Bye, bye Jol

I promised I would write a little bit about soccer and I was able to do it by varying one of my last post titles by one letter. Unfortunately, it's for the same reason. Martin Jol, coach of the Tottenham Hotspur (of the English Premier League) has resigned as manager of the team. It was a move many had been anticipating for days as the Spurs have been downright pathetic and embarrassing so far this year. To date in the EPL, the Spurs have had only 1 win in ten games, putting them at 18th out of 20. A far cry from the top 4 finish that many people were predicting this year. For those that don't know, a top 4 finish would put a team in the UEFA Champions League for the following year while a finish anywhere from 18th-20th puts you in the league below. A good analogy would be the Pirates would probably be a AAA team right now if the MLB used this system. Anyways, this past summer, the team from North London went out and spent a pretty penny on plenty of new, young talent. So far, it hasn't really worked out. Their defense has been shaky at the worst possible times and they just can't put together a full game. They've almost had some impressive wins (particularly against Liverpool) only to choke them away to draws in the closing minutes. While Jol had some success in London, his time was unfortunately up. His players just weren't responding to him and a change was needed. He was a great guy and I wish him success in the future but here's to hoping my Spurs can put together a nice string of wins. They certainly have the talent to do it.

Football Sidebar: Penn State 16 Ohio State 7 ... Go Kevin Kelly ... write it down

By the Numbers: JoePa vs. Top 25

Seriously, I was born to be an ESPN intern.

Overall, Penn State is 4-9 vs. top-ranked teams in its storied history. Joe Paterno is 4-7 vs. #1 teams, and all of those wins were either on the road (at Pitt and ND) or in bowl games (Georgia and Miami-FL). Only one top-ranked team has visited Happy Valley ever in 122 years of football in State College -- ND in 1989. We lost that game, so JoePa -- and Penn State -- are 0-1 vs. #1 teams at home. So, this matchup Saturday against Ohio State is something special.

The stats on JoePa vs. the top 25:

Since joining the Big Ten (1993-present)

vs. #1 teams

• 0-0 home
• 0-2 away/neutral
• 0-2 overall

vs. top 5

• 1-5 home
• 1-6 away/neutral
• 2-11 overall

vs. top 10

• 3-7 home
• 3-8 away/neutral
• 6-15 overall

vs. top 25

• 15-10 home
• 16-25 away/neutral
• 31-35 overall

As an independent (1966-1992)

vs. #1 teams

• 0-1 home
• 4-4 away/neutral
• 4-5 overall

vs. top 5

• 7-6 home
• 5-14 away/neutral
• 12-20 overall

vs. top 10

• 10-8 home
• 14-19 away/neutral
• 24-27 overall

vs. top 25

• 17-12 home
• 28-28-1 away/neutral
• 45-40-1 overall

So, over his entire career, JoePa is 4-7 against #1 teams, 14-31 vs. the top 5, 30-42 vs. the top 10, and 76-75-1 vs. top 25.

It's funny how it seems like we played way more ranked teams away from home as an independent.

Things have slipped a bit since 1993. Although, we're still close to .500 against the top 25 since joining the Big Eleven. Still, JoePa hasn't beaten a #1 since 1990 in South Bend. But I think the home field advantage, especially in our independent years, is striking.

My fearless prediction, you ask? I really think it's anyone's guess. I'm serious. I think it depends on a lot of different factors, and they're really not stuff we haven't discussed before:

• How will Todd Boeckman and the Buckeyes' offense handle the deafening crowd? This Buckeyes squad is much like the 2005 squad that rolled into Beaver Stadium. Fairly untested (the '05 squad had a lost to Texas in The 'Shoe by then) and haven't encountered an environment quite like this. Look for them to take a little time to get adjusted. This one will stay close into halftime, if not well into the fourth.
• Penn State needs to limit turnovers. How many times have we said that the last few years? The turnovers have been the kiss of death for the Lions. Morelli has to have a career day and needs to make the big plays. The receivers need to step it up and really make some big gains. Which brings us to...
• JoePa and the coaching staff needs to get creative. Running Kinlaw and Royster up the middle a lot is not going to move the chains at all. OSU will force Morelli to pass, and he has to limit the interceptions. Both Morelli and his running backs need to protect the football if JoePa decides to go conservative (wait, what do I mean "if"?!).
• I think our D will handle Wells nicely, much like they took care of P.J. Hill at home two weeks ago. The defense, coupled with the raucous atmosphere, is what will carry Penn State in this game.

The end result? I already said this game is going to be close well into the fourth, only because I think it'll take OSU quite a bit of time to adjust to the atmosphere, if nothing else. The game starts with a few three-and-outs before things start to get rolling -- Penn State's O usually doesn't kick it into gear until the second anyway. It mainly depends which Anthony Morelli shows up and which receivers show up. D-Will needs to make people remember why he was the #1 recruit in the nation.

