Ohio State response to NCAA misses the mark, 2010 season sacrificed
July 8, 2011 – | No Comment

A little over six months since Terrelle Pryor and 4 other Buckeye players were officially accused of selling memorabilia for improper benefits, Ohio State has finally prepared a response to the NCAA.

Photo Credit: Jeff Hickley …

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Blue White Round Table – Kevin’s Take on Syracuse

Submitted by kevin on September 9, 2009 – 2:51 pmNo Comment

Time once again to sit down to the Blue White Round Table and provide my feedback to the questions asked of me. Questions this week are brought to you by Jeff from Nittany Lounge.

Here are this week’s participants as well:

We Want the Lion
W.F. Yurasko

Happy Hour Valley

Penn State Clips

Zombie Nation

Nittany Lounge

Don’t forget about Charlie’s answers as well.

1. Coach Paterno says the biggest improvement in a team happens between week one and week two of the season.  What area needs most improvement?  What facet of play needs the least improvement?

I believe the running game needs the most work and it all starts with the offensive line. I fully expected for Evan Royster to have 100+ yards and a pair of touchdown runs. The success of the passing game may have taken away from the need to establish the run but looking at the numbers shows that Penn State had 136 rushing yards for the game. Remember that 37 of those yards came on a fake punt. That is an area that needs the most improvement.

The part of the team that concerns me the least is without a doubt the linebackers. Sure, Navorro Bowman is not expected to see any time this weekend, but Sean Lee was an animal last week and Josh Hull carried his weight well. If the front seven continue to put the pressure on like they did last week, Penn State should have a good season.

Penn State's defense should beat up on the Stallion offense from Syracuse.
Penn State's defense should beat up on the Stallion offense from Syracuse.
2. Syracuse is running what it calls the Stallion, a form of the Wildcat offense.  It appeared to be effective against Minnesota.  At one point during the Minnesota game, Syracuse had run the Stallion seven times, averaging over six yards per play.  What does the PSU rush defense need to do break the Stallion?

Not much. Penn State’s defense has a history of stifling gimmicky offenses and I expect that the Stallion scheme may put together a couple nice plays, but I fail to recognize it as a legitimate threat. Given the talent level and football IQ on the field in blue and white I do not think the Syracuse offense will have much success no matter what formation they line up in.

Unless the Orange have the Italian Stallion himself lining up in the backfield, there should be no worries from Penn State fans.

Syracuse quarerback Greg Paulus could have a long day against Penn State.
Syracuse quarerback Greg Paulus could have a long day against Penn State.
3. Minnesota squeaked out a win against the Orange(men).  What expectation does this create for Penn State when playing Syracuse?  And perhaps more importantly since it is a conference game, Minnesota?

Syracuse may have played Minnesota to the end but they still showed some short comings. The Orange only managed to total 257 yards of offense and did so against a Minnesota defense that is not exactly filled with the Purple People Eaters. I think the expectation of a dominating Penn State victory remains at the same level as it did before the season started.

As for Minnesota, it is still too early to draw any ideas about the Golden Gophers just yet. It was just one game and we will need to see more from them before we can get ready to mark down a victory for the Nittany Lions just yet.

4. This week next year Penn State will be playing Alabama on the road.  What do you think about State playing Bama instead of the Cuse?  Would you rather be tailgating in Happy Valley and attending another FCS beat down?  Or sitting at home watching the game on the big screen?  Should the Big Ten play at least one OOC game per year with the SEC or Big 12?

In a utopian society for Penn State football fans the Nittany Lions would leave the Big Ten and play Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Miami, Maryland every year fill up their out of conference schedule with their old rivals like Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Maryland, and Syracuse and make sure to schedule one game against a top team from another power conference.Rivalries are a special part of college football and Penn State is the highest caliber program without a true rival.

Alabama has Auburn. Texas has Oklahoma. Florida has Florida State. USC has UCLA (and perhaps Notre Dame). Ohio State has Michigan. Heck, even BYU has Utah! Who does Penn State have? At the moment it just might be Temple, and that is truly sad.

Playing home and homes against teams like Notre Dame, Virginia, Nebraska, and Alabama is nice, but it would be special if Penn State could work something out to ensure they play these type of games every season. Maybe it is getting better, but at the most we will see one “premiere” team a season, if we are lucky.

Of course a Big Ten-ACC challenge idea would be awesome to see in football. If the Big East could get back up to par it would be interesting to see the entire north east region of the country duking it out for bragging rights. But I would love to see some in-season competition against a conference like the Big XII, ACC or SEC. Let’s see those southern schools come up north and play for a change.

Extra Points

1. The current line is -28.  Cover or Not? Nope.

2. Does Penn State show up for the second half? Yes, until the fourth quarter

3. True/False: Syracuse is a better opponent than Akron. Sorry to weasel my way out of this one, but I need more information on both teams. Gut reaction says False, but I have a feeling Syracuse is going to be a tougher team this season.

4. Fact or Fiction: Sue Paterno once painted the Nittany Lion statue orange. According to my sources, this is a fact. I will continue the request for students and fans to guard the Nittany Lion statues this weekend as who knows what those Syracuse fans will be up too. They made the trip down here and will likely return home with another humbling defeat. They may as well do something to brag about!