Put on your favorite sweatpants, take your famous buffalo chicken dip out of the oven, and prop up your feet. Today is Penn State's bye week, and it's time to sit back and enjoy some college football. At 9-0, and ranked #3 in the country, the Nittany Lions are coming off a win for the ages. Going into last Saturday night's showdown, Ohio State had only lost 3 home games in the previous 7 seasons. Penn State went into Columbus, and made it their 4th.
To first time viewers of the Nittany Lions, perceptions might be somewhat skewed. Lack of offense made it appear that Penn State does not deserve to be ranked near the high powered teams of the Big 12 and SEC Conferences. Let's not forget, the Nittany Lions have scored at will on every other opponent this season, averaging over 42 points a game. They put up 45 points against an Oregon State team that would beat the mighty USC Trojans just two weeks later. Ohio State was fighting for their season. They were ranked #9 nationally in total defense, were playing in front of a record home crowd, and had beaten Penn State every meeting in Columbus since 1978. I don't care who you are, in this matchup, a win is a win.
While other teams are winning high scoring shootouts, or consistant defensive struggles, Penn State is doing it on both sides of the ball. Among the other top 10 teams, only USC ranks in the top 14 in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Texas, the #1 ranked team in the country ranks 5th in offense, yet 28th in defense. Alabama, just the opposite, is the nation's # 5 team in defense, but only stacks up as the 34th best offensive team. The Nittany Lions are 3rd in scoring defense, and 8th in scoring offense, making them the most balanced football team in the land. Remember, just because a conference might be better from top to bottom, doesnt mean that the best team in that conference is better than the best team in another conference.
So now, Penn State has solidified themselves as the consensus #3 ranked team in the country. (The Lions were already ranked #3 in both the Harris Poll, and Coaches Poll, but have now moved from #7 to #3 in the computer rankings as well). It is very unlikely that Penn State will be able to jump over either #2 Alabma or #1 Texas unless one of those teams loses. It is also very unlikely that both of those 2 teams will remain undefeated.
Texas plays in Lubbock tonight at undefeated Texas Tech, at Kansas in 2 weeks, and a probable Big 12 Championsihp game. Alabama still has to play in Baton Rouge against LSU, Auburn at home, and a possible SEC championship game against the winner of today's Florida vs Georgia game. So hop on your lazy boy, put on the surround sound and enjoy some football today. If Penn State can finish what they started, and either one of these top two team stumbles, look for the Nittany Lions to be in Miami on January 8th.
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2 comments:
You make a great point concerning Penn State's balance on both sides compared to those other teams. I really like(and it's not just wishful thinking) Tech's chances against McCoy and Co. If they keep Texas off the field enough, sustain long drives and play mistake-free like PSU did last week; combined with the crowd frenzy, they could be #3 by tomorrow. I don't look for a low-scoring affair like PSU-OSU. Good point on the strength of conference issue too. If the Hi-Def is in Hi-Gear, along with that stingy defense, look out SEC and Big 12. Before all is said and done, both Texas and Bama could well be playing their bowl games several days before PSU. Very real chance of that!
You make a great point concerning Penn State's balance on both sides of the ball. I really like (and it's not just wishful thinking) Tech's chances against McCoy and Co. If they keep Texas off the field, sustain long drives, and play mistake-free football like PSU did last week; combine that with the crowd frenzy, they could be #3 in the country tomorrow. I don't look for it to be a low-scoring affair like PSU-OSU. Good point on the strength-of-conference issue too. If the High-def is in High-gear, along with that great defense, look out SEC and Big 12. Before it's all said and done, Texas and Bama could well be playing their bowl games several days before Penn State. Very real chance of that! GO STATE!!
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