Obviously, defense will control this one, especially with showers lingering in the area. The field will be covered during the day and the rain may abate before kickoff. Each team will have two turnovers. Boeckman will throw two picks, Morelli tacks on a pick, and the Lions put one on the turf. As nervous as I am making a score call, I'll do it. I say Penn State escapes 13-10 in a classic slugfest. The Lions showed two weeks ago against Wisconsin that they're finally capable of winning the big games. But if we see Morelli revert back into the unsure, unaware QB that Penn State fans have been accustomed to booing, my prediction goes right out the window. But you have to think these guys are gonna be fired up.

Go State! Beat the Buckeyes!

By the Numbers: PSU vs. OSU

When I get home today, I have a nice spreadsheet worked out detailing Joe Paterno's career against #1 ranked teams that I'll post for your viewing pleasure. It has some slightly surprising and not-so-surprising numbers on there, so we'll break that down when we get to it.

But anyway, let's take a look at the series that is Penn State vs. Ohio State. According to a nice e-mail I got this week from the Blue and White Society, the PSU-OSU series is tied at 11-11, but what's more, the total points scored by each team in those 22 games differs only by 11 points. Crazy!

Ohio State has not enjoyed much success in Happy Valley under Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes are 1-2 at Beaver Stadium since Tressel's arrival, losing in 2001 (29-27) and 2005 (17-10), and winning in 2003 (21-20). Even their win in 2003 wasn't all that impressive, as they were ranked #6 coming into State College (sound familiar?), only to fall behind 17-7 and squeak out a 1-point victory over a Nittany Lions squad that finished the season 3-9. So even when Penn State wasn't that great, they still gave Tressel a serious run for their money.

Meanwhile, Tressel is 3-0 against the Lions at The Horseshoe, with wins in 2002 (13-7), 2004 (21-10) and 2006 (28-6). Keep in mind that OSU was #1 in 2006, and that score really underscores how close that game was. The Lions led at the half, 3-0, trailing deep into the fourth only 14-6, only to have two consecutive picks of Anthony Morelli taken back for six points.

So, JoePa's really given Jim Tressel some headaches during his time with the Buckeyes.

Tressel holds a 4-2 edge over JoePa, and Joe has an all-time record of 7-11 against the Buckeyes, with a 5-9 record since joining the Big Ten. However, JoePa is 5-3 against Ohio State at Beaver Stadium, which improves to 5-2 since 1993.

Basically, JoePa and the Lions should feel lucky this game's at home.

This clearly doesn't take into account the fan base at Beaver Stadium, which has clearly becoming exponentially more raucous in recent years. The energy on this campus is palpable.

Obviously, this is no forecast for a Penn State win on Saturday. No amount of history can influence the play of current teams on the field.

World Series "Preview"

Well, I was in the middle of drafting a complete World Series preview, with position breakdowns and stuff, but couldn't get it finished in time for Game 1 last night. Now, after watching the Red Sox put a hot carl on the Rockies last night, I'm afraid that preview may be a little biased. So there's not much to be said about last night's dominating performance, except for that it doesn't mean the series is over. Some examples from the past:

2004 ALCS: Yankees win Game 3 19-8, Red Sox win next 4.
2001 World Series: D-backs win games 9-1 and 15-2, but Yankees were one half inning away from taking the series.
1996 World Series: Braves win first two at Yankee Stadium by scores of 12-1 and 4-0, Yankees win next 4. May be hard to believe now, but Yankees were then the upstart young team and the Braves were the annoying dynasty.
1960 World Series: Yankees beat the Pirates by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0; Pirates win the series on Bill Mazeroski's home run in Game 7.

Now I realize all of the above examples involve the Yankees, but the moral can be still be inferred: One lopsided win does not equal four. The Rockies will have a chance to make last night's blowout ancient history tonight.

Mistake-free Morelli a must versus Ohio State

This weekend Penn State QB Anthony Morelli may be facing the biggest game of his Penn State career when the Nittany Lions (25 AP/22 USA Today) battle Ohio State (1 AP/USA Today) in Happy Valley (8pm, ABC). During last weeks win versus Indiana, Morelli went 22 of 32 with 2 TDs and 1 INT. While he played well enough to lead the team to a win, he must play better against the Buckeyes. Against Indiana, ranked 62nd in total defense and 64th in pass defense, Morelli wasn't able to challenge them deep. Of the few passes attempted over 15 yards, one was hung in the air and was overthrown resulting in his lone INT. Penn State's offensive game plan continually featured WR screens and quick hits that Indiana never picked up on. That won't be the case against Ohio State. The Buckeyes enter their 9th game of the year with the best statistical defense in the league. They rank 1st in both total defense (208 yards/game) and scoring defense (8 points/game) and 2nd in rushing defense (62 yards/game; 1 TD) and passing defense (146 yards/game; 3 TDs).

