Blue and White Roundtable: Bouillabaisse
December 28, 2007 by Run Up The Score!
We’re getting the band back together for the bowl game. Because we’re lazy but committed to this thing, everyone pitched in a question. As always, your trusty roundtablists are:
Black Shoe Diaries
The Nittany Line
There Is No Name On My Jersey
The Nittany Notebook
William F. Yurasko
Do you think any of the quarterbacks below Anthony Morelli will get any meaningful playing time on Saturday?
Meaningful? Maybe they’ll run a few plays for Daryll Clark, but that’s likely to be the end of it. The lack of meaningful playing time for the backup quarterbacks is going to be the main topic of concern in 2008.
Other than the quarterbacks, what players would you like to see get significant playing time in the game for preparation for 2008?
I’d like to see extended playing time for Chris Colasanti at linebacker. Same goes for Brent Brackett and Chris Bell at wide receiver. It’s a bowl game, so the coaches have had weeks to design plays for these huge targets. Let’s at least try something with them.
Will Royster finish the game healthy? If not, how concerned should fans be about the RB position in ‘08?
Hopefully, the time off has allowed Royster to heal a bit. Whether it’s fair or not, he’ll be tagged with durability concerns heading into 2008. Stephfon Green appears to be the clear #2 at this point, and he’ll be a redshirt freshman with zero career carries next August. Lots of talent, not much in the way of depth. Behind Green, it could be anybody. Maybe it’s a true freshman like Brandon Beachum or Michael Shaw. The coaches could design a backfield package for Derrick Williams, or just bite the bullet for another year and leave Brent Carter on offense.
Obviously a loss to Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl would be devastating for the psyche of the program going into the off season. But is there anything good that can come out of beating a middle of the road Big XII team in a non-New Years Day bowl game? Basically, tell me why I should care about this game.
You should care because it’s a Penn State game. You just shouldn’t care too much. Bowl games are strange animals in which any team can waltz in and lay a giant egg. A lot of Penn State fans are brushing off this game. I think part of that is due to the game itself — nobody can legitimately feel good about being in the Alamo Bowl. However, there’s definitely a component of overlooking the Aggies to the Penn State fans’ indifference. With all of the strange things that happened to the PSU squad over the past nine months, who could possibly know what their mental state is heading into this game.
Here’s a reason to be concerned: look at each team’s last game.
Will 2008 be JoePa’s last year and if so will the old man bow out gracefully or will he be forced out?
It’s impossible to know what will happen, but here’s my prediction of the moment: He’s offered a one year contract extension, says it’s not enough, demands more, whines to the media, and Graham Spanier eventually tells Joe to go pound sand. Prediction subject to change. Tomorrow.
When Joe Paterno finally retires, how long of a leash should the next coach get? What’s the standard he’ll be judged by, and does your answer depend on whether the new head coach comes from within or outside the program?
Either way, the new coach will get a solid honeymoon period. First, Penn State does not fire coaches on a whim. Second, it seems that the fanbase has reached the tipping point when it comes to wanting a change, uncertain as it may be. If they get their wish, they’re unlikely to assemble the mob if the new coach goes 4-4 in the Big Ten during his first or second season. However, I can guarantee you that the next coach won’t be able to post consecutive 4-8 seasons and be around for a third year.
//Either way, the new coach will get a solid honeymoon period.//
From the administration, sure. He’ll be here at least 5 years, regardless of record, especially if the hire comes from within.
However, I’d be surprised if the honeymoon with the fans lasts past halftime of the first Big Ten game. If message board crazy people are desparate to oust a Hall of Fame coach for 9-4 seasons, what are they going to do the next non-Hall of Fame guy if (and likely when) he turns in a similarly average year?
One of four things might happen in the first year or two:
1. New coach goes undefeated or at least wins Big Ten. Fans rejoice, send Tim Curley fruit basket.
2. New coach once again has team in contention for NYD bowl, but has a couple of conference losses. Fans okay due the fact that it’s a different kind of the same average. This would be odd to me, but whatever
3. New coach once again has team in contention for NYD bowl, but has a couple of conference losses. Fans go mental because new coach didn’t accomplish #1
4. New coach doesn’t succeed, and we’re fighting for bowl eligibility - or worse. Fans burn down Lasch Building
Only one of these things will make fans truly happy, and it’s a challenging outcome to achieve. About 100 teams each year don’t win their conference.
// New coach once again has team in contention for NYD bowl, but has a couple of conference losses. Fans okay due the fact that it’s a different kind of the same average. This would be odd to me, but whatever //
That isn’t the “same kind of average”, though. Penn State’s had three or more conference losses every year except one from 2000-2007. Even in the one year they only had three conference losses, 2006, they tried like hell to lose against Illinois, Michigan State, and Minnesota — three of the absolute worst teams in the conference that season.
