PSU1995

You should be in your dorm or apartment studying on a Thursday night, not out drinking it up. That's what I used to do. ...although there was that one time before finals week, and then there was this other time... (sigh) so many stories my kids will never be allowed to hear

Thursday night games are awesome. I mean, if you love college football what's better than getting the kids in bed for the night, sitting down to relaxe on the sofa, turning on the TV near the end of the work week and then....BAM!!!...college football in the house!

Time Warner in Lincoln will get it before this year is up I bet! If they have any brains at all, they will. I wouldn't be surprised to see cable rates go up because of it, though. Not that they don't jack them up all the time anyway. I'm in Pennsylvania and was *infuriated* that I wasn't able to see Penn State games because many cable carriers were not carrying it. I don't know if they failed to consider how many alums are in PA but I think they got some pressure and lost some business to the satellite carriers over it. I almost dumped my cable carrier over it. I emailed them frequently. I know a lot of other people did to. They finally relented although I know some still have not. B10 Network RULES on football Saturdays!

My guess is Mizzou, ND, Kansas and Rutgers. They would enhance the football and BBall reputation. Also get ND's national fan base, NY, St. Louis, KC markets. Rutgers is a ? just because they could be a flash in the pan but the NY market is monsterous. Rutgers does not have the NY market like you want to believe. The only people who watch Rutgers football are Rutgers alumni and students who live in New Jersey. I don't know a single Rutgers fan, I've never seen Rutgers on television, and I've never been to a Rutgers game and I don't know anyone who has. Rutgers may be the most wasted (not the alcohol kind of wasted) football program in the country, given its location. Nobody cares about Rutgers around here is the point I'm trying to make. Iowa State probably has many times more viewers on television than Rutgers. I could not have said it any better. Nobody gives two craps about Rutgers football, certainly not the New York market. They had their day in the sun a few years ago. Now they are back in the shadows of obscurity. I hated playing Rutgers when they were on our schedule, I mean...who cares? It's like Temple. Why the *hell* is TEMPLE still on PSU's SCHEDULE??? Cripes, man...enough of freaking Temple and Rutgers. Rutgers.

For the record, I knew we had no shot of picking up votes when the PSU-Oregon pairing looked to be a done deal. Nobody in State College was happy about playing the freaking Ducks, though I'm sure the Ducks were thrilled to get Penn State. When I watching the NU-Miami game I was actually pretty torn. On one hand, I knew that a NU win would kill us. On the other hand, I *loathed* Miami at the time since they still had the Thug U crap going and I badly wanted to see them smacked down. Figures the smackdown came indirectly at our expense.

Yes, OSU was ranked. The game was over in the first quarter after we went up 21-0. Just curious, how many of those guys in 1994 were still in the NFL a decade later? I believe we had four, Collins, Brady, Engram, and an O-lineman for Pittsburgh whose name escapes me. As for Karma, I was 9 in 1982 and have no interest in what happened that year. I already noted on here that PSU was gifted on a play that was clearly out of bounds. Bottom line - there's nothing I can say that will convince you that we would have taken NU to the woodshed. There's nothing you can say that NU would have taken us to the woodshed. For those of us that were around on both sides, we're all convinced in the superiority of our alma maters at that time. Hence the reason why NU-PSU is going to be significant to the Blue & White at the start of the 2011.

I won't dispute this point. The Big 10 was stupidly hanging on to the "tradition" of the "Grandaddy of them all". Whatever. It's not the grandaddy if it doesn't pit the right teams together. So I concede this, because you're right. (but we would have won )

Yes, I've heard all the arguments before. Paterno had a nasty tendency to call off the dogs once the game was in hand. That really made us look bad against Indiana who bombed away at the end and also went for 2 points to end the game. But we could also talk about how Penn State was sporting the nation's #1 offense. Would the Nebraska D hold up? How good must your defense be if you're offense is putting up two and three touchdowns in the first quarter? We could also talk about the 3 touchdowns that NU allowed against Pacific (you remember them? They dropped their football program in 1995), the 10 point win against unranked Wyoming (in Lincoln), and the 10 point win against unranked Oklahoma. The only equitable thing to have done was to split the NC if no game was going to be played.

If somebody can explain why Nebraska went to #1 in the polls ahead of Penn State after we killed a ranked Ohio State 63-14 back in 1994, I'm still waiting to hear it.

