RESPECT

Respect has been something that has not come easy for the Nittany Lions this year. First, the criticism was was that they have not played a real team. Granted, this was after FBS Coastal Carolina came to Happy Valley. Oregon State came to town afterwards, and got rocked by 31 points. Following that blowout, the sentiment was that the Beavers had to travel across the country, which somehow de-valued that win (everyone seems to casually forget what Oregon State did to USC, but that's another story).

Then, experts said that Penn State has not played a real opponent. Enter Illinois. After a 38-24 throttling of Juice Williams and the Illini, one might think the Lions had earned some respect...they hadn't. The critics said that Penn State had not played a meaningful road game. Purdue was next on the docket, and faced the same fate as the previous five teams; another Nittany Lion victory. Then came the moment that cynics had been waiting for; Penn State's much anticipated trip to Wisconsin. If one remembers, the Badgers were at one point the sexy pick to win the Big 10. Even after they had lost two straight games, every Penn State fan's favorite analyst, Mark May (note the sarcasm) still had the gall to pick Wisconsin. Penn State ended up knocking the cheddar out of Wisconsin 48-7 (yeah put that in your juice box and suck it, Mark May). After all of that, about the only thing the Lions can't beat is the repuation they have for playing a "soft" schedule.

After watching ESPNU, I have now heard the latest trend in disrespecting Penn State. Mike Gottfried and Jim Donnan have both questioned Penn State's #3 ranking, because it's "hard to rank a team so highly that has played the likes of Temple, Coastal Carolina, and Syracuse." Obviously they don't realize that two components of the BCS are the Coaches Poll and Harris Poll. Each of those polls are comprised of either current or former coaches, athletic directors, players and sports writers. Why have they realized the talent that Penn State possesses and these two former coaches do not? It baffles the mind.