If a new head coach went 6-2 in the conference every season, I honestly think that PSU fans would be overjoyed. That would mean 9-3 or 10-2 seasons, given our non-conference scheduling practices. There will always be people bitching and moaning that we’re not 12-0 every season, but they’re one-percenters.
Al Golden will not lose more than 1 or 2 games per year @ PSU. This program has been very very average in the last decade.
By the way Anothony Morelli = Ryan Leaf.
//If a new head coach went 6-2 in the conference every season, I honestly think that PSU fans would be overjoyed.//
I agree, provided we at least split with UM & OSU every year. If we continue to lose to the “Big Two” more than we win, even if we start owning other mid- to upper-tier teams like Wisconsin, people will still need to be kept away from sharp objects.
I think rational fans want PSU in the national title discussion before & during the season. That means people expect us to win, and we typically deliver. Sure, you’ll lose some big games, and a couple that you don’t expect, but for the most part, you’re in contention. I’m thinking of 93-99: we went 10-2, 12-0, 9-3, 11-2, 9-3, 9-3, 10-3. 7 years, 6 NYD bowls, 2 “BCS” games, and part of the national title picture a few times.
// I’m thinking of 93-99: we went 10-2, 12-0, 9-3, 11-2, 9-3, 9-3, 10-3 //
Yes, and that would be ideal. I don’t think anybody fully expects that Penn State will automatically become Southern Cal-East the minute Joe Paterno walks away. I’m talking about a world where 8-4 is a substantial disappointment — right now, it seems to be roughly average.
Looking at this objectively, there’s no reason why Penn State shouldn’t be a top 15 team with regular flashes into the national title conversation. Given the endless advantages of the program — loyal fans, money, solid recruiting base, consistent national exposure — I don’t think that’s too much to ask. Is there going to be an occasional five-loss season? Sure, it happens to everyone. They should be few and far between, though.
Also…we paly so many crappy OOC teams now that 3 or 4 wins of an 8-4 season are a joke. Wins against Buffalo should count as 1/2 a win, seriously
A win against FIU maybe, Temple and Buffalo are far better than you give them credit for this year. Unfortunately, most people don’t pay attention to that and focus on their historical standing.
Temple has far exceeded their recent performance - which puts them at roughly #129 in Sagarin (#138 predictor). Still nothing to be proud of, in any universe whatsoever.
Buffalo’s burning up the charts at #109.
FIU at #171; ND at #87.
In comparison, Michigan’s OOC schedule this year stacked up at:
#60 ASU
#13 Oregon
#87 ND
#124 EMU
and Ohio State at:
#105 YSU
#118 Akron
#53 Washington
#132 Kent State
This shows me that we’re not even interested in meeting the low standard set by the worse of our two supposed peer teams (a schedule which would have kept them out of the MNC game in a more typical season, by the way). If that doesn’t bother you, you’re a Bad Fan.
(Yeah, nobody predicted ND would suck. I bet OSU thought Washington was gonna be higher than #53 too. Nobody who knows anything about college football is surprised by any of the rest of them).
Appalachian State and Youngstown State are both Division I-AA, so by that reasoning lets schedule all I-AA teams from now on, and you also seem to forget that Temple was blatantly ass raped by refs against #25 UConn that cost them the game at the end.
Okay, but it’s still Temple, and while they improved throughout the year, they lost to some pretty awful teams. I don’t think FIU won a single game. Buffalo ended up being competitive (5-3) in the MAC.
I agree we should go undefeated in OOC. No questions asked, even with our ONE tough game per year.
However, it’s not like OSU played a murderer’s row. They won the Ohio Nat’l Championship (what, Toledo didn’t have an open date?), and squared off against a UDub team that ended up being sort of awful. Granted, they went on the road for that, but still. Steve Entmann & Warren Moon weren’t playing for the Huskies.
Point is, we weren’t tough in our scheduling - only one decent team (like Ohio State), and our patsies did even worse than theirs did. There’s nothing at all to be proud of in that, and it’s getting worse (while we reasonably expected Notre Dame to be decent, I do not expect the same out of Syracuse, and the expected performance of Oregon State has to be pretty low too).
OSU was lucky it didn’t bite them. We shouldn’t be proud of the 4-0 part at all either.
And don’t mock them for “championship of the state of Ohio” when we don’t have the guts to play Pitt.
Guts has nothing to do with it. The bottom line does. Why play a home & home, when we can get other mid-level teams to come here consistently and light up the cash register?
Hence, so many dogs on our schedule. Arf!
Everyone knows what the formula could be: Two cupcakes at home every year, and split home & away with two BCS teams. Viola - three home games every year, and a much happier fan base.
However, the lure of possibly playing four OOC home games some years instead of the already big money-making three seems to be far, far too appealing to the accountants.