WTF? Doesn't anybody in Columbus drink real beer? Miller Lite, Coors Lite?? Sheesh, what's up with the cases of water Lite?

Like I said before, when the honeymoon is over the trash talking and other assorted crap that makes college football so much fun can start. I'm sure it won't be all pretty. But I just can't think of another University that fits so perfectly into the Big 10. After seeing the other names that were tossed around, there's no doubt that this would a simply brilliant addition. Frankly, I'd just as soon stop at 12 teams and call it a day. F Notre Dame. Over rated University that would top the league in the arrogance factor. B10 is better off w/o them. Would Crapper Dame be as excited about this move as Nebraska? Hardly. Putting Rutgers and Syracuse in the same discussion as Nebraska is insulting. No, this was a fantastic move. And now that my cable provider has the B10 Network...it doesn't get any sweeter!

I want iowa/PSU every year that will prevent: I like this one - Iowa PSU WIS NEB ILL IND Yeah, Iowa has played us tough and they would be great to have in the Division as well. I like your list. If you end Neb-PSU and ensure PSU v MU/OSU every season...it works for me.

I *think* I'd be OK with PSU-Nebraska each year as the last game of the regular season. Frankly, I never really thought the PSU-MSU match-up was that exciting. I have nothing against MSU, but it never really felt like a great way to end the season. With PSU-Nebraska, you probably have a large contingent of alums my age and older that will recall 1994 and favor the match-up. How do you address PSU v OSU/UM? I think if you can create a rotation where PSU plays either OSU or UM each year you still satisfy the desire to pair up with one of these two schools. We'd be playing one of them every year, it just rotates which one. Plus, if PSU is powering through their division and OSU / UM are doing the same...we'd play the other divisional powerhouse during the Championship game anyway. Yeah, there's a chance two teams could play each other more than once but I don't think that's a big deal. PSU-Nebraska to end the season, every season. PSU v OSU or UM every season, but not both in one season unless the pairing is via the B10 Championship. ...I think that could work.

I've never been to any games away from Beaver Stadium. But I have to say, that entrance at the Shoe is really nice. Beaver Stadium is pretty industrial looking underneath and at the entrances. The setup, however, seems to really concentrate the noise. With high sides all around it probably focuses the noise onto the field. Night games are fantastic, sadly the White Out came well after my graduation date. Stewart Mandel had this to say: If I was a Circuit City employee trying to woo a customer into buying a $2,000 High-definition plasma television, the first thing I would show him is Saturday night's broadcast of the Penn State-Illinois game. Even seeing it for a third time, it was impossible not to be awed by the visual grandeur of Penn State's "White Out," which manages to turn a 110,000-seat stadium one enormous flashbulb. It's powerful, it's organized (right down to the block "S" in one corner) and, quite frankly, it's awesome. Two words of advice to all the other schools trying to mimic it: Just stop. Seriously.

Would you have been able to point to Indiana on a blank map?

Penn State's traditional stadium call is "We Are..." (the student side) and then, "...Penn State" (the alumni side). Most of the fans participate so it echos well outside the stadium. A more recent thingy is bouncing to Zombie Nation and adding "we are Penn State" to the music. They've cut back on that though because there was concern about structural stresses inside the stadium from repeated, uniform bouncing. Yikes.

The subway alumni are the soul of The Family. I'm glad for them when ND wins, 2nd only to the kids in the stands. I couldn't have found South Bend on a blank map during my first two years. Wait...hold on. You went to Notre Dame and you're admitting that, as a college sophomore, if somebody handed you a blank map of the United States you wouldn't have been able to ascertain within a diameter of your finger the location of your home? ...I think we can rule Notre Dame out for future consideration by the Big 10 on the basis of academic inelligibility.

