Rumors Rankings!

Not sure how true any of this shit is, but I've decided to start a new segment here, the Rumor Ratings. Now it's often hard to to tell the message board nonsense from the poster, going by 'statecollegeshoker345', who works with a guy who's dad talked to the AD this morning. So based on my wide range of sources, I'm going to go ahead and give you a truth rating, out of 5, because things rated out of 5 tend to have more credibility. It is based on nothing substantial and can change from hour to hour...like Rumors themselves.

Rumor#1 - "Yardsale!"

The defensive coaching staff is in serious shuffle, and not the CUSA prospect shuffle we do every year. Heard this over at RUTS. Now we all know about the exit of Norwood, for, of all places, frickin' Baylor. He was replaced internally by a muppit.

The one thing lending credibility to this theory is, well just Norwood really. I don't know what sparked this but RUTS seams to often get decent scoops. My problem, though, is his plea for emails from anyone with an interenet connection. I've been to enough message boards to know that taking inside information from ananomous sources is typically not a good idea. However, it does seem to couple nicly with the JayPa story, but then again not with Bradley taking over during JoePa's rehab.

Overall, interesting, possible, but until another coach leaves I'm keeping this one below a two:

Rumors Rankings! Score = 1.5/5.0

Rumor #2 - "Beaver Killers!"

Word is we may be dropping Arkansas State, due up during the pre-conference schedule next season, for a one game stint with the Oregon State Beavers. Because our program is rich, storied and actually followed, and theirs is poor, weak, and silly, there will be, acording to the Rumor, not return trip for the Lions.

Credible? Well, I've heard it here, here, and here. The second link suggests it is because we are making a "title run". No offense to the writer of that baby, but I think we all learned our lesson this season: play a bunch of shit teams, win and you are in the MNC no questions asked (right Ohio State?). The truth is your preseaon ranking matters a lot more than your SOS.

Still, PSU's non-conf is terrible next year, and the in-conf home schedule is only a little better. I think this move makes sense: BCS program, drop a D1-aa team which hurts your computer rankings badly, make the season ticket holders happy, oh, and you don't even have to return the favor. By all acounts this thing is all but a done deal.

Rumors Rankings! Score = 4.9/5.0

Rumor #2 - "Kinlaw is back!"

Or at least he wants a 6th year. I mean if Bockman can play at OSU for 9 years I don't know why Kinlaw, who saw almost no action until this year, couldn't work something out because of his injury history. This is an uncommon move at PSU, especially for starters, and the Rumor has claimed that those who know about these things give it a 50/50 chance.

Now we already have Royster, who is going to be a very good Penn Statesk back. Kinlaw would be a great second option. With the two highly ranked RB recruits we have on the way, it would be great to keep a mentor and modivated player like Kinlaw around.

Now the problem is these things need to be approved, and so while I'm sure he applied, his return is, well, 50/50...lets split the difference.

Rumors Rankings! Score = 2.5/5.0

Early Recruiting: All Signs Point To Crappy

Flashback to Saturday:

[regarding, sort of, recruiting]
Joe: "You take a look at the wideouts. [Deon] Butler was a walk-on. [Jordan] Norwood only had one scholarship [offer]. The best skill position guy we got is [cornerback Drew] Astorino. He was going to go to Kent State if we hadn't offered him a scholarship. You guys all get caught up......[as most of you know, because you've read this interview, this quote includes answers to several questions].....I think we've had a heck of a year recruiting...[about recruits' questions regarding the coaching situation over the next four years]...Don't you think that they talk to me about that? I tell 'em this:....I tell them exactly what I think: 'I'm here. I hope I'm going to coach while you're here; I may not. God only knows what's going to happen with me.' "

I'm not totally sold on recruiting services either. Similar to the NFL draft, the hype machine has too much of an influence and people end up rated way too high and way too low. But like the NFL draft, having a better pick is always better than having a lower one. You have more control of your own situation. Translate this to our current topic: landing five star guys is better than not landing them. Saying "well our walk-ons are going to become great players" is not a good strategy.

And that's not even really an opinion at this point, look at what has happened in just the last week:

• Dorian Bell, a five star Linebacker out of Monroeville, PA, choose Ohio State over Penn State. The one saving grace in our recruiting woes has been our ability to land the top LB and DL players. Now even that appears to be ending. Hell, even Posluszny's little brother picked another school.
  