Ohio State is probably one of the least hyped #1's in recent memory. Some of the nation believes they got there based on reputation and the fact that everyone in front of them lost, not because of how good they are. Looking at Jeff Sagarin's College Football Ratings, Ohio State may be overrated. Ohio State comes in at #3 in the Sagarin ranking format (behind LSU and Kansas) and one of the biggest reasons for this ranking and for national skepticism is their strength of schedule. Sagarin has the Big Ten as the 6th best conference in 2007. Ohio State's strength of schedule (which includes all 242 teams in both subdivisions) is 71st. They have not played any of the teams in Sagarin's current Top 30 (for reference, LSU has played 5 and they are 4-1 against them). But statistics and rankings can only tell you so much. It's not entirely OSU's fault that they have a perceived easy schedule (outside of the nonconference games). The game versus PSU this weekend will serve as a litmus test for both teams. In my opinion, Ohio State is better than people believe. But by the end of the year they will not be #1. But I digress...

The senior QB has been unspectacular and inconsistent in his 21 career starts. While he has a winning record (15-6) as a starter, 6 of those 15 wins are against sub par opponents (Akron, Youngstown State, and Temple in 2006 and Florida International, Notre Dame, and Buffalo this year). Morelli's shortcomings are quite evident and have been stated numerous times. He can't read defenses, he makes poor decisions, he is prone to fumbles and taking sacks (I know they are not always the QBs fault), and he buckles under pressure. These are quite obvious when considering these statistics:

• 9/9/2006 at Notre Dame: 21 of 33, 189 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack, 76.5 QB Rating

• 9/23/2006 at Ohio State: 16 of 25, 106 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs, 2 sacks, 33.5 QB Rating

• 10/14/2006 vs Michigan: 11 of 18, 133 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 5 sacks, 83.8 QB Rating

• 11/4/2006 at Wisconsin: 19 of 35, 165 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, 4 sacks, 55.1 QB Rating

• 9/22/2007 at Michigan: 15 of 31, 169 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 2 sacks, 65.1 QB Rating

• 9/29/2007 at Illinois: 21 of 38, 298 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, 4 sacks, 56.7 QB Rating

Those were Penn State's most important games last year and so far this year. Penn State's record in those six games? 0-6. The Ohio State game in 2006 and the Illinois game this year, in my opinion, demonstrate and validate the notion that Morelli was overrated coming out of high school. In the Ohio State game, Penn State was down 14-6 to number one team in the nation with about 3 minutes remaining. The Nittany Lions were approaching midfield when the Buckeyes intercepted a horrendous Morelli pass and returned it for a score. On the next series Morelli did the same thing. Two 'Pick Sixes' within five passes. Final score 28-6 and ESPN's headline talks about how OSU dominated PSU the whole game. Yeah. An eight point lead with three minutes to go is really dominating.

This year at Illinois Morelli single-handedly lost the game for Penn State. I understand it is a team effort. But his erratic and stupefying play was the deciding factor. In the 4th quarter Penn State was inside the Illinois 25 on three separate occasions. All drives ended in a Morelli turnover (2 INTs and 1 fumble). Both interceptions happened in the end zone and the fumble occurred when Morelli scrambled for a first down on a fourth down play. Penn State loses 27-20.

Morelli was supposed to stabilize the QB position these past two years but he has only continued the tradition of fans and the media calling for the back up. It happened to Matt Senneca with Zack Mills, to Mills with Michael Robinson, to Robinson with Morelli, and now with Morelli for Daryll Clark or Pat Devlin, who's trail to Penn State is eerily similar to Morelli's.

For Penn State to have a chance against the Buckeyes, Morelli must have a spectacular game. He doesn't need to be Brian Brohm, Matt Ryan, or Andre Woodson. He must perform like Trent Dilfer did for the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. Play mistake free and make the smart pass during clutch situations. Let the running game and defense take care of the rest. This game is on Morelli's shoulders.

Prediction: Defense dominates for each team (surprised?) but Ohio State wins 13-10 in front of the raucous, white-clad fans in Beaver Stadium. Morelli throws 1 INT and is sacked three times. He does not perform well in the clutch.

Image taken from The Age of Reason

Statistics from the NCAA, ESPN, and Jeff Sagarin

As I was saying...

I've made a fool out of myself with some of my previous picks but this one will probably take the cake. I will continue to waste your time and neglect the rest of the crazy happenings in college football to focus on the MAC. My brash prediction is...Temple will play in the MAC title game. Hopefully you have finished laughing by now. Right now, Temple sits at 3-2 in their division, a half game back from the lead. Let's see why they will win it after analyzing the teams tied with/ahead of them:

*Records are MAC records

Miami (OH) (3-1): Temple just defeated this former leader of the East Division pretty handily this past weekend in Philadelphia. The RedHawks will do their best not to have players lose limbs against Vandy this weekend because they'll need to be charged and ready for their game against Buffalo the following week. Things don't get any easier with Akron the week after but they round out the season against a poor Ohio team.

