So, I’ve decided to take the plunge and attempt this “guest blogger Q&A” stuff. And what better time to start than with a traditional Eastern foe coming to town this weekend in Syracuse?
1. Last year, I did a fake interview with your mascot. Tell me why you will make a better subject this time around.
Because unlike him (or it), my arms are beneath my ears. Mentally, it doesn’t make a different but aesthetically…it’s a world of change. It’s just not right, anatomically. Stare at Otto long enough and you want to perform reconstructive surgery right then and there with whatever tools are handy.
2. What is up with all this hoopla about Syracuse’s “Stallion” formation? From what I’ve read, it sounds like the Wildcat except with a slightly less masculine name. Explain to me the difference between the two (if there is any).
Honestly, the first time it was mentioned during the game was the first time we heard about it as well. And you’re right, I’m pretty sure it’s just a manlier-sounding version of the Wildcat.
It’s great for SU because it allows us to equally utilize our weapons in the backfield. Delone Carter is our power/up-and-down guy and he works well out of the normal set. Antwon Bailey is shiftier and made for this kind of unique set. It’s a great change of pace and should keep defenses on their toes. And its much better than Bailey sitting on the bench most of the time being wasted…His talent, I meant, not him actually being drunk on the sidelines. Least not until Week 7.
3. What improvements do you see already with Doug Marrone at the helm of ‘Cuse football? Are they enough to perhaps do the unthinkable and have Saturday’s outcome still up in the air after three quarters?
Well…let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The off-the-field improvements that Doug Marrone have made are, to use his favorite word, tremendous. He’s brought back all of the old traditions, he’s instilled a sense of pride in the players that seemed to be lacking and he’s gotten rid of the culture of losing that existed, cliche as that sounds. Only through the improvements that Doug has made have we truly learned how undisciplined a Greg Robinson-led program really was.
In the weight room, on the practice field and off the field altogether, a Doug Marrone program is actually one that measures itself by results, not by what-if’s and we’ll-get’m-next-time-a-tude.
All of that said, will we win this weekend. I don’t think so. All the improvements in the world can’t make up for the athlete gap that exists. We saw that against Minnesota and it will be EXTREMELY obviously this weekend against Penn State. That will come with time, recruiting and success. We’ll get there…but we’re not there yet.
4. What’s one asset about Syracuse football right now that you feel the average college football fan doesn’t know?
Because he missed all of last season, Mike Williams comes into this year a relative unknown quantity. Which is funny, because he’s freakin’ amazing. He’s currently on a 10-game-touchdown streak, he owns multiple SU receiving records and he’s going to break a whole lot more this season. He’s absolutely going to be drafted after the season and he’s going to have a highlight reel that will stand up there with the best of them.
We might not win on Saturday but if #1 gets his hands on the ball enough times, look out. He’s a bonafide superstar.
5. Greg Paulus is garnering all the attention right now for your team but he’s gone after this year. What does the future hold for the QB position at Syracuse? Is Marrone already working his recruiting magic to bring in a quality replacement? Marrone has alreadt brought in a couple recruits to help rebuild the Syracuse quarterback position to prominence, though he’s actually got a decent guy in the mix already. Redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib was named the starter before camp this year but lost his spot to Paulus. That probably ends up being a huge blessing in disguise as it gives him another season to prepare and do so under Paulus. Plus. I’m sure he’ll see some playing time in a couple games, possibly even this weekend if it gets out of hand.
So at the moment Nassib is the assumed starter next year. But we’ve also already got a guy named Charley Loeb in waiting and incoming recruit John Kinder has been called the best quarterback on Long Island, whatever that’s worth. And there’s also Jonny Miller out of Colorado, a dual-threat QB prospect who fits what Marrone and OC Rob Spence are looking for down the road.
The Orange will have enough warm bodies at quarterback. The only question is whether or not one of them can step in to handle the kind of offense Spence wants to run ideally (see Clemson’s offense the last couple years).
6. Speaking of Paulus (you knew this was coming, too): Give me an over/under on the number of times he flops this weekend. Oh, and give us a score prediction as well.
Well, I don’t foresee too many unassisted flops from Greg this weekend but given the O-line problems and the beasts dressed in white across from them, I’m guessing Greg ends up on the floor at least 5-6 times. He’ll be right at home.
