Blue and White Roundtable: Temple Of Doom

This week’s questions are courtesy of William Yurasko, who vows to never set foot in the city of Hazleton again.

1.) Please elaborate on whether you come away from the Purdue game
encouraged or discouraged about the Nittany Lions?
Slightly encouraged. They started terribly, but Sean Lee completely changed the game with his strip and fumble recovery at the goal line. From that point forward, Penn State played very well. So yeah, I’m encouraged by the resiliency. The kickoff coverage problem mystifies me. I just don’t get it at all. It’s also clear that our defense is rather average at this point in time, but again, they improved as the game progressed — a compliment to them and the defensive coaching staff. After Lee’s brilliant play, Purdue only totaled 228 yards and nine points.

2.) Who was a better linebacker at this point in their junior seasons, Sean Lee, Dan Connor or Paul Posluszny?

I have to go with Posluszny, with his excellent leadership as the tiebreaker. I love all three guys, though. They’ve been tremendous as the linchpins of their respective defenses. It’s so close. I think Lee is the best player on the team right now.

3.) How much of a fight do you expect Temple to put up since this their
biggest home game in forever-and-a-day? Does Temple (3-6) have a shot at winning? Are you going to be at the game in Philadelphia?

Well, no, Temple doesn’t have a chance. No more than Stanford had against USC, that is. I think Temple will play well for a while, because they’re a much better team this season. Al Golden’s been recruiting like a madman — not an easy thing when your school’s based in North Philly.

Lightning round

Are you a fan of the Patriot-News sportswriter videos?

Definitely. They’re a perfect mix of information, opinion, and amateur production values. The videos are kind of charming in that sense.
Which basketball team will have a better season, the men or the women?

The women, but there’s an outside chance that the men could put together a successful season. They’ll be really young, but more talented than they’ve been in quite some time. It’ll be interesting to see what Jeff Brooks and Talor Battle can do. And hey, any women’s basketball season without Rene Portland is a good season in my book.

Do you wear a Penn State jersey to games? If so, what number and why?

Sometimes. I have a white #31 and a blue #43. The #31 is rather obvious, because everyone knows I’m a huge Freddie Scott fan. I don’t know where I pulled the #43 from. I know I didn’t buy it. I have no idea how it ended up in my possession. It’s an underrated number in Penn State history for many different reasons, thanks to Brandon Short, Adam Taliaferro, Ethan Kilmer, and Phil Yeboah-Kodie.

That’s all for this week. Don’t forget the other guys:

The Nittany Line
Black Shoe Diaries

There Is No Name On My Jersey

The Nittany Notebook