Buffalo (3-1): The team Temple will have the most difficulty passing. Buffalo beat the crap out of Temple earlier in the year and even looked decent against Penn State. However, while the Bulls have beaten Temple, their other two MAC wins are against poor teams in Ohio and Toledo while their one loss came in a blowout to mediocre Ball State. Their schedule isn't very easy too the rest of the way. They have face Akron, @Miami (OH) and Bowling Green in their next three games. That won't be easy. They should win their finale against Kent State

Bowling Green (2-1): These guys have a shot at the division too. They have defeated Temple and Kent State but got blown out by Miami (OH). Go figure. Their remaining schedule isn't atrocious but they still have to travel to Buffalo and host Akron. EMU, Ohio and Toledo will try to play the upset roll.

Akron (2-1): Akron is toast. They have to travel to Buffalo, Bowling Green and Miami (OH). Hopefully they can play the spoiler in one of those games, propelling Temple to the MAC East Division Crown.

Temple (3-2): Temple probably has the easiest remaining schedule of this group. They travel to Ohio and Western Michigan while hosting Kent State. All of those games are very winnable, and they'll need to win all of them to have a chance at the division. I think they're up to the task. They have tons of coaches from PSU littering their entire staff and those guys know how to win. Now they have players that believe they can win. Having that down is half the battle.

Will Things Get Worse for Miami?

The only bright spot in Miami's dismal 0-7 start to the 2007 season was Ronnie Brown. Brown, the 2nd overall pick out of Auburn in the 2005 draft, was starting to use his massive potential. He rushed for over 100 yards in four straight games after rushing for less than 70 combined in his first two. He was well on his way to another 100 yard performance before leaving the game with an apparent knee injury. There are now reports that he will be done for the season. This is disastrous for a team that is still searching for its first win. The team is decimated with injuries, most notably on defense where DT Vonnie Holliday is week-to-week and Safeties Yeremiah Bell and Renaldo Hill are out for the season. Bell tore his Achilles in Week 1 and Hill tore an ACL in the Patriots game.

Ronnie's specific injury has not been released yet but, if it is to end his season, it is most likely a torn ACL as well. Journeyman Jesse Chatman will assume Brown's role. Chatman received tons of praise during the offseason and training camp from Cam Cameron and he performed well after Brown left the Patriots game. Now we will see if he can carry a team that is devoid of much talent at all.

This latest setback will only solidify Miami as the worst team in the NFL. It is more than likely that this team won't win more than 2 games this year (thank God they are in the AFC East) and could possibly, dare I say it, go 0-16. Talk about putrid. This team has so many needs one offseason and draft won't save them. They'll be lucky to win 5 games in 2008. A complete defensive overhaul is needed and the Dolphins won't be respectable again until 2009 at the earliest.

It has already been a long 5 years since the Dolphins last playoff birth (and subsequent early exit) in 2002. It may be another 5 until the team can even imagine playing past the 1st round. Speaking of 1st round, I expect this may be the most encouraging phrase in Miami right now:

"With the first pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins select..."

Left-Patriots players signal for the medical staff to tend to injured Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown.

Right-I hate to tell you, Jason, but it's going to get worse before it gets better. And that sucks.

Hoosier Daddy?

Just got back from the grand ol' state of Indiana. 24 total hours of driving, compared to an actual 36 on the ground, approximately 12 of them sleeping....so yeah, 24 driving hours for 24 conscious hours in Bloomington. Thankfully we were able to pull out a narrow 36-31 victory.

The Game:
Pundits will say that this game was too close and we should have won by more, and they may be right. But given the way we normally play on the road, and the fact that the Hoosiers aint half bad this year (they're still likely to become bowl eligible for the first time since '93), it was a huge win heading into the top ranked showdown with the Bucks next week. Indiana took the early lead, but our offense got into gear in the second quarter, leading 3 nice TD drives to take a 20-14 lead into half. In the second half our D got going, forcing 3 turnovers in the 3rd quarter, but our offense stalled in the red zone each time, settling for field goals. After cutting the lead to 29-24, the offense had possibly its best drive of the season, pounding it down the field and eating up clock, culminating in the TD to go up by 12. Kellen Lewis had a spectacular TD run to cut it to 5 again, but Indiana's last chance was stopped by an amazing 68 yard punt by Jeremy Boone to pin them inside their 5, and they would turn it over before threatening.

Morelli played his second straight good game, making only one dumb throw in the 1st half. Evan Royster had 68 yards on 12 carries and looked much more impressive than Kinlaw the whole game. Kevin Kelly made up for a missed XP in the 1st half with 3 FG's in the second half. The scoreboard says 31 for IU so people will think the defense had a bad game, but that wasn't really the case. QB Kellen Lewis and WR James Hardy are the real deal, both made great plays against our D and kept their team in the game throughout. That said, we still forced Lewis to fumble 4 times and caused Hardy to drop a couple, and the running game was shut down effectively. Most of their 68 total rushing yards came on the late game TD scramble by Lewis.

