« Penn State vs. Ohio State!! | Home | How To Buy BCS Championship Game Tickets CHEAP »
Penn State Can Get Er Done
By Max | October 28, 2008
PSU’s remaining games…
@Iowa is imo the biggest challenge. They are only 9 points away from being undefeated right now and their defense is statistically in the top 10. PSU always plays much better at home than on the road, so Iowa has a chance. Clearly PSU is the better team and coming off a bye with plenty of time to prepare, but this hawkeye team will be a bigger challenge than many think. If the spread is anywhere close to 14 points, I am probably going to bet on them covering.
Indiana – no problem, guarenteed win
MSU – MSU does have a history of upsetting the Lions and other ranked BigTen teams. They even pull it off on the road, however this Spartan team is different than in years past in that their strength comes from the run game rather than the pass. PSU has a great line, and even with injuries the LBs are certainly capable. We will be able to contain Ringer, and I don’t think MSU has a good chance for an upset. It would require a few turnovers for them to get it done.
BCS title game –
I am tired of hearing how bad the Big Ten is and that PSU is unworthy to play in the big game. People point to the last two years’ OSU teams. Well, how about OSU in 2002? Miami was supposed to blow them out. Penn State in ‘86 was going to get stomped by another Miami team. There are a lot of factors besides talent that will weigh on the outcome of a game. If PSU brings their best, I am confident they can compete with anyone.
FACT: The last 4 teams to win the BCS title all had top 10 defenses. PSU is 3rd right now. Where are the best Big12 teams? Texas is the best of the bunch and they are barely in the top 30. TT, OkSU, and Oklahoma are on back a bit further. Many of these teams played absolutely no one in their OOC schedule, so its hard to say how they would stack up out of conference. I am not saying the Big12 is weak or uncompetitive, I am just saying there are still question marks about how their conference champ would perform in the title game. Defenses win championships!
Alabama has a good defense, and if they win their conference, they certainly deserve their title shot. How would they do against PSU on a neutral field? I bet Vegas would have the line within 3 points. Alabama has certainly had a couple close games with weaker opponents and of the four BCS unbeatens, most would pick them to end the season with a loss.
Of the top 5 or 6 teams, USC has the most impressive out of conference win. They beat OhioSU, a team PSU also beat. Obviously, the TRojans were more impressive, but PSU won theirs on the road, and used the run to shorten the game.
I have listed the other signature OOC wins here…
1 – Texas – terrible Arkansas team
2 – Alabama – underachieving Clemson team
3 – PSU – Oregon St. a team which beat USC and is still in the hunt for a Pac-10 title
4 – Oklahoma – TCU is at least ranked
5 – USC – OSU a team PSU also beat
6 – GA – beat a terrible ASU team
7 – Texas Tech – didn’t even recognize the names of some of their OOC games
Part of PSU’s schedule problem is the fact that the two big10 teams they aren’t playing, NW and Minn, are having decent years. PSU has been taking care of business with they teams they do play though and are currently the only team ranked in the top 10 for offense and defense statistically.
Are they the best team in the country? Probably not, but they are pretty good. Are they deserving of a shot to play for the title if ranked in the top 2 BCS? If they take care of the next 3 games, I think so. You never know which team is going to get up for the big game and I think it is naive to just assume PSU will get blown out because of OSU’s troubles the past two years.
Share ThisTopics: Sports | 2 Comments »
October 28th, 2008 at 8:39 am
SEC IS DOMINANT!
November 9th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Ouch.