Thoughts From The Valley
November 19, 2007
The Hangover
How I am feeling: Perplexed. Pray tell, folks: How did my Nittany Lions build a 24-7 lead midway through the third quarter in East Lansing on Saturday--and then manage to lose 35-31? Because I have no answers. Except one: This year's Nittany Lion team--coaches and players--were underachievers. I am not happy.
What I am drinking: Some kind of white wine. I believe it's a Pinot Grigio. See, unlike beer, I don't know much about wine, folks. Maybe I'll take a wine class sometime this winter. Maybe I'll take it on New Year's Day, even. Because Lord knows I won't be watching a Penn State game. That's because I'll have my bowl game out of the way by Dec. 28 (Alamo Bowl) or Dec. 29 (Champs Sports Bowl). And for the record I don't even know what the Champs Sports Bowl is, where it is, or who the Nittany Lions' opponent would be. I would guess it might be another underachieving big-conference team. Maybe Michigan.
What I am listening to: Haydn Symphony No. 53. It's been pouring rain much of the day, I am stuck inside, my house is torn up and full of boxes because we're moving in like 10 days, work has been busy lately, and Penn State just blew a 17-point lead and tore up their ticket to a New Year's Day Bowl. I am a little on edge. So I decided maybe today was a good day for some classical music. I pulled up the "Mostly Classical on Sky" iTunes radio station about 10 minutes ago and have been enjoying Hayden since. It's a tad flowery for my tastes, but relaxing nonetheless. And that was kind of the point.
My thoughts on the weekend: I'll get to the Oklahoma loss later.
The biggest story of the weekend, for me, was the Ohio State Buckeyes. As usual.
I experienced a terrible moment of clarity sometime late Saturday night. And in that moment of clarity, the very thing that I have been denying for the better part of the past decade, well, I couldn't deny it any more. And here is that thing: Ohio State is far and away the best program in the Big Ten.
And there ain't nobody close.
Jim Tressel has built a monster in Columbus. He owns Michigan. He owns Penn State. He owns everybody. He usually outrecruits everyone else in the Big Ten, and even in the years that he doesn't, he finds a way to "coach up" lesser-regarded talents that nobody else wanted. Like wideout Brian Robiskie (a "two-star" recruit) and quarterback Todd Boeckman (ditto) and linebacker James Laurinitis (three stars) and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins (two).
See, what separates Tressel from his Big Ten colleagues is this: He makes five-star talents play to their potential. And he makes two-star talents play beyond their potential.
The result? More Big Ten championships. More BCS bowl appearances.
Big Ten fans, get used to it: The Buckeyes are kings of this conference.
And that's not going to change anytime soon.
Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust
Three ...: Surprised by that Oklahoma loss to Texas Tech? Don't be: When the Red Raiders are at their best, they can score with anybody. Or outscore anybody. That's what they did to the Sooners, who--guess what?--were highly overrated in the first place. The Sooners had no answer for Tech's stellar redshirt freshman receiver, Michael Crabtree (12 catches, 154 yards, 1 TD), and never recovered from the loss of quarterback Sam Bradford, who left the game with a concussion. So now, the Sooners' title hopes are over. But my guess is that they'll still end up ruining the party for Missouri and/or Kansas. Which means what, exactly? Well, see my note under "Touchdown." Hint: It involves the Buckeyes.
Two ...: The most shocking thing about Penn State's horrible loss against Sparty--and believe me, there are many shocking things about this loss (like: what happeend to Justin King?; why did we abandon the run on that last drive, just 20 yards from the end zone?; how can our kick coverage be that bad?; etc.)--is the stat I read in Sunday morning's Harrisburg Patriot News: According to the Patriot, A Joe Paterno-coached Penn State had NEVER, until Saturday, blown a 17-point lead. That's right, folks. In a half century of football at Penn State, that 17-point lead is the biggest lead ever blown by a Nittany Lion team.
One ...: It seems as though, by the time y'all read this Monday morning, Lloyd Carr will be en route a press conference at which he'll announce his retirement. If he does so, so would end one of the more successful coaching runs in Big Ten history: Carr went 121-40, earned four Rose Bowl bids and, of course, won a national championship back in 1997. He had a remarkable 9-1 record against Top 10 teams at Michigan Stadium and, most importantly, helped bring Michigan football back to prominence after the very mediocre Gary Moeller years. But the fact that Carr is hardly going to be missed by the Wolverine faithful should tell you all you need to know about the importance of the Ohio State-Michigan game. It was Carr's success against John Cooper that got Cooper fired in Columbus (even though Coop was turning out 10-win seasons like clockwork); likewise, it has been Sen. Jim Tressel's dominance of Carr that (though nobody will say it) has led to Carr's demise. May this be a word to the wise to whoever takes over or Carr up in Ann Arbor: Remember, it's not what you do in September, October or January that counts. Just make sure you win on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
Touchdown ...: I am too exhausted, disappointed and generally dispirited to make any meaningful predictions this week, folks. So I'll just offer you this dire warning: Somehow, some way, Ohio State is going to end up playing for the national championship. I am not sure how that's going to happen. But here's an idea: If it comes down to West Virginia and Ohio State battling for one spot in that game, to play LSU or, say, Kansas, do you really think anyone is going to take the 'Eers over the Buckeyes? Because I don't.