So kudos to the Hoosiers for showing up and making this game worth the price of admission, and to PSU for making it worth the trip. This college football season, any win in conference is a good win, especially on the road. Next week we will have Ohio State here in Beaver, in what will be the most difficult game of the season for both teams. The last time the Buckeyes lost a regular season game? If you guessed October 8, 2005 in Happy Valley, you're correct! Let's hope that date gets renewed next weekend.

The Atmosphere:
Total attendance at Memorial Stadium: 41,251. That about says it all. The stadium is about half the size of Beaver, and they still don't fill it. Maybe we're spoiled here, but the atmosphere seemed like a high school game. Traffic leading up to the stadium was non-existent, concession lines were fast and efficient, and you could walk around a bit! There was plenty of tailgating going on, which was encouraging. Our crowd of blue shirts got a few taunts and boos from IU fans, but most were polite. My favorite comment had to be after the game, some guy yelled at us, "We're gonna kick your ass in basketball!" to which our response was along the lines of "Yeah, your point?" This is clearly a basketball school, which is just bizarre to someone who's spent the last 4+ years at Penn State. Our hatred for Ohio State and Michigan is equivalent to their hatred of Purdue.

The Town/Campus:
Pretty campus, as you would expect. Architecture is very old school though, which is kinda creepy to be honest. The buildings look nice but I wouldn't want to go to class in them every day. The downtown area of Bloomington is extremely nice. Cultural food seems to be a big theme, as seemingly every restaurant had some kind of international theme. Again, great while visiting, but I think that would get annoying if I lived there and just wanted a freaking burger. Greek life seems to be pretty dominant if you're into that sort of thing. Contrary to stereotype, there is plenty of grass and trees around town, and yes even some terrain! Nothing like central PA obvi, but I was shocked to be walking up and down some gradual slopes throughout campus.

Overall Bloomington was a very good time, made better of course by the win. I'll go ahead and pull for their basketball team to win the Big Ten this year (provided Penn State doesn't do it HA!)

Elsewhere in sports, the Pens won two games this weekend, the Steelers lost a nailbiter in Denver, the Red Sox gave Cleveland people another reason to cry, and lots of other football was played.

Where are the Michigan Haters Now?

Hm, can we get a little love here in Ann Arbor? Yea we lost to Appy State and Oregon which gave plenty of reason for all those closet Michigan haters (and/or Ohio State lovers) to come out in their true colors. Since then, Michigan has won 6 straight including victories against Penn State, Purdue, and now Illinois. Yes, the same Illinois team that defeated Penn State and Wisconsin. Michigan went out there without Mike Hart. Chad Henne was playing with a shoulder and wrist injury. Yet we still won in a hostile environment against a pretty good Illinois football team.

Yesterday's win should have proven that Michigan's resurgence is legit...that our team has a lot of talent outside of Mike Hart (please do yourself a favor and don't call us the Mike Hart Wolverines anymore)...that our defense can handle the spread offense quite well now....and that with young studs like Ryan Mallett, Carlos Brown, and Donovan Warren, Michigan is not going to be falling anytime soon.

We'll be heading into November right in the thick of things to win the Big Ten. Sorry critics, guess your time isn't here yet.

I hope this shows up on the injury report...

If you haven't heard, USC had a rough landing in South Bend on Thursday evening. Apparently it was so scary that safety Taylor Mays was "screaming." But wait, it gets better: "Defensive end Lawrence Jackson said he was going to see the team trainer because a Popsicle stick pierced the inside of his mouth during the drop." I guess they don't teach you at USC that you probably shouldn't have sharp items in your mouth during a turbulent plane ride. In the paper it should read:

Probable-Lawrence Jackson (Popsicle Stick)

The only thing funnier than that would be a video on YouTube showing Taylor Mays.

Long Overdue

I apologize for my lack of blogging as of recent. Blame a hellish week of work and exams for that. I apologize in advance for the absence of frequent updates this weekend -- McDonati is in Bloomington with the Lions, and E and I are out of town. However, I attempt to make my penance with some more college football talk.

First off, did anyone hear about the near-disasterous landing the USC squad had in South Bend? Maybe God really is on the Irish side.

And how about Cinderella's glass slipper shattering last night?

Anyway, last week, the Nittany Lions handed the Wisconsin Badgers a huge, upper-case, bold-faced L, leaving fans scratching their heads for the third-straight week pleading, "Why didn't we do that against Michigan?!" It was a complete role reversal. Suddenly, it was Wisconsin turning over the ball and making silly mistakes and not JoePa's squad. The defense lived up to its end of the bargain once again, holding P.J. Hill to a season low. Man, for somebody who ran into this season with lots of preseason hype, not a lot of talk about him anymore, eh? Anthony Morelli finally looked like a veteran QB and if a play wasn't made, it didn't fall on him. Maybe JoePa was right about his WRs not stepping up and making plays after all... well, at least this week. Yes, Wisconsin was overrated (who called it?!), but this is still a huge win over a ranked team band a great confidence boost.

