida vs. Mississippi State - Between Kevin Smith nearing the record and MSU finally reaching a bowl, this one has enough spark. Off the cuff, no-research involved pick: UCF 20, MSU 14.

Well, there you go for my "I guess I'll flip it on" bowl games. Check back tomorrow afternoon for Part 2, the "I'm going to be really pissed if I miss this" bowl games.

What's your favorite match up this bowl season?

Part 2

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