As discussed yesterday, we’re proud to be part of the Big Ten Bloggers, which has introduced us to some of the best sports fans in the world. Despite being total dicks to a lot of our rivals, some of them still like us. Penn State blog Zombie Nation is one of those rivals. Mike at ZN runs himself a damn good site, and we look forward to this week because our sites have a tradition of sharing space and giving our respective readers insight into the minds of the enemy.
So….let’s get right to it.
The Buckeye Battle Cry – How important is a win for the Lions on Saturday for the recruiting battles, both this year and long term? In other words, do you think it will be harmful to recruiting if a PA kid comes into Happy Valley and beats Penn State?
Zombie Nation: Did it hurt Ohio State when Daryll Clark, a Youngstown native, beat the Buckeyes in Columbus? I don’t think that if Pryor — I’m assuming you meant him — comes in and leads Ohio State to the upset, it will make much of any difference to recruiting. Much was made out of Pryor and Penn State, but that was by the media and the fans on message boards. What would have happened if Pryor went to Penn State? He would have sat for two seasons. There was absolutely no reason for Penn State to stress about not signing Pryor, especially once Kevin Newsome signed with the Lions for this season.
(Extra note from Jeff at The BBC – I actually was unaware that Clark was from Youngstown. I hired people to tell me these things. They must have forgotten to tell me. And yes, Zombie Nation….it hurt when he beat the Buckeyes in Columbus. Make him apologize.)
The BBC – With the trouble at FSU, it seems that Bobby Bowden won’t be around much longer. While always publicly stating that he’s not interested in the record, Coach Paterno has got to be somewhat satisfied that he will stand alone on top of the record books. Do you think that Coach Paterno will allow the FSU situation to impact his decisions on when to retire?
ZN – I don’t think Paterno thinks about it nearly as much as the media does. Does it cross his mind probably once a year? Sure. But Paterno knows that he’s in the lead, Florida State isn’t going to win more games than Penn State the next few seasons, and the chances of Bobby Bowden engineering a Paterno-2005-esque turnaround is slim to none. So, no. The record is safe. Paterno isn’t worried.
The BBC – BSD published a piece recently that somewhat shocked us here at The BBC. Why are Penn State students reluctant to attend games (or at least get there on time) this season?
ZN – So how much are they paying you, anyway? This isn’t anything old around many PSU circles. Since about 2007, the student fanbase has become spoiled by success. With another Big Ten title last season, and possibly another 11-win season this year (even with greatly lowered expectations), students aren’t appreciating the current product on the field. Wins are now expected once again, like they were for the 50 years prior to 2000. So, why should the students wake up before 12 p.m. on Saturdays, when they can just watch the game from their apartment? There are about a thousand more reasons why the students have been absent from kickoff (new ticketing system, atrocious 12 p.m. kickoffs, etc.), but I think general apathy has played the biggest role.
The BBC – Be honest- You really wanted Pryor to come to PSU, didn’t you?
ZN – I just don’t get this obsession with Pryor. And I mean on both sides. Do I think he’s an immature prima donna? I do. Do I think he could be a very good quarterback, someday? Possibly. Would I have liked to see the No. 1 overall recruit sign with Penn State? Um, didn’t every school in the nation that year? Why is it somehow shameful to say I wanted Pryor to attend Penn State? I also wanted Ohio State to win the national championship in 2006 and 2007. Is that wrong, too? You know what I really want? I want this game to be about two very good teams battling it out for a possible Big Ten championship, not some media-driven sensational storyline about how it’s “Terrelle Pryor vs. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
With that, we bid our friends from visiting Penn State blogs a fond farewell. Get back over that border and prepare for the war, bitches!
Good luck, Lions, and we’ll see you tomorrow! Thanks, Mike…we really are fans of Zombie Nation. Keep up the outstanding work!
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