In a Buy or Sell update, UConn fell to Virginia 17-16 on the road last Saturday, validating my "sell" pick, unless they make an improbable Big East run. I'm now 7-3 on the season for Buy/Sell. Still waiting on Kentucky and Arizona State.

Alright, picks for this weekend.

Florida at Kentucky
Kentucky used up all its magic last week in a thrilling 3-OT victory over LSU last week. A win against Florida keeps them in the SEC East race, but a loss makes South Carolina/Florida the marquee match of the division. The Gators are coming off a 2-game skid and a valuable week of rest, and now they're seeing red. Look for the Wildcats to get chomped in another nailbiter.

LSU at Auburn
Recall that Auburn lost to Sly Croom and Mississippi State at home, 19-14. Also recall that LSU steamrolled M-State on the road 45-0 in the season opener. Yikes. So is the Auburn that lost to USF at home going to show up or the one that shocked Florida in The Swamp? Furthermore, consider that with USF out of the top two, LSU is still well into the thick of the national race. Don't think for a second Les Miles and the fans in Death Valley won't be pumped for this one. LSU takes care of Tommy Tuberville's Auburn team at home.

Tennessee at Alabama
Nick Saban and the Tide have been rolling after two straight losses, but keep in mind that they played Houston and Ole Miss. Tennessee is 1-2 on the road this season, beating M-State last week by 12, but losing to Cal and Kentucky by a combined 53 points. The Tide will roll at home, providing them great momentum into their home date with LSU next week.

Michigan at Illinois
Most people thought Penn State had the best home conference slate in the Big Ten, but my vote would go to Illinois. The Illini welcome their third-straight ranked opponent to Memorial Stadium Saturday, and will chalk up their third win over a ranked opponent at home.

Michigan State at Ohio State
Okay, enough fooling around. MSU had their obligatory win of the season. Time for them to start losing again. Well, okay, maybe that's harsh. MSU and OSU matchups have provided spark in the past, but with this one at home and with OSU's ridiculous defense, the Buckeyes should roll into Happy Valley still the top team in the land.

USC at Notre Dame
Ha! Oh, oops. Sorry. But really, if Booty's out for this one, it could sure get interesting if USC doesn't pull away early. Sharpley has been steadily improving, so it's on the Irish O-line and the defense to make sure this doesn't get ugly.

Texas Tech at Missouri
Missouri has to win this game by outscoring Graham Harrell and the Red Raider offense, because their defense isn't going to win this game for them. Can a defense ranked 100th in passing defense handle Harrell? This one could come down to who scores last, but I think Tech's slightly better defense gives them the edge in this one that ends up having a basketball score.

Buffalo at Syracuse
Bonus pick! This one's gonna be closer than anyone thought at the beginning of the season. Don't look now, but Buffalo's 3-4 and 3-1 in the MAC. Syracuse is a hot-and-cold squad that will shock you one week and disappoint you the next. The disappointments will hit a new low this weekend as Buffalo squeaks by the Orange. Turner Gill becomes the front runner to replace Bill Callahan at Nebraska.

Why Pittsburgh is better than the Bronx

Well, Joe Torre has just given a big juicy finger to Steinbrenner, and rightfully so. But why retire now? According to the Paterno logic, the guy has at least 10-15 years left in him. Maybe even more, the managers just sit on their ass in baseball and don't have to worry about Wisconsin players trying to break their legs. So when Torre turned down the Yankees' offer today, he had to have one place in mind: Pittsburgh.

Why Pittsburgh? Because the Pirates are a way better managing job than the Yankees. Here's why:

Ballpark: Of all the newer ballparks to come in the last 15 years, PNC is the best. It's quaint and it highlights the city well. It doesn't favor the pitcher or the hitter too incredibly much. If your team is down by 7 in the 8th inning, you can just stare at the skyline for a while. ARIBA! On the other hand, I've never been to Yankee Stadium, but it looks shitty on TV, and the area doesn't sound so succulent either.

Star Power: In New York, you sat in the shadow of Jeter, A-Rod, Clemens, Rivera, etc. You know, all those hot shots who actually play the game. On the Pirates you have Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, and...then you gotta thinking to name players. And I'm a fan! Joe would be the alpha dog in town.

Less Pressure from Management: Granted we're under new management now, but if Lloyd McClendon got 5 years on the job, Joe can plan his retirement in Pittsburgh. The pressure to win the World Series every single year won't exactly be there, since the last World Series victory was in 1979 and the last playoff appearance/winning season was in 1992. Let's put that in perspective. The NLCS this week was Rockies/Diamondbacks. Neither of those teams existed the last time the Pirates won the division. We would not get upset about a first round playoff exit, trust me.

