MICHIGAN WEEKEND WRAP-UP

The weekend is coming to an end in a few minutes and we’ll be forced to place the memories of yet another memorable Penn State victory on the backburner as a tough road game in Columbus is only days away.

But before we turn our focus to Ohio State, let’s take a look back on exactly what took place this weekend as the Lions were finally able to end the ever-so-long losing streak to the University of Michigan.

As one of my recent posts on The Floating Lion was all about the "signs" that pointed to a Penn State victory over the Wolverines, you can be sure I was a little nervous at the way the beginning of the game unfolded.

• First off, the Blue Band’s drum major failed to deliver on both of his pre-game flips. Everyone knows this is a sign that Penn State is due for a long day.

• The F-18’s that flew over Beaver Stadium were a good 10 seconds late as they were scheduled to fly over as the National Anthem was ending. (For the record, they still made my pants a little tighter. Video can be seen HERE.)

• Center A.Q. Shipley snapped Penn State’s first snap from scrimmage over Daryll Clark’s head for a 12-yard loss.

• Michigan’s tailback Brandon Minor looked like he was going to be a major problem early on as had no trouble finding open holes in the sluggish PSU defense.

• Clark gave away an early fumble and nearly another one after he botched a snap.

• Kevin “I Make it Rain” Kelly missed his second field goal of the season early on, on a 45-yarder that went off the right upright.
  

Yes, as Michigan quickly built leads of 10-0 and 17-7 (both Penn State's largest deficits of the season), it appeared that their streak of nine consecutive wins against the Lions was going to stretch to 10 and State College was about to be placed on suicide alert.

“We can’t beat them, we just can’t F-ing beat them,” cried one fan in the streets.

“If we lose this game, I’ll chop off my testicles,” cried one drunken FEMALE from an overflowing Rathskeller booth.

But just as quick as Jaeger bombs that flow down eager throats, Penn State awoke on both sides of the ball and began to dominate just like they had in the previous seven games. They clearly didn't see the signs that I saw. They saw a coaching staff that stuck to the plan and had confidence in their play-makers.

Evan Royster ran around like a greased pig on slaughter day as he broke tackle after tackle, racking up 174 yards on 18 carries. It was his "I cannot be tackled" attitude that brought the crowd to life, as he broke free for a 44-yard TD run in the first quarter.

The Lions made it clear that no matter what the signs pointed on Saturday evening, they were going to put an end to the losing streak once and for all.

Penn State again achieved tremendous offensive balance, throwing for 251 and rushing for 231 for a total of 482. The Lions gained 401 yards over the final three quarters.

39 consecutive points later, Joe Paterno had his 380th career victory in the books and the Lion faithful took to the streets to celebrate the Lions 8th win of the year.

You can be sure the Penn State coaching staff was quick to place a cap on the post game celebration Saturday evening as the Lions cannot lose focus of what’s at stake next weekend.

Not only are they playing in their third primetime game of the year against a team that embarrassed the Lions in Beaver Stadium last year, but they are also playing for the hope that their hard work will be rewarded with a trip to the National Championship. You’ve read in one of the below posts that the BCS computers were not exactly in Penn State’s corner as the first BCS standings were released this afternoon. It’s clear that Penn State will need to undoubtedly finish the year undefeated if a trip to Miami is in store for early January.

However, let’s consider this the end of our Michigan celebration as the Lions now face a No. 10 ranked Buckeye team that would like to see their own BCS stock raise with a win over a top-3 team.

I hope you’re not allergic to nuts Kirk Herbstreit, there’s going to be thousands of crushed Buckeyes come Saturday night.

Things to discuss while at the water cooler on Monday:

• Penn State finally blocked a punt. It was especially nice to see Nathan Stupar be the Lion to get his hands on the ball. He's been the source of about a million collective "OOOOooo's" as he's been ever-so-close numerous times this season to blocking a punt.
• Derrick Williams...not a quarterback. I threw my tasty Miller Light bottle against the wall when I saw him toss up that wobbly dead duck.
• Texas looks unstoppable. Alabama does not.
• Jim Tressel is a big nerd.