After last year’s debacle, I’ll just be happy if the Orange remain semi-competitive and cover the spread. Moral victories are for suckers, but at least it’s improvement. Penn State 42, Syracuse 21
Apologies for the delay, but here it is: The thrilling conclusion to a football preview that’s sweeping the PSU internets (whatever the hell that’s supposed mean). Part 3 will cover the remainder of the games on the regular season slate.
Starting fresh? Check out Part 1 and Part 2 then get back to this.
Oct. 31 at Northwestern – How fitting that this game is on Halloween. It’s not uncommon for a trip to Ryan Field for a highly-regarded Big Ten program to end up becoming a spooky nightmare of a contest that occasionally results in Northwestern actually winning (see: Michigan in 2000, Ohio State in 2004).
Head coach Pat Fitzgerald is a man who knows first-hand what it’s like to beat Penn State, he did so as a linebacker on the 1995 Northwestern squad that blitzkreiged the Big Ten and went to the Rose Bowl that year. That, my friends, is something to cringe under your blanket with the flashlight on.
Pat Fitzgerald in his linebacking days at Northwestern. Be afraid, be very afraid.
PSU wins by: The skin of their teeth, after being chased around all day by a mystery linebacker wearing #51 who is finally knocked down in the fourth quarter with a direct elbow shot by Daryll Clark. The linebacker is then unmasked by Clark, and revealed to actually be Pat Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald swears he would’ve gotten away with the upset “if it weren’t for you meddling kids.”
Nov. 7th vs. Ohio State – Will the stakes be as high this time around? Will the Buckeyes reach the end zone? Will Graham Zug have a field day against the OSU secondary? Will Terrelle Pryor cry again when PSU wins consecutive games in this series for the first time as a Big Ten member?
Unfortunately, we can’t divulge any of this information right now, you’ll just have to wait until the November 7 release date to find out…
Will there be an encore of this now-famous image? One can only hope.
PSU wins by: You’ll find out in a couple of months…Or tomorrow, if you’re able to find a leaked copy on BitTorrent.
Nov. 14th vs. Indiana- If only IU’s players were as talented at football as head coach Bill Lynch is at hitting on sorostitutes, the possibilites would be limitless. Lynch also possesses other great talents such as switching his most skilled position players to different positions (see: Ray Fisher and the now dearly departed Kellen Lewis) and moving the state of Indiana to the East Coast.
You only wish you were half as talented as Bill Lynch.
PSU wins by: Forfeit, after Lynch agrees to $5 million in gold plus ownership of The End Zone in exchange for a win.
Nov. 21st at Michigan State - I’ve insisted before that Mark Dantonio is the MacGyver of college football coaches, having taken a not-so-talented roster and eeking out a bowl berth in his first year in East Lansing. Still, I have to wonder if Dantonio will be exposed as a MacGruber this year now that MSU is being mentioned as a darkhorse pick to win the Big Ten.
Something tells me that Mark Dantonio and MSU will disappoint just a little bit. Call it a hunch.
PSU wins by: Racking up a ton of points in the first half, pissing off Dantonio to the point where he burns all of his timeouts early in the second half in an effort to “freeze” an already-celebratory PSU sideline. The MSU fans will of course, retaliate by booing Dantonio and chucking snowballs at their own coach.
So, the Big Ten Network kicks off its third season of “Greatest Games” tonight with a replay of the 1989 Holiday Bowl in which Penn State knocked off BYU 50-39 in a game that featured video-game-like offensive fireworks and involved both teams scoring in just about every way possible, including PSU intercepting a tying two-point conversion attempt by BYU and taking it back to the opposite end zone for two points themselves. PSU also allowed a school-record 579 yards passing and won the game only after stripping the ball away from BYU QB Ty Detmer and running it in for a TD (i.e. “strip-six”) in the game’s final minute. Undoubtedly, it was one of the wildest bowl endings in PSU history, right up there with the 2006 Orange Bowl and 1987 Fiesta Bowl.
However, the one thing I know BTN will be lacking tonight is hilarious running commentary of the Cheap Seats variety. The now-defunct ESPN Classic show, featuring the Sklar brothers making fun of vintage sporting events Mystery Science Theater 3000-style, actually covered this game a few years ago. If you’re a huge fan of awesomely bad video production, announcers who state the obvious, and lots of Mormon jokes, you’ll definitely want to watch the videos below, in order.
In case you’re just getting acquainted, check out Part One.
For those of you who’ve been anxiously awaiting Part Two, the wait is over. Today, we’ll be covering all of the October schedule sans the Halloween showdown at Northwestern.