Less Pressure from Media: Steelers training camp starts the last week of July. With the Penguins poised to make many deep playoff runs in the near future, they hopefully will be playing into June on a yearly basis. The Pirates get the top media coverage in this town about 1-4 months of the year, depending on how good the hockey is. Just make sure to buy a terrible towel and you'll be fine.

Less Pressure from Fans: Between the skyline, postgame fireworks, bobblehead giveaways, pierogi races, the weird crap they show on the scoreboards, and lots and lots of beer, there's a lot to keep the Pirates fan entertained if the game gets out of hand.

Italian Food: I personally recommend DiPietro's in West View. The fettucine carbonara is FANTASTIC.

Lower Cost of Living: Pretty self explanatory.

Good for Old People: I cant find any hard data right now, but Pittsburgh area has always been a haven for retirees.

There's Actually Potential: On a serious note, this team has a lot of potential. Every single guy on the roster displayed talent at one point or other during the season. The problem is, and has been, harnessing all this talent as a team and performing consistently. The management is new and hopefully won't make any more stupid personnel moves, so he'll have help in that regard. But if he's able to turn this team into a winner, his legacy as a great manager will be confirmed. It will no longer be because he had the big market resources of the Yankees (people forget they were an actual likable team in the late 90's, as opposed to the fantasy roster of today), it will be because he's a great manager. So come to Pittsburgh Joe. It might be the best move of your career.

P.S. I mentioned the fans and media being apathetic earlier. Deep down inside, we care. It just hurts so much that we play it off as indifference. But if Joe Torre were to make the Pirates relevant again, the fans would show up, and the media would give more coverage. The town would rally behind them just like we do for the Steelers or Penguins.

ROAD TRIP!!!

This weekend yours truly will be schlepping out to Bloomington, IN this weekend to catch the Nittany Lions take on the Indiana Hoosiers! Ok, so it's not the most captivating matchup on the boards this weekend, but given the way we play on the road, and Indiana being a little better than usual, it could be an interesting game. If we survive the severe weather outbreak on the way, I will be back on Monday with a full recap of the game and the town of Bloomington, Friday Night Tailgate style.

Responses/notes:

• The main difference between Austin Scott and Scirotto, etc. was that for them it was a first time incident, while Austin has been a bad seed since he arrived on campus in 2003. JoePa has already given him numerous second chances, including the redshirt last year so he would be eligible this year. The rape charges are rightfully the last straw. Also, in this society rape is second to murder (and maybe dogfighting, I kid) on the totem pole of horrendous crimes. So that may also be a reason for the harsher reaction.
• I addressed the letter to Mr. Torre after the Yankees lost to the Indians, and now that it is official he is not returning to New York I want him to know the offer is still there to come to Pittsburgh. I'll write more about this shortly.
• Looks like the debate on whether to include South Florida in the BCS title game will end prematurely, as Rutgers pulled off their annual Upset a BCS Contender at Home tonight. That leaves the list of unbeatens at 5: Ohio State (plays at PSU and Michigan), Boston College (plays at VA Tech), Kansas (plays actual Big 12 teams), Arizona State (plays USC, Cal, Oregon, and don't forget Stanford!*), Hawaii (plays Boise State). Kids, there's a very good chance that no one will come out of this season undefeated. This season may be the biggest argument against the BCS yet, and for a playoff.

*ASU actually already played Stanford, and crushed them, like you would expect a BCS contender to do.

Mama's boys

In the NFL we see a lot of quarterbacks' mothers writing blogs and appearing in commercials. So, since college football players can't have agents yet, a few running backs have been taking a page from that book and have let their mom do the talking for them. Or, sometimes, mom just does the talking without consulting her son.

It started back in August when Darren McFadden's mom blabbed to the press that her son would be turning pro after his junior season at Arkansas.

"He told me [Friday], 'Mom, I'll be through in December,'" Mini Muhammed said. "I said, 'What you mean?' He said, 'I'll be through.' That's what he told me."

Asked if that meant her son would be entering the draft and joining the NFL, Muhammed said, "Yeah. He'll be making big money."

And then we had Austin Scott's mother, JoAnn, speak up when rumors circulated about her son's behavior that led to his suspension from the Penn State squad.

When asked earlier in the week about her son's removal from the team, JoAnn Scott said he returned home last weekend and that she believed the incident would "boil down to a misunderstanding."

We'll see about that.

As has been reported over the last few days, Michigan players have been saying they expect their teammate, Mike Hart, to be on the field in Champaign Saturday night when the Wolverines take on the Fighting Illini of Illinois. They cite his determination and his drive to win.

But when a player's hurt, who better to get a diagnosis from but from Dr. Mom? She spoke to the press yesterday about her son's status.