• Paterno's top QB target, from traditionally Penn State friendly VA, appears to be headed to Michigan. Brian jokes that our only other highly rated target, Tate Forcier, might also be going to Michigan. At this point, it's obviously not likely, but it's not really funny either.
  
• Which leads us into yesterdays news: Former Michigan starter Justin Bore will be playing for Ohio State in 2009. The kicker? That the Buckeyes will now probably land his little brother, standout linebacker Zack Boren. We mentioned this before: his father made it clear that he is "not going to have two kids at two universities". Zack is being recruited by Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State.

And so that's that. I know it's about 11 months too early to care but with so much bad news in April it's hard not to mention.

It's Your Friday Noon News

Some actual news happened over the past couple of days, and while I often leave actual news stories off this site because there are a million other places to read about them, I thought today would be a good time for a wrap of the hot stories.

-The Penn State safeties coach, Brian Norwood, is headed to Baylor as the DC. I am happy for him, and while several people are worried about the potential hit to recruiting, I am more worried about why in the world Brian thinks it's a good idea to join the staff of a place that has become a coaching death sentence.

-This is 'almost news', but because of how I found out about it I want to pass it along. I travel for work, this week I am near Blacksburg, home of the Hokies. So after a very commendable display of support at the blue and white game, some fucknuts decided to ruin it for all of us.



On the local Blacksburg radio this morning, I hear about how some Penn State douche bags students thought it would be a sweet idea to take the shirts they wore to the B&W Game, paint them with blood, and then wear them as a Halloween costume. Then, of course, as all idiots seem to do these days, they posted pictures on the Internet.

There really aren't words to describe how angry this makes me. If those involved are reading this, just know that you are an embarrassment to your family, your school, and your entire species. I hate you.

-Moving on to other embarrassing news, Baker had his felony charges dropped. Now I agree that the felony charge was a total trump up on the part of the loser Bellefonte DA, but it doesn't change the fact that, after being warned over and over again, this kid went out and did something stuid.

And so, to end on a high note, I am extremely proud that another Penn State player has taken home the The Bednarik Award. This is the third straight year.

That player involved is, of course, Dan Conner.

Great job, my friend. Sean, you have big shoes to fill, and just as importantly, a duty to keep the streak alive.

Blue And White Roundtable: Let's Get Longwinded!

Thanks to NWO for a solid round of questions. Wednesdays can be tough on a blogger.

Black Shoe Diaries
Run Up The Score
The Nittany Line
There Is No Name On My Jersey
Nittany WhiteOut
William F. Yurasko
The Nittany Notebook
Tangled Up In White and Blue


The announcement Wednesday is that contract talks are on hold until the conclusion of this season, and that Joe might not even need a contract to coach, how do you see this saga ending? Is this the final year for Joe Paterno?

Well, no, I don't think so. My initial reaction to the announcement, captured in time here, is that this is a terrible decision that will have long term effects on the program. Under no circumstances is this good for anyone. Recruits are simply not going to commit to a rocking boat of a program. The president is forced to wait out Paterno, something that has proven difficult to do. The assistants are totally screwed here because they could be fired after any one of these seasons with little or no warning (really makes you wonder if Norwood left simply because he saw the writing on the wall and needed some stability). Paterno's success, and therefore legacy, will suffer because of said recruiting effects and what will probably be a growing flight of assistant coaches. It's pretty clear this decision was more a result of stubborn heads than a conscious selection of alternatives.

If, as Spanier says, a contract "would have little practicality given Coach Paterno's seniority" then why not just give him a lifetime deal? I think everyone knows the answer to this question. Prepare for ugliness. Buckets of it.

Joe will clearly not be on the sidelines in 10 years time. Whether he is awarded another extension or is forced out against his will, a new face will inevitably be on the sidelines for the Lions in the years to come. Which candidates would top the list when it comes to a coaching search? Should it be an in-house hire or should we start off with a blank slate?