October 3rd at Illinois – What a difference a year makes. Without the defender of the free world J. Leman anchoring the defense, the Fighting Zookers went into a tailspin after coming off an improbable Rose Bowl appearance the year before.
The offense will undoubtedly be a juggernaut with Juice Williams QB’ing the way along with a kickass backfield and Arrelious Benn actually having some support on the receiving staff. The defense on the other hand..Yeah, let’s not get into that, shall we?
No J. Leman, no hope.
PSU wins by: Just coming up with one defensive stop.
October 10th vs. Eastern Illinois – Former Iowa and current Eastern Illinois QB Jake Christensen will get a chance to do what nobody in college football history has done before: Getting his ass kicked in Beaver Stadium twice on two separate teams.
Jake Christensen will remind himself of just how delicious Beaver Stadium's turf-grass tastes when Eastern Illinois visits in October.
Did I also mention that E.Illinois’ coach’s last name is “Spoo?” I just chuckled quietly to myself as I typed that last sentence.
PSU wins by: Showering Jake Christensen with a barrage of Spoo (Don’t give me that look! You saw it approaching from a mile away).
October 17th vs. Minnesota – QB Adam Weber and WR Eric Decker are the Big Ten’s Montana and Rice…If you ask Tim Brewster, that is. Too bad the other twenty starters suck.
PSU wins by: Having Beaver Stadium personnel jam all cell phone and wireless internet signals, thereby forcing Brewster to suffer through three-and-a-half hours of Twitter withdrawal.
October 24th at Michigan – Rich Rodriguez is Michigan’s version of John Cooper, except far more douchey and polarizing, if you can imagine that. Dick Rod is also under investigation for practice hours that would put Chinese shoe factories to shame. He is arguably the greatest thing ever to happen to Penn State football and I hope Michigan does the right thing and gives him a lifetime extension.
Dick Rod gives a hearty thumbs-up to "cheap slave labor"
PSU wins by: Forfeit, after Michigan’s players violently revolt against Dick Rod (See video below. Don’t worry, it’s totally safe for work)
Yep, It’s That Time Of The Year: Time for a new crop of incoming freshmen to learn the meaning what it takes to represent the best football student section in the country. The picture above, courtesy of Jay Paterno’s twitter page, was taken from last night’s “Be A Part From The Start” re-education camp organized by the Lion Ambassadors student organization. In a nutshell, the camp’s purpose is to fire up the frosh about the upcoming football season and more importantly, teach them the concept of serving the Dear Leader Joe Paterno and Overlord Graham Zug, as every good member of the PSU student section should do.
If JayPa’s latest tweet is any indication, things are looking bright for the future of the student section. While I don’t have any insider video footage of the indoctrination session, the video below gives you an idea of what it’s like, just replace ‘United States government’ with ‘Ohio State.’
Because Preseason Rankings Mean So Much: The AP released its pre-season poll this weekend, and PSU finds itself tied for 9th with Oklahoma State (table courtesy of BSD)
I have no qualms with the Top 4, but Bama, OSU, and Va Tech seem to be generously ranked in their respective spots; Bama brought in a killer recruiting class but is only returning four offensive starters (albeit, that includes world-beating WR Julio Jones), OSU is replacing key players on offense and defense, not to mention Terrelle Pryor has yet to show anyone he can throw the ball consistently, and Va Tech lacks any semblance of a passing attack. Hell, PSU is ranked a few spots too high if you ask me, there’s too many question-marks at receiver, the offensive line, and especially in the secondary.
That’s right, I’ve finally come up with a name for all future segments involving me putting up a bunch of links and cracking corny jokes wherever possible: “Not-So-Deep Thoughts.” In case you’re not familiar enough with your old-school SNL, here’s where I drew the inspiration for the name. Now, let’s get started, shall we?
Here’s Something You Never Saw on “Raymond” – Patricia Heaton of the Everybody Loves Raymond fame recently made a celebrity guest appearance for a special 10th anniversary edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in an effort to raise money for an African charity. Heaton, an Ohio State alum, told Regis Philbin before the question was revealed “You know, I went to Ohio State, right? I don’t know that much.” and then proceeded to struggle with a simple math question (Quick, what’s $1.50 x 5?) which she needed to use a “phone-a-friend” for, leading to her equally as bright husband unable to correctly answer himself.
