Keep the lights off, kickoff set for Purdue game
It just doesn’t seem as if the Nittany Lions will be playing under the lights in Happy Valley this season.
Keep in mind that the Penn State/Alabama White House game can still be scheduled later than the traditional 3:30 afternoon slot as the networks did for the 2007 White House that featured a non-traditional 6 pm kick-off against Notre Dame.
Fans still holding out hope for CBS to jump at the opportunity of a primetime Penn State/Alabama broadcast will also be disappointed. Even CBS with their television agreements with the SEC is contractually unable to carry the game. Firstly, they only have the rights to SEC home games and secondly, CBS is already scheduled to broadcast US Open tennis that evening.
Today’s decision marks the second announced start time for the 2011 season, the other being a primetime game in Evanston against Northwestern on the Big Ten Network. Though unlike the Northwestern game, the game against the Boilermakers might still be picked up by ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 depending on both teams’ records by Week 7.
It is plausible for the Nittany Lions who play 4 of their first 6 games (5 when you consider the game against Temple in Phladelphia a home game) in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium, to head into the Purdue game sporting a 5-1 record (loss to Alabama). And should Purdue take care of business against Notre Dame in Week 5 and Minnesota in Week 6 (both home games), the Boilermakers could very well be headed to Beaver Stadium with an unblemished 5-0 record. Any other scenario would likely relegate Penn State’s homecoming clash to ESPN2 or the BTN.
Quick Hits. … A good read about future Penn State QB walk-on John Cabot out of Torrey Pines, California who turned down scholarship offers from Idaho and Northern Colorado to attend Penn State 2,645 miles away. Gotta love a kid willing to pay his own way just to play for Joe Paterno and the Blue and White. … Andy Katz of ESPN has a couple of candidates that might be willing to return Tim Curley’s phone calls at this late juncture. Same names being tossed around; Rob Jeter (Milwaukee), Pat Chambers (Boston University), Bruiser Flint (Drexel), Tom Herrion (Marshall), Jeff Boals (Ohio State assistant coach), Ron Everhart (Duquesne), Dino Gaudio (Wake Forest) and Al Skinner (Boston College). … For fans who think Penn State can cherry pick successful mid-major coaches simply because of our Big Ten affiliation, think again. Mid-majors like VCU is even increasing it’s mandatory student fees by $50 so it can raise money for it’s athletics programs including more than $733,000 for it’s basketball program, including for coaches rasies. While DeChellis is no Shaka Smart, DeChellis’ salary of $709,372 will no longer cut it. By comparison, VCU’s head coach Shaka Smart made $1.2 million last season. It’s time for Penn State to open its wallets, and take advantage of our STEP and Big Ten network revenue. … To pile on the Ohio State schadenfreude, George Dohrmann, Pulitzer prize winning writer for SI has been on location in Columbus investigating the Ohio State Buckeyes. Though no piece has been written, or a decision by SI to publish anything, rumors are swirling about what he has found. … Just a side note, I wonder if George Dohrmann also flaunts his Pulitzer prize around like beat columnist Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror does with his “3 dozen national and state journalism awards” whenever confronted by basement bloggers.