This is one of those questions I can dance around or simply answer. I'm going to dance. It is clear to me that the best thing for the program is an outside search with the offer of a competitive salary. All current assistant are interviewed like everyone else. This is never going to happen:

• Spanier has already stated, several times, that a "high priced coach" is not in the cards. By "high priced coach" he of course means a decent guy at the going rate.
• Paterno is not going to make this easy for anyone. He is coaching without a contract for pete's sake. If he said "one/two/three years and I'm done" then people outside the program could plan accordingly and interview in early December in order to minimize the recruiting losses. Well I get the feeling we won't know Joe is leaving until at least after his last bowl game.
  
• There are going to be a lot of people who want Joe to coach forever. When he does finally leave, part of the reason, it's becoming clear, is going to be the pressure applied from Old Main and the boosters. Previously mentioned fans are going to resent the next guy who steps in and no one wants to be that guy...especially for a crappy salary and having to work with what will be an under-recruited team.

But short answer: Bradley if it's an inside job but only if Jay leaves. Otherwise I don't care. The outside front runners appear to be Schiano and Golden. I'd be happy with either. I would love to be able to keep Bradley no matter what, but I'm not sure if that can happen.

It almost seems as if we find another athlete in trouble with the law each morning when we read the newspaper. What has gone wrong with the once pristine image of the Penn State program?

I'm not going to be able to stomach a very long answer to this question. It appears the lack of consequences from the Scirrotto fight lead to other problems, namely the HUB thing and Quarless double dipping on drankin' charges. The Bell thing still blows my mind and I'm not blaming anyone for that but Bell. Maybe Joe isn't around enough...maybe he's not allowing the assistants to fill the apparent discipline vacuum...maybe the program never got over Posluszny...I'm out of ideas at this point.

After 14 years in the Big Ten, Penn [State] has not dominated the conference in football as most presumed when we joined winning only 2 Big Ten titles in that span. In 1994, Joe Paterno's undefeated Nittany Lions were also backstabbed by its Big Ten breathern when most conference members voted for Nebraska instead of Penn State. Is the Big Ten the right home for Penn State? Or would Joe Paterno's dream of an all-eastern conference be a much more ideal conference for the Nittany Lions?

These are some loaded questions. I grew up in Big Ten country and it's the football I can relate the most to. I understand it, defend the hell out of it, and I prefer watching it over other brands. That being said, there was a time (about two weeks last fall) when I thought a move to the Big East was the ideal thing to do. It would never happen, and I've come to realize it probably shouldn't.

There's a painful truth here that I think we all need to deal with: the reason the Big Ten doesn't seem to fit us is because we haven't yet made an impact on it. We've beat Ohio State once in the last six tried. The Michigan streak has gotten so long I honestly don't know what the number is anymore. Wisconsin has become more consistent than us. We plain sucked from 2002 right up until the Ohio State game of 2005.

I'd love to hold the 1994 thing against everyone but I simply can't. I understand what happened. PSU showed up, beat everyone's ass and appeared to be the powerhouse everyone feared they would be. Other schools were scared and didn't want to feed what was already a pretty powerful football machine with another MNC. If the same situation happened now I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the coaches would vote for PSU.

Besides that, Eastern Football isn't what is once was. Pitt has been garbage for long enough that I'm almost starting to agree with the people who think the rivalry is better off dead. Syracuse sucks. I simply don't care about Maryland. WVU has had several good seasons now but even after all that they are still looked at skeptically by most non-Big East fans....there is nothing to gain.

With the lack of our traditional rivals in the Big Ten conference, and our unwillingness to reschedule any of them in any consistent manner, which teams are emerging as Penn State's chief rivals in the Big Ten? (USC-Notre Dame proves that rivalries aren't all about geographic significance.)

Exactly, USC-ND proves rivalries can be about money and TV ratings. ND has lost the last six by 154 points (for you math majors that's an average of over 25 per game)! Exactly one of those games was watchable. (Sorry, can't pass up an ND dig).

We don't have a rival. It hurts to say but this is the summer of hard truths so I'm going to stick with the theme. MSU is not our rival. Michigan is a big game, but, again, not our rival. I think the answer to this question is Ohio State. I know we'll never be anything but their second biggest game, but that's something we'll have to live with. It really should be as much of an ego shot as everyone likes to think it is.

I will say this: if we start beating the best teams in the Big Ten, consistently, things will change. That's the only way.


UPDATE:...and yes, I'm making the trip. I mean, it's football!