In preparation for the upcoming college football season, JCMJ will spend this week previewing the top games, teams, players, and potential upsets for the upcoming season. It really is a super awesome preview, in my opinion at least.
TEAM PREVIEW: Penn State (From the always entertaining Run Up The Score)
When did your love affair with Penn State begin?
At birth. I was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the coal region of Northeastern Pennsylvania with an Irish Catholic mother, and the only choice available to kids with that background is between Penn State and Notre Dame. Since my father is a Penn State alumnus and took me to games since I was about six years old, the choice became obvious rather quickly. I haven't looked back since. I graduated
from Penn State about ten years ago, and my brother followed a few years later. I've never outgrown my love for the university or it's football program.
Player you are most excited for this season?
Austin Scott. As a high school senior, he broke Tony Dorsett's single season high school rushing record. According to Joe Paterno, Scott was simply too casual when it came to the responsibilities of playing running back at Penn State. Meanwhile, his classmate Tony Hunt was working his ass off, learning the playbook, and constantly improving. That resulted in a situation where Hunt received all of the playing time and Scott was in danger of never seeing meaningful playing time
before running out of eligibility. To avoid that, Scott took the unusual path of redshirting before his senior season, even though he was completely healthy.
According to all reports, he's now in the best shape of his life and finally looks like the five-star running back he was supposed to be coming out of Parkland High School near Allentown. If he can stay injury-free, you could see an unbelievable season from him.
Player that makes you want to punch the television?
Sean Lee, but he makes me want to punch the television in a good way. Paul Posluszny was the prototypical Strong But Silent linebacker but Sean Lee is certifiably crazy. This season is going to be less about Dan Connor stepping out from Posluszny's shadow than it'll be about Sean Lee stepping out from Dan Connor's shadow.
Game you are most excited for?
September 8 against Notre Dame. With Notre Dame's rebuilding offense, Penn State's homicidal defense, and 110,000 revenge hungry fans at a primetime ESPN game, the evening is shaping up like more of a sacrifice to the football gods than a simple football game. The Halloween weekend game against Ohio State will also be insane, especially since it'll be another 8:00 p.m. matchup between the teams.
Two years ago, that scenario caused the loudest crowd in Beaver Stadium history.
Game the scares the hell out of you?
As always, Michigan. The Wolverines have defeated Penn State eight games in a row. Four have been utter blowouts. The other four have been an mixture of choking away fourth quarter leads and occasional criminally negligent officiating by the Big Ten refs. Penn State fans like to pretend that all eight losses are due to a pro-Michigan officiating conspiracy. There have been a few blatant screwups to be
sure, but for the most part, Michigan's just the better team.
Best case scenario for Penn State?
If they can wear out Michigan's new defensive line and shoddy cornerbacks? 12-0 is a possibility, considering that every other conceivably difficult game (Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Notre Dame) will be at home. Will it take a number of things to break our way? You bet. The offensive line and running backs not only have to
produce, they have to remain relatively injury free. Anthony Morelli has to keep showing the progress he displayed in the Outback Bowl against Tennessee. Placekicker Kevin Kelly has to improve from 40+ yards. Still, none of these things are so far fetched as to be considered impossible. A pipe dream, perhaps. But not completely improbable.
Worst case scenario for Penn State?
An injury to Anthony Morelli would be catastrophic, and the Penn State offensive line has shown a propensity to utterly fail against better pass rushing teams. Don't forget that Michigan knocked out both Morelli and backup Darryl Clark last season. Anything more than the standard bumps and bruises to the offensive line could be a big problem, and the same goes for the young defensive line. There's a ton of talent, but not a lot of proven depth.
Even without respect to injuries, if the offensive coaching staff doesn't give Morelli and his ultra-talented receivers a plan that can produce yards and points, I could see a season of 8-4 with losses to Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Those would include three home losses, and there might even be a fifth overall loss lurking if you consider that Penn State didn't exactly blow out Purdue, Michigan
State, Minnesota or Illinois last season...and they were terrible football teams.
Still, this team has a real, legitimate chance to do something special. For the past few years, everything has been pointing toward 2008 as Our Next Big Chance. Anything worse than 9-3 will ultimately go down as a disgraceful missed opportunity and, given the talent level on the squad, one of the most disappointing seasons in Penn State history. To put it another way, in my opinion, a 7-5 or 8-4
season in 2008 would be worse than the 3-9 season in 2003 or PSU's 4-7 record in 2004.