To add insult to injury, stay tuned for next week’s Millionaire as Zombie Gerald Ford comes back from the dead and uses his Michigan education to answer a difficult question about 19th century poets, all without the aid of a lifeline, raising tens of thousands of dollars that will go towards the construction of a Betty Ford Clinic in the afterlife.
“Made It, Ma! Top Of The Depth Chart!” – Well, it’s official: Greg Paulus is now the starting QB at Syracuse. This pretty much guarantees that the Big Ten Network will have a flop on its hands come September 12 when the ‘Cuse pay a visit to Happy Valley.
Just remember, Greg: There's no such thing as a penalty flag thrown for a "charge"
Message Board Haters, Rejoice: You know who I’m talking about of course: The numerous people that can be found on FOS and other PSU boards who are always looking for potential flaws to bitch about, whether its the adequacy of the strength and conditioning program, the fact that we don’t have Daryll Clark run 15 yards backwards and have him throw off his back foot because it works so well in video games, or that undersized white former walk-on seeing lots of playing time.
After an unusual summer full of mostly great news though, (thanks to our kick-ass recruiting haul so far) the haters finally got something to hate on this week when probable starting linebacker Michael Mauti tore his ACL, thus ensuring a starting job for the much-maligned Josh Hull…Merry Christmas, haters.
Here’s Some More Penn Staters “On Notice” – The preseason watch lists for the Bronco Nagurski Award given to the nation’s best defensive player were revealed today. Seven of the numerous names listed are representing the Big Ten, including LaVarro Bowman, Sean Lee, and Jared Odrick. Also note that players not currently on the watch list but who are named the Bronco Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week are added to the list during the season. I’m looking in your direction, Jack Crawford.
Highlight Reel FAIL: Somewhere amongst the vast plains of YouTube, I discovered this gem of a highlight reel created by a Kentucky fan of QB Tim Couch’s solid performance against PSU in the 1999 Outback Bowl. Too bad Kentucky lost that game, by the way.
The best part of the video is seeing Kentucky stuck at 14 points while PSU’s points gradually increase with each subsequent “highlight.” Pure unintentional comedy gold, indeed. Even the spin doctors at The Penn State Football Story are probably impressed.
It seems like every website is doing a Top XX players to look out for in 2009 these days, and one recurring theme I’ve noticed is that Terrelle Pryor gets ranked generously high on all them. It’s undoubtedly annoying, considering how shaky of a passer he was last season and has yet to prove himself as a true dual-threat QB but it’s to be expected given TP’s potential to explode onto the scene any minute now, much like the #1-ranked recruit in the nation that he was last year.
Scout.com however, has taken the TP hype-fest to a whole new level. Observe:
9. QB Terrelle Pryor, Soph., Ohio State The super-recruit who kept Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State fans waiting on the edge of their seats was the team’s best quarterback from the moment he arrived on campus, but the coaching staff still went with Todd Boeckman early on and gave Pryor a few drives here and there to throw defenses a curve ball. He completed 7-of-9 passes against USC, and ran for 40 yards, and he threw four touchdown passes in a win over Troy, but his era truly arrived late in an early October game against Wisconsin. He only ran for 20 yards on the day and he completed 13-of-19 passes for 144 yards with an interception, but when he had to, he came up with a tremendous late scoring drive for the 20-17 win. This offseason, the 6-6, 235-pound sophomore with elite speed busted his tail to become a better quarterback, and worked his arm to the point of exhaustion with throw after throw after throw to improve his accuracy. While he still needs technique work, and he’s still going to rely on his legs more often than not, he should be a far more confident passer and he should do far more for the offense.
Alright that wasn’t the disturbing part but wait for it…
66. QB Daryll Clark, Sr., Penn State With a sixth year of eligibility, Clark is back after an MVP-caliber season (even though Iowa’s Shonn Greene was the Big Ten Player of the Year) completing 60% of his throws for 2,592 yards with 19 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also ran for 282 yards and ten touchdowns. At 6-2 and 233 pounds, he’s a thick, tough, strong player with excellent mobility and a great command of the offense. With so many new pieces to the Penn State offensive puzzle, he’ll have to be even steadier this season. With his experience, he appears ready to make everyone around him better. The one question mark is his ability in the clutch. While he helped lead the way to an Alamo Bowl win over Texas A&M two years ago, he threw a key late interception against Iowa that ended up leading to the Hawkeye’s game-winning drive, and it was Pat Devlin who led the way to the win at Ohio State with the key late drive (after Clark got knocked out of the game).And then there was the Rose Bowl, when he was fantastic in the second half against USC after he struggled and the team was getting blown out in the first half. That’s not to say he can’t be the main man when needed, but unlike last year, he’ll have to carry the team through adversity.