Meh, wait until the honeymoon is over. I think we all know how it's going to go down once we're all in the thick of it. I think most of the Big Ten folks are thrilled, obviously. For a lot of reasons. Conference championship, new blood, and at the end of the day...it's Nebraska. Rather than, say...Rutgers. I mean, seriously...Rutgers? Nebraska is a University everybody can be pleased about joining. I think most will agree that Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois, Northwestern, and Minnesota are the guys you really can't hate. Wiscy is borderline. I personally don't have a huge problem with Iowa but for the fact that they've been a real freaking pain for the last how many years we played them. We can be obnoxious, but you gotta love the White Out. Yeah exactly on the bolded part. I am sure once things get started and the drama starts then it will get interesting. Wisconsin is one that I don't think we will have problems with...I can see a mutual respect between us and them. I was talking to my brother and we agree that Iowa is probably going to be the one we love to hate. They have done some trash talking to Nebraska fans in the past, so I can see a rivalry brewing there. I have had a lot of respect for Coach Paterno and Penn State, but I can see the student section getting rowdy for you guys...not a big deal for me as long as you don't throw things at us . Things will get interesting, but it is exciting too. There is a lot of hatred towards Ohio State due to the fact that they have been so successful recently. I assume if you go to any forum based off of another Big10 school, you'll get to see it first hand. Yeah, but everyone feels that way for successful programs. That aside, the historical "hatred" was for both M*ch*gan and Ohio State. M*ch*gan because they're incredibly arrogant and believe to be far superior to everyone else (even if they're hicks who never went to school, much less UM), and Ohio State because of Woody Hayes' personality and how he shaped the program. If you were another program, you probably hated them both. MSU fans and OSU fans are respectful of each other for the most part. PSU and OSU fans are at each other's throats, but I still think that in the end, PSU identifies more with OSU than UM. People can say all such things about OSU, like we're too rowdy or redneckish or have a sociopathic fringe attachment to our fans or whatever, but we're not arrogant. OSU has always been a great down-to-business competitor and that's what I've loved about the Buckeyes. We're not Texas. My opinion is that PSU and OSU are the same University only in different states...they're pretty similar.

First time I ever heard or saw this from a PSU fan. This needs to be a sticky post. Meh, I want a clean game for just this reason. I don't want to be second guessed for the next 30 years. I can think of a LOT of crappy arse calls that have cost us HUGE over the last how many seasons prior to the instant replay. It sucks. Paterno has always pushed for instant replay and for good reason. I don't like when it goes against us, it shouldn't go against our opponents, either. Seeing that play...yeah, that sucks for sure.

1982 is too far back for me since I was born in 1973. But that was clearly a bogus call and a legit beef for Nebraska.

I'd take notre dame, they have a top tier program and I absolutely hate em. Problem is that we don't no if theyll join the big10 especially with all all the super conference talk dying, and they'd need to improve their current level of play. IV said it once and I'll say it again, if we do get a top main rival, it should b Penn state, but we don't need a rival either so we shouldn't force a rivalry- especially with lesser prestige iowa A PSU v Nebraska rivalry would probably sit pretty well with a lot of folks (like me) that were around in '94. To the younger guys (and current student body) it may not mean as much. While I'm thrilled to have Nebraska in the Big Ten (it just seems like a great fit when you say it), I do not have a lot of love for Nebraska as a result of '94. Clearly, what happened is the fault of nobody on here and nobody that was around at the time. But rivalries are often built on emotion that have no rational basis. I respect the program. And separating the academics out of the equation, you guys clearly have a University to be proud of. But putting football into equation...yeah, I'm all for slamming you when the honeymoon is over. I really agree with this. i dont really know what went on in '94, but i do remember in 2002 when we went to happy valley when Penn state had Larry Johnson and i just remember how awful it seemed like the fans were to us that game. Cause if i remember right i think you guys were mad at Richie Incognito (correct me if i'm wrong but i believe that was the game he threw a punch). So i think it would be a great rivalry based off of the rspect we seem to have for each others programs and also the tiny seeds of hatred that also seem to be present. Here's to hoping: Well, the 2002 match up came 8 years after 1994. It's possible that a lot of pent up anger was being vented at Nebraska during that game. Here's the short primer on 1994: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/blogs/footblog/2010/06/1994_husker_heist.aspx After we thrashed Ohio State 63-14 (I think it was 21-0 after the first 6 minutes or so) we actually dropped to #2. The NC was decidec by people filling out a ballot. Not Nebraska's fault, but a lot of anger.

I hate Notre Dame for an entirely stupid reason. When I was working a summer job at an amusement park between my sophomore and junior years of college I was off work for the night, hanging out at said park with work friends, and had on my PSU sweatshirt. Some flunkie doofus that looked to be in his mid 20s said to me, "yo, you should get a real sweatshirt". I asked him who that would be and he said, "Notre Dame, they're the best. Penn State sucks." I asked him if he went to Notre Dame. He said, "No. I just think they're the best". And that describe the typical, open mouth breathing moron that flunked fractions in high school and wears junky Wal-Mart made Notre Dame clothing. A doofus that couldn't find Indiana on a map, let alone South Bend, yet somehow believes a Univesity is superior to another solely for the fact that they have a winning football team...and tells somebody as much. Yeah, yeah...stupid I know. But after that I feelings of Notre Dame were solidified. I hate them and hope they never get in the Big Ten and continue to suck on national TV for the next 40 years. I was really sad to see the Tick leave, he was the best head coach ever. Proudly leading the Irish to seasons of suck.

