Mark May: Iowa Should Be Favored Over Penn State

Mark May, continuing his unsanctioned vendetta against Penn State, said tonight on ESPN that Iowa SHOULD BE FAVORED in this contest. Yes, unranked Iowa traveling to Happy Valley to play the 5th ranked Nittany Lions. The same Iowa team that nearly lost to FCS team Northern Iowa should be favored to win in Beaver Stadium. Please.

Of all of the ESPN toolbags - and there are plenty (I'm looking at you, Bill Simmons) - Mark May is BY FAR the worst.

I'll be happy to shove a Penn State victory Saturday night in his face.

My Iowa-Penn State prediction sometime tomorrow!

Shocking Mark May development

ESPN Analyst Mark May has picked WISCONSIN to beat Penn State. I know, hard to believe. As usual, Lou Holtz is in JoePa's corner.

UPDATE: Penn State DOMINATED Wisconsin, 48-7. After the game Mark May said Penn State still hasn't played anyone [difficult]. Stay classy, Mark.

LET'S GO STATE!

Penn State dominates Coastal Carolina, Mark May whines

Well Penn State's season started even better than many expected, with a 66-10 victory over the FCS Chanticleers (read roosters). Daryll Clark started, as expected, and played the first few drives before giving way to Pat Devlin. Clark also played a series or two to start the second half. He was very effective and looked string and poised in the pocket, completing 11 of 14 passes for 146 yards and 1 TD. Devlin proved the competition had been close all spring and summer. He went 5 of 8 for 83 yards and made some beautiful throws. The highlight, however, had to be the effectiveness of the ground game. Evan Royster, Stephfon Green, Brent Carter, and true freshman Brandon Beachum all saw time, with Royster getting the start. Royster only got 8 touches for 64 yards but scored 3 TDs. Green added 10 carries for 89 yards and 2 TDs while Carter was handed the rock 9 times for 67 yards. Beachum came in late in mop up duty and had 8 carries for 43 yards plus a TD. Derrick Williams had only 2 catches but contributed his first ever kickoff return for a TD after Coastal Carolina cut the Penn State lead to 14-7. Unfortunately the defense looked mediocre. The secondary seemed slow to react and the linebackers missed some assignments and botched a few play calls. The defensive line did look strong, however. Some work must be done in anticipation for Oregon State next week.

Overall it was a strong performance, probably better than some expected. The biggest plus was no turnovers. However the win must be kept in perspective. It was lowly Coastal Carolina, after all. Something Pitt Alum and ESPN analyst wa smore than pleased to point out.

During highlights shown in between games at the ESPN studios, Mark May tried to make as many jabs as he could against the Nittany Lions. While the Penn State/Coastal Carolina score was shown following the game highlights, Mark May stated "It's Coastal Carolina. What, wasn't [insert crappy school here] available?". I missed what school he said. If anyone know, let me know. Then, after Chris Fowler read the score, May said "Yeah BUT IT'S COASTAL CAROLINA!!!". May's partner Lou Holtz then added this gem: "Yeah and I'm Lou Holtz and you're Mark May.". Haha. However, May wasn't done. He then psoed a question to Fowler and Holtz. May, visibly upset and enraged, said "Did Coastal Carolina have a football team 8 years ago?". A rhetorical question, because Holtz and Fowler know they didn't, as does May. Following the Penn State highlights, the ESPN crew went to the Pitt/Bowling Green game. Pitt lost and May preceded to lambast them, as he should. But what really irks me is his complete contempt for Penn State. As if Pitt hasn't played any cupcakes. Is Bowling Green really that much more prestigious than Coastal Caroline? Hell no! Bowling Green has been around for 89 years. They have a total of 19 All Americans and 8 bowl appearances, going 4-4. Wow, Mark, wow. They are a MAC team. Sure they're better than Coastal Carolina. But how is playing Bowling Green any better than Coastal Carolina? He would have said the same thing about Penn State if they were playing Bowling Green. Mark May is a hypocritical, completely biased, ass that has it out for Penn State (just like Colin Cowherd).

Anyway, revel in the blowout win for the rest of the night Penn State fans. There are more important games to come, starting next week vs Oregon State. Good start. Keep it going.

Bob Davie inching closer to Mark May status

Bob Davie, former Notre Dame head coach (1997-2001) that amassed a 35-25 record while coach of the Irish, hosts a Question & Answer section on ESPN's weekly College GameDay Kickoff article. This week as I was reading the main article, the mention of Penn State was absent. So I searched the rest of the page and found Penn State mentioned in Bob Davie's Q&A. I was stunned when I read this:


3. Penn's State's D is overrated. I love Nittany Lions D coordinator Tom Bradley, but I wasn't impressed by Penn State's play against Notre Dame. I don't think the Nittany Lions are as good as people are predicting. In fact, this could be the year that a team like Purdue comes out of nowhere to win the Big Ten. -- Bob Davie


What!?!? Overrated? Penn State? Linebacker U? The defense with arguably the best linebacker, cornerback, safety trio in all of College Football this year? Let's talk about Penn State's defensive statistics through the first 2 games (yes, I know that FIU and Notre Dame blow, but good teams are supposed to beat inferior teams easily...which PSU did):

Penn State defense vs FIU
Points Allowed: 0
First Downs Allowed: 7
Total Yards Allowed: 114
Passing: 117
Rushing: -3
3rd Down Conversions: 1-15
Turnovers: 5

Penn State defense vs Notre Dame
Points Allowed: 10 (realistically it was 3 because their TD came from an INT return)
First Downs Allowed: 9
Total Yards: 144
Passing: 144
Rushing: 0
3rd Down Conversions: 2-16
Turnovers: 1


Again, I know Florida International and Notre Dame are terrible. But those statistics are still really great. Besides the opening drive in each game, the Penn State D easily handled each team. This should continue against Buffalo and, the way Michigan looks, against them as well. This D is good, possibly better than each of the last 2 years. In 2005 and 2006 Penn State's defense was ranked in the Top 10 nationally in almost all the major categories. This defense is good. Bob Davie is stupid. Mark May is preparing your membership card to ESPN's "Terrible Analyst" club.