Morning Cup of Joe – Penn State junior day updates and defending 2015 schedule

One criticism Penn State fans seem to have on a somewhat regular basis is the non-conference schedule’s lack of strength. In this new era of college football, with the College Football Playoff and the emphasis the selection committee is supposed to place on overall body of work, the strength of Penn State’s schedule is worth discussing. However, sometimes the logic and work put into organizing a schedule often gets overlooked by fans simply scanning the schedule for the fall. In 2015, Penn State plays Temple, Army, San Diego State and Buffalo. This does next to nothing to excite the fans who seem to think it is as simple as making a phone call to Notre Dame or Oregon or Alabama or USC to schedule a game. It doesn’t work that way, and it is time to realize why Penn State should be given some slack with the 2015 schedule.

Over the last week we have been breaking down a number of Big Ten topics in an ongoing series of Big Ten roundtable questions. It has been a lot of fun to put together and I thank the contributors from The Student Section, Madtown Badgers, Buckeye Battle Cry, Boiled Sports and Eight Laces for their contributions. We still have a couple of more topics to go (with one more posting later today), but make sure you have caught up with these previous installments;

Part 1: Is The Big Ten Back?

Part 2: Where does the Big Ten rank now?

Part 3: The Big Ten and Autonomy

Part 4: Evaluating Maryland and Rutgers

Part 5: B1G surprises from 2014

Part 6: B1G disappointments from 2014

Part 7: Big Ten spring stories to watch

Penn State Recruiting News

Penn State had a big junior day event on Saturday, and a few offers were reportedly extended. North Carolina three-star defensive tackle Christian Colon was one to receive an offer from James Franklin. Illinois defensive tackle Mike Panasiuk, another three-star talent, also received an offer. Michigan defensive back (or athlete) Demetric Vance received an offer too. Vance plays at Cass Tech in Detroit. That is the same school whose head coach recently ripped Ohio State’s recruiting tactics (although he and Urban Meyer reportedly found common ground after the blowup). Some younger players for the Class of 2017 also were extended offers (LB David Adams, LB Avery Roberts).

Two-Minute Drill

Illinois staff member gets probation for DUI… Top five Big Ten running backs in 2015… Nebraska has a new hype video… Speaking of Nebraska, Mike Riley has similar recruiting techniques for players and staff members… More academic troubles at UNC?… Do not count on these Texas helmets seeing the light of day… No NCAA tournament for Penn State hockey?

Thanks for Supporting Nittany Lions Den

With February drawing to a close, I wanted to extend a thanks to those who have been reading the site. February was the best February on the site since 2012 and traffic on the site increased for the third straight month as I attempt to re-focus my efforts with this site. The numbers from Google show about 70 percent of you are returning visitors, so I am happy to see you all coming back. The most popular story last month was news about quarterback Michael O’Connor transferring to a school in Canada. I’ll see if I can keep you entertained in March.

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