So if ‘leading the way’ involves continually handing the ball off to your tailbacks and then punching it in all by yourself at the 1-yard line as a result of their hard work, then perhaps they have a point. They also make a good point about Clark’s interception problem, because anyone who’s worthy of a Top 10 player ranking should never find himself in such a predicament…But who the hell’s listening? Let’s watch a highlight clip of the Big Ten’s best clutch QB, shall we?
POP QUIZ, HOTSHOT: You’re the coach and your team (a three-touchdown underdog, mind you) is clinging to a three-point lead with 2:30 to play in the game. It’s 4th and inches at your own 30-yard line and your opponent features a tenacious defense otherwise dubbed the “Blackshirts” that’s ready to blow up any attempt to pound the ball up the middle should you choose to go for it. At stake is a shocking upset of a two-time defending national champion and the dubious distinction of winning your conference’s inaugural championship game. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?
Such was the dilemma facing Texas coach John Mackovic in the 1996 Big 12 championship game against Nebraska. Almost any other coach would’ve punted and banked on their defense to produce one final stand against that powerful Nebraska triple-option attack. Fortunately for the Longhorns (on this day at least), Mackovic was not just any other coach, instead of following conventional wisdom, Mackovic told his quarterback James Brown to fake the handoff and “roll left.” What followed was a 60-yard gain on a play-action roll-out pass that set up the upset-sealing touchdown for Texas.
Mackovic, who had a rather rocky tenure at Texas, was fired at the end of the following season. He later went on to run Arizona’s football program into the ground before retiring to his secret underground bunker somewhere in New Mexico. However, for just one day, Mackovic was a hero for his extremely ballsy call that clinched a Fiesta Bowl bid for the Longhorns (where they would end up losing to Guess Who?) and prevented Nebraska, a program that everyone loved to hate back in the 90’s, from winning a third straight national title.
Of course, this isn’t the only recorded example of ridiculous gambles paying off and shaking the landscape of a college football season: Just do a YouTube search for any of LSU’s games from the 2007 season or Ohio State’s “Holy Buckeye” for starters.
Once again, the real world got the best of me and while I’m no fan of doing lazy, half-assed posts like this, I’m afraid I’m left with no choice (unless of course, I want to give people the impression that I’ve suddenly gone missing).
Today’s YouTube treat features a couple of ads for Burger King’s “Legends Of College Football” promotions. The premise was that if you “upsized” your Whopper value meal for only an extra 39 cents you could get yourself an effin’ sweet collector’s cup featuring college football legends such as BYU’s Jim McMahon (who was anything but a good ol’ Mormon Boy), Auburn’s Bo Jackson, and of course, JoePa.
The commercials themselves were highly entertaining, the first one features the aforementioned legends singing their school’s fight songs humorously off-key while the second ad features a post-game mid-field conversation between Lou Holtz and JoePa.
Needless to say, these ads certainly bring me back to my childhood growing up in the 90’s when Keith Jackson was THE quintessential voice of college football. Whether it was a game on TV or a Burger King promotion, if Keith was doing it, you knew it was something important. Too bad I was always more of a McDonald’s guy…I could be sitting on an EBay gold mine right now.
Having taken a two-hour exam this morning which I spent the majority of this past weekend studying for, I’m quite spent. Thus, it’s a perfect time to try this on a lazy day like today:
This month marks the two-year anniversary of HHV and to commemorate such a special occassion, I’ve decided to reach into the vault and showcase some old favorite posts in hopes that more than five people will read them this time around.
Tonight’s classic post entitled: Week 2 Recap – ‘Celebrity Jeopardy’ Style utilizes quotes from SNL’s Celebrity Jeopardy sketches to illustrate my thoughts on the second week of the 2007 college football season. Like most weeks during that season, Week 2 was a rather tumultuous one which featured Oregon travelling to Ann Arbor and kicking the living crap out of a Michigan team still reeling from the infamous Appalachian State debacle the week before.
And if the format of the post looks familiar to certain Bill Simmons columns, well, it WAS influenced by certain Bill Simmons columns. In fact, I think a heavy majority of my early posts had a Simmons-esque tone to them. They sure made for great “training wheels” before I was able to carve my own unique style of writing (or so I like to selfishly think).