I'd take notre dame, they have a top tier program and I absolutely hate em. Problem is that we don't no if theyll join the big10 especially with all all the super conference talk dying, and they'd need to improve their current level of play. IV said it once and I'll say it again, if we do get a top main rival, it should b Penn state, but we don't need a rival either so we shouldn't force a rivalry- especially with lesser prestige iowa A PSU v Nebraska rivalry would probably sit pretty well with a lot of folks (like me) that were around in '94. To the younger guys (and current student body) it may not mean as much. While I'm thrilled to have Nebraska in the Big Ten (it just seems like a great fit when you say it), I do not have a lot of love for Nebraska as a result of '94. Clearly, what happened is the fault of nobody on here and nobody that was around at the time. But rivalries are often built on emotion that have no rational basis. I respect the program. And separating the academics out of the equation, you guys clearly have a University to be proud of. But putting football into equation...yeah, I'm all for slamming you when the honeymoon is over.

I put the gophers at 3 stars because they show signs of life and/or improvement, what with their new stadium and all. Illinois and Indiana always look like they are going to be in the doldrums... Especially with Zook at Illinois. What a joke. And they're supposed to be our "rival" for the Illibuck. Iowa has dominated PSU, but I still put PSU above Iowa because PSU potentially can always be the more threatening team because of their recruiting, their stadium, and the program in general has more up their sleeve than the modest - but expertly run - Iowa program. It is like Nebraska and Missouri... Missouri was really successful earlier, but they're back down to Earth again at the end of the decade as nobodies. Maybe the big-school bias is getting to me. I even view Iowa as one of my more-liked Big Ten schools and PSU the worst only behind M*ch*gan, so go figure. EDIT: If I really had to put money on it, I would put Nebraska at 4.5 stars, but I think that is too specific for a team that hasn't even played in the conference yet. While I appreciate the respect from Manhattan (the Buckeye), I disagree with his list. I'd actually put Penn State (I hate to say this) below Ohio State right now. Yes, I'm an alum. Yes, I *LOVE* Penn State. But I think one has to be realistic. Iowa has had our number and they should get credit for that. We had some real down years a few seasons ago and we're working to recover from that. While I do think that Penn State comes up equivalent to OSU in terms of intangibles and goodwill (ahead of Iowa in this regard)...our game on the field has not been up to snuff. There have been a lot of letdowns in big games the last few seasons. I saw some good mental toughness when we beat OSU in the Shoe the other year. But that needs to start being the norm again. Same with Iowa. Ok, maybe 4.5 stars for the Nits. I rank OSU at the top of my Crap list for B10 schools I hate, but putting aside that bias for the moment they're currently the class of the conference.

I can only speak for Penn State, and it's just a poorly formed opinion at that. The last couple of seasons where we had some success we had a mobile QB that was competent (not great) at forward passes. A lot of play out of the shotgun with screens and short pass slants. Michael Robinson and Daryl Clark were effective at doing this. Robinson was a better leader, in my opinion. The ground game sucked it last year because our O-line never really jelled the way they should have. With a fifth year, returning start at HB and an O-line that should have matured from last season we should have a better ground game. I'd like to see the TE worked into the pass some more but who knows if that will happen. The receiving corps is competent but we're starting a new QB this coming season. We will not compete until 2012. I expect 2013 to have some potential as well. On Defense the safeties are probably the bigger concern. The line up front and in the middle is solid. There's always another lineman ready to step up at Penn State so this should hardly ever be an issue. Special teams last year was a joke and a half. I think we were ranked 118th when it came to punting. I mean, how hard is it to punt a football? Apparently, if you're Penn State in 2009, it's *really* hard. In a nutshell, if you can jam the O-line you'll do well this season. Possibly next. Defensively, I think we're fairly well rounded. All we heard was SPEEEEEED!!!!! before the LSU game and we all know how that went. Oh, sorry...muddy field = not fair! On dry field LSU would have pwnd you and you know it!!! Speeeeeeed!