What a defensive battle. Traditional Big Ten football at its finest. No turnovers until late in the fourth, 0 penalties on Penn State, grind-it-out, smashmouth football. Call me a traditionalist, but I love games like the one that played out this past saturday. Add that to the 05′ Penn State-Ohio State battle and this is growing into something of a rivalry if I dare say so.

Decided by field position, both defenses absolutely took over the game. Unfortunately, many in the national media have used that as an indication that this game is less spectacular than the basketball on grass version of college football being played in the Big 12. Somehow 2 years ago when West Virginia and Louisville put over 1000 yards of offense on each other scoring near the 100s combined, it was seen as an absolutely disgusting display of defense being ignored completely. No one once showered Louisville quarterback Brohm and Pat White with the praises Colt McCoy is getting.

But now that the almost identical version of college football is being played in the Big 12, somehow things are different. That it is how college football should be played. Defense battles are now seen as the inability to compete with high scoring offenses.

Why isn’t Texas being punished for Oklahoma’s blunders in the last few BCS games. Remember losing to Boise State? (They weren’t even from a major conference). Remember being shellacked by West Virginia without their actual coach? (The same West Virginia that supposedly plays in a weak Big East) And remember limping out of their national title game against USC by a even worst margin than Ohio State’s loss in the title game?

At least Ohio State lost in the big game against elite competition. Oklahoma had the same futility in the BCS, except against much inferior competition and somehow the nation media convieniently forgets it. Now somehow by beating that very Oklahoma team this year, Texas is vaulted to the elite. But beating Ohio State has now been equated to climbing 12 flights of stairs.

I’m not going to continue pressing on this matter much longer, the season will play out and two of the best teams will end up playing in Miami, but let me say this. There are “writers” out there in the national media who have give no constructive criticism other than weak schedule claiming particular teams don’t “belong” in the title game. Schedules are made months if not years in advance and to punish a team and call a group of kids who work their asses off year round inferior is not only the same thing as booing college kids on the field when they are playing their best, but worst.

Instead of arguing the merits of the team (offense, defense, special team play), they rip into them using the failed chances of an entirely different team from past seasons. Well as we argued above, if that is the case, Texas should be dragged down with Oklahoma’s inability to compete in the big stage then too shouldn’t they?

Its understandable if Penn State was sitting pretty at #1 or #2 and deserved any criticism to drop them a spot or two for a more deserving team. But Penn State at #3 is already on the outside looking in, and any further critisim is like kicking a dead deer on the street.