Did somebody say Blue White Round Table???

Hate those Gophers!

Already settled in at their seat are the following, in no particular order…

The Nittany Line
Zombie Nation
2 the Lion
W. F. Yurasko
Penn State Clips
Nittany Lounge
Happy Hour Valley

Below are my responses to the questions asked of us all.

How does Penn State stop the Minnesota offense (a/k/a Eric Decker)?

Look, Decker may be the best wide receiver in the Big Ten. My game plan for Decker would be to use a bend but don’t break mentality. Much like Penn State played against Arrelious Benn of Illinois, as long as decker doesn’t make too many big plays to sustain long drives for the Gophers there really should be no reason to fear Minnesota.

Quarterback Adam Weber, whose name I believe I butchered in my video preview, has the kind of talent to be among the best quarterbacks in the conference, but he is also prone to making mistakes. Their passing game, despite having Decker and Weber ranks fourth from the bottom in the Big Ten and their offensive line has allowed the second most sacks with 15 (Illinois has allowed 19 sacks).

In all seriousness, what else do the Gophers have to offer?

Is Minnesota’s defense as awful as their statistical rankings make it look?

Minnesota has recorded 12 sacks this season, which is fourth from the bottom of the Big Ten. they have allowed the fourth most passing yards and the second most rushing yards in the Big Ten. Twice have they allowed a running back to record a 100 yard game (although one was to Cal’s Jahvid Best).  They have held their opponents to under 20 points in a game just once.

Yes, their defense is pretty bad and the numbers do not lie.

Mid-point of the season, which of the PSU freshmen do you project as future stars?

Is Kevin Newsome too obvious? I’ll keep him out of the conversation. I was happy to see Justin Brown get some work recently at wide receiver and I anticipate some good things from him. But the most notable freshmen are on the defense with Stephon Morris and Gerald Hodges. Both have seen more playing time due to some suspensions and such but both have made some nice plays that seem to forshadow what could be in the future for Penn State and the defense.

LIGHTNING ROUND!

Where were you when Minnesota got lucky because Penn State did not put them away at Homecoming ’99?

I was sitting in the living room of my friend’s house preparing for a high school band competition. We got together at Mitchell’s house to watch the game before practicing at the school. Naturally I expected to be heading to our band finals in good spirits, but it was not to be as Minnesota knocked off a Penn State team that was cruising to a national championship that season. Needless to say I was less than enthusiastic to go out and perform that night in Hershey.

Will Minnesota open with an on-side kick?

No.

What is your best homecoming memory (that you can say in this forum at least :p)?

I do not have on in particular, unless you want me to talk about my Homecoming experiences at Shippensburg or in high school, but I always enjoy watching the Alumni Blue Band take the field every time I get a chance to head to a Homecoming game in State College.

I’ll be there this weekend so hopefully I can bring home a new memory or two, or three!