"No one will know until Saturday," Rory Rushlow said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I just left Ann Arbor yesterday, and he says he's fine and if he's even 80 percent healthy he'll play.

"Hopefully, he'll play. But he if doesn't, I'm sure he'll play the next game against Minnesota."

I wonder what school she got her sports medicine degree from.

And then, of course, we all know about that letter from an "anonymous parent" sent to Colorado football coach Dan Hawkins, complaining about the level of team conditioning, that inspired Hawkins' infamous and much-parodied "It ain't intramurals!" rant. It may not have been a mother who wrote that letter, but it runs along the same wavelength.

Are these moms trying to prime themselves for a campaign to be the next Mama McNabb? Well, they or their sons can't really appear in Chunky soup commercials just yet, or get paid, or get reimbursed with gifts ... I mean, c'mon, they're not Reggie Bush.

Bye, bye Joe

I'll have something more elaborate on this later but I just wanted to say that I'm not surprised, especially after this being the 2nd year the Yankees have jerked his chain in the offseason. For all he's done, he doesn't deserve to be treated like that. He's the best manager this team has ever had, period. I know people are saying Mattingly is the heir apparent but I really hope the job goes to Joe Girardi. The guy has managed for one season, and won a coach of the year award. Currently he works up in the booth for the YES Network and would probably love the job. Plus, I feel like he's more manager material than Mattingly. Either way, I'm certain the job will go to one or the other. Either that or the Yankees pull a rabbit out of their hats and nab Bobby Valentine. Now that would be something...

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Joe. Just make sure it doesn't involve Pittsburgh in any way :)

The Latest: Torre Turns Down Yankees, Out As Manager

Joe Torre turned down a one year deal from the Yankees and will not be returning as manager of the Evil Empire. The deal was reportedly worth a minimum of $5 million and could have escalated as high as $8 million. With Torre out, who will manage in NY? Mattingly? LaRussa? Bowa? Someone else? Crazy. I think this is ridiculous. Torre has done a lot for that organization. Was he the brightest coach that made the best baseball decisions? No, not always. But he got what he needed from his players.

Where will Torre go next, if anywhere? Will Steely McDonati's dream come true...could Joe be in Pittsburgh!?!?

I won't say much else about this. I'm sure E will have a large post on this later.

Austin Scott Saga

While I was as excited as the next person upon hearing that Austin Scott was never going to suit up for us again (due to his fumbling woes), I am beginning to believe his current suspension is unfair. Currently, we have two players (one being standout starting safety Anthony Scirrotto) being charged with felonies. Those two players have been playing all year without anything stopping them. If I remember correctly, the football team has said that it will put off judgment on what to do until a trial takes place. Why not give the same treatment to Scott? The charges against him (from what I've read) seem to be anything but a slam dunk. Remember what happened to the Duke Lacrosse team? This is beginning to sound eerily similar and would be all over the news if there were racial undertones to the story.

I understand that keeping Scott away from the team is probably for the better as he'd create a media circus. However, it is hypocritical and unfair for him to be suspended while other players awaiting trial on felony charges continue to play. I know that right now he is (supposedly) being suspended for breaking an undisclosed team rule which has been rumored to be going to a bar less than 48 hours before kickoff. However, had this alleged rape not happened, he probably would have been suspended for half a game, if that. JoePa and the football staff are just playing a game of politics with the situation as they are using it as an excuse to keep him away from the team. Yes, the felonies Scott is being charged with are far more repulsive than those against Scirrotto and Baker, but they are still charges yet to be proven in a court of law. I believe this country has some sort of saying "innocent until proven guilty?" Why don't we use it here? Ignoring it has already left Duke with black eye. Penn State will look just as stupid if these charges are thrown out or Scott is proven innocent.

BCS Fan Poll

I posted this a few weeks ago but wanted to do so again. There is a site called The BCS Fan Poll. Anyone is free to join and you vote for the Top 25 every week. After three weeks of voting you are eligible to apply for "official" status. If the other "official pollsters" agree that your poll looks honorable and unbiased than you will become "official" and your poll will count towards the BCS Fan Poll. The site's main objective is to grow large enough and gain enough pull to be included into the BCS calculation in determining who should play for the National Championship! The site continues to grow. If you find yourself saying that the national polls are inaccurate, join this site and voice your opinion. Go to The BCS Fan Poll.

Apologies

I apologize for not getting the new Top 25 or Hot 12 out yet. I never received everyone's Top 25 (still waiting on 2 people) and nobody has sent me a new Hot 12. As soon as I have everything I will publish them. Thanks!

Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now

Baylor's offensive line and tight ends coach has been suspended indefinitely (and has put himself in the running to be the star of the next Detrol commercial) after being cited for urinating on a bar at Scruffy Murphy's in Waco.

No wonder Baylor's still a piss-poor team (rimshot).