Part of what makes the Big Ten Bloggers so great is that we truly work together. Our teams are at each others’ throats week in and week out, but the bloggers stick together like family. Sure, we razz each other all the time, but in the end, we get along great.
A perfect example of that is in our exchange program. This week, Zombie Nation, a Penn State blog, takes over my site for a day (and I do the same over at ZN). We’ve posed questions to each other regarding the big game this weekend. here’s the result;
Oh, and click here to go to Zombie Nation and see how I answered his questions…..
1) Do you think that JoePa will retire if PSU goes 13-0 and wins it all?
ZN – Sure I do. He’s said that he would like to have an undefeated season
in each decade he’s coached. I believe he would have done it if Penn
State won the National Championship in 2005. He was pissed that PSu
didn’t make it. He really wants it this season.
1a) If he does retire, who is your dream candidate for the job? The
laws of contracts do not exist in this scenario, choose any living
coach in the world. Tell us why.
ZN – I’ll go with the boring pick, and choose Defensive Coordinator Tom
Bradley. Some PSU fans will hate me for saying this, but I’m a
believer in Paying Your Dues, especially when it involves dealing with
Joe Paterno for almost 30 years. Tom has the respect of this program
and its fans, and knows first-hand that allowing your coordinators to
do their jobs is the best way to win. I believe hiring Tom would
ensure that the PSU coaching staff would stay together, which means
recruits would not be scared off, and the current players wouldn’t
even consider transferring. So, yeah. I think Tom Bradley should get
the job.
2) IMHO, all 18-year-old kids will find trouble in one form or
another. Is ESPN on a mission to “get Penn State”, or is there a need
to monitor player behavior better?
I think Penn State had a bad group of kids, but ESPN exacerbated and
sensationalized the problems within this program. Penn State is
cleaner than most programs, and a hell of a lot cleaner than the SEC
schools, who still won’t admit what they do. When Maurice Clarett went
insane, no one really blamed Ohio State as a program. Sure, there were
questions swirling around about whether or not the OSU program was on
the up and up, but ESPN didn’t do a hatchet-job expose on Ohio State.
I think ESPN saw an opening to make a big splash, and went for it the
only way they knew how: Blow it completely out of proportions. I can’t
wait to see how PSU fans act at GameDay this week.
3) To date, Penn State has played no team with less than 3 losses, and
beat the #7-#10 teams in the Big Ten. Does this concern you or your
readers heading into a huge road game against Ohio State?
I think this is the classic argument people have with a weak schedule.
If Penn State was winning by 10-14 points per game, I’d say it worries
me very much going into Ohio State. I would bet on Penn State losing
by a large margin to OSU. But Penn State has beaten its opponents by
wide, very wide margins in each game this year. They are beating these
teams the way good teams should beat these teams.
Note from The BBC – good answer!
4) MVP so far….Royster or Clark? Or another player? Why?
I won’t go with the expected answer of Clark. Is he nearly
indispensable? Yup. But Pat Devlin is a very capable quarterback,
who’s actually a slightly better passer. So I’m going with Royster as
the player PSU can’t do without. We’ve heard all about Stephfon Green
and the others, but if Royster goes down, Penn State’s season goes
down with it. He’s been the constant on this team, even giving the
offense a spark in places you would normally expect a big pass play
would do. He single handedly turned the Michigan game around, and is
the most complete back Penn State’s had since Larry Johnson’s senior
campaign. I’d go so far as to say Royster is better than LJ.
5) In 1994, the best PSU team I’ve ever seen beat Ohio State 63-14.
Is this year’s team capable of that accomplishment?
In the spirit of the Presidential Election, and the political season,
I’ll give you a typical campaign answer. I’m not going to get into
hypotheticals. We will find out if Penn State can do the job if they
leave Columbus with a win. But I can’t say whether this team is that
good until they prove it.
6) Do Zombie Nation fans view this game as payback to Terrelle Pryor
for leaving the state?
I haven’t seen the hatred for Pryor the way it was in the message
boards four months ago. If Daryll Clark was a dud, and Pat Devlin
wasn’t too great, you would definitely hear Penn State fans roaring
for Pryor’s head. I’m worried more about the Ohio State defense,
frankly. I think the overall fan consensus is about the same. We’re
worried about the entire team, not just one player.
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