Should We Be Worried?

After all, it's only Eastern Illinois (E-I-E-I-U!)

Well don't look now, but their starting QB is a transfer from . . . !*w@. Of all places! (And he's a least smart enough to want to get out of there! Then again, he ended up in Illinois--Eastern Illinois no less, so maybe his elevator doesn't go all the way to the top.)

But fear not, PSU fans. Christensen is the ONLY !*w@ QB we have beaten in the last 8 games! This will be his second trip to Happy Valley, as chronicled by Adam Rittenberg.

Christensen expects many of his teammates to be "awestruck at first," but he won't be. The former Iowa quarterback will be making his second trip to Happy Valley as a player after facing Penn State in 2007. Christensen endured a rough day in a rough season, as Iowa lost 27-7 and he was sacked five teams as the Hawkeyes recorded only eight first downs.

His lasting impression from Beaver Stadium? "Real loud," he said. "They're going to be bigger than we are and probably faster than we are at every position, but
it’s been done before and there’s no reason why we can’t do it. We’re not scared, we're not intimidated. We're ready to play football."

In discussing the hawkeyes dominance over PSU of late, the ex-Hawkeye has this to say:

"I don’t know, man," he said when asked to explain Iowa's success in the series. "They get some breaks against that team that I’ve never seen before in my life."

I don't know either, but there is some strange voodoo going on there if you ask me, which of course, you did not. It's not as totally off the wall incomprehensible as the 11 game streak to THEM, but it's coming mighty close. Too close for comfort.

And of his former coaches:

When asked if left-handers get picked on by their coaches, Christensen, a southpaw, said with a laugh, "Well, apparently Iowa's coaches didn't like me very much."

And they like him even less now.

Winds-Day Part II

Oh, No!!!!!!!!!! The wind took out my flagpole!

Winds-Day

The high winds have damaged the scoreboard at Beaver Stadium. Here is a pic from the Centre Daily Times:

Bobs Poo Coaches Eastern Illinois

And other mundane facts about Eastern Illinois.

As this game week progresses, I realized a couple of things. I couldn't match up the statistics between Penn State and EIU (E-I-E-I-U!) because the latter doesn't play in the same division we do. Some would argue that these statistical match-ups are worthless anyway, but it is even more worthless if the divisions are completely different.

So as I debated about what to blog about, I realized another important thing . . . I don't know jack about E-I-E-I-U.

From Wikipedia:

The first building was finished in 1899 and is called Old Main.

The bastards! They stole Old Main from us!

Their colors are blue and gray.

A thinly veiled attempt to make us think they didn't also steal our colors. They probably started out blue and white, but they don't have any Tide with bleach in Charleston, Illinois. Good gravy, they stole Charleston, West Virginia's town name too! And from South Carolina! Unoriginal hicks!

Their mascot is the panther.

They stole that from someone. Couldn't be Carolina, since the expansion team wasn't around in 1899.

The Booth Library is named after Mary Josephine Booth--a librarian. Of course, Penn State named the library after it's football coach. If E-I-E-I-U did that, it would be called Bobs Poo Bob Spoo.



Miss Booth (can't understand how this hottie didn't get hitched):

. . . was widely known to librarians of her time from her 1914 publication “Material on Geography Which May Be Obtained Free or at Small Cost.”

So she was cheap frugal.

Notable Alumni include:

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboy QB

Mike Shanahan, former Denver Head Coach

Newton Tarble, one of the founders of SnapOn Tools

And two actors who did not graduate, yet are listed as alumni:

John Malkovich

Jerry Van Dyke (Luther Van Dam of Coach)

I'd rather be coached by Luther Van Dam than Bobs Poo.

Civil War Brewing

And it doesn't involve Oregon=Oregon State.

In fact, the situation at Florida State is taking on new life and has more plot turns than a bad soap opera.

First, you have the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, as reported by Heather Dinich (ESPN):

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said Sunday he isn't planning on quitting anytime soon, but the chair of the university's board of trustees has seen enough of the man who transformed the program into a collegiate powerhouse.

"My hope is frankly that we'll go ahead, and if we have to, let the world know that this year will be the end of the Bowden era," chairman Jim Smith told the Tallahassee Democrat on Sunday. " ... I do appreciate what he's done for us, what he's done for the program, what he's done really for the state of Florida.

"I think the record will show that the Seminole Nation has been more than patient. We have been in a decline not for a year or two or three but I think we're coming up on seven or eight. I think enough is enough."

Interviewed by The Associated Press on Monday, Smith said the arrangement with Bowden as head coach and his successor, Jimbo Fisher, as offensive coordinator isn't working.

Smith confirmed to the Democrat that Florida State president T.K. Wetherell and legal counsel Betty Steffens have been working with Fisher to finalize a contract for him as head coach.

"The president intends to announce we've negotiated a contract with coach Fisher," Smith said, according to the newspaper.

Interesting that he mentions 8 years, when it was but in 2005 when Bobby battled Joe in the Orange Bowl after winning the ACC. And in a response to the shot heard round Tallahassee, we have a rebuke from Ann Bowden, wife of the beleaguered coach.

Ann Bowden, wife of Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden, told the Orlando Sentinel her husband has been betrayed by the chairman of the school's board of trustees and other boosters as pressure builds on the Seminoles legend to retire amid the program's worst start since 1983.

"I am angry," Ann Bowden said Monday. "I'm angry at some of our boosters that Bobby has worked for and supported, raised money for. And he's been such a top quality person, such great character and everything for this university. And for them to turn their back on him like that, I don't care if he is 80 years old ..."

"I'm disappointed in Jim Smith, who's been a longtime friend," she said. "Jim Smith's been a longtime friend of ours. When we first came here and we struggled and Bobby went on the road for nothing to raise money for this university and traveled all over the state, set up most of these booster organizations because they were doing nothing when he came here trying to raise money."

"He helped to build that booster program and they used him. They used him and to me, that's so disrespectful. It's disrespectful to who he is, what he's done and I think it's very disrespectful of Jim Smith.

Ann Bowden said her husband has no intentions of stepping down before he is ready to do so. Ann said Bobby shouldn't have to be forced out. She said he'd tell him to continue coaching. She doesn't want him to hang it up at the end of the season.

"I don't think he is going to retire at the end of the season," she said. "That's my feeling,"

How bout that for a cliff hanger? Stay tuned . . .

They are . . . Penn State

Thus is the conclusion from Jon Linder in the Daily Iowan, regarding PSU fans:

As the predominant chant in Beaver Stadium transitioned from “We Are … Penn State” to “We Own … Penn State,” I couldn’t help but direct my jeers at a man who was probably the poorest sport in Happy Valley.

In retrospect, I couldn’t be more ashamed.

My brother and I sat on the border of Iowa’s designated cheering section and, consequently, had the pleasure of meeting who I surmised was the saddest representation of an otherwise stellar fan base in State College, Pa.

This white-wearing Nittany Lion fan spent more time in the first half taunting the Iowa faithful around him than he did watching the game. But he was nowhere to be found as my man Adam Robinson scampered into the end zone with 8:32 to play, putting Iowa ahead by a touchdown.

That idiot’s exit was the last I saw of poor sportsmanship in Happy Valley.

Although the atmosphere was rain-soaked and somber, I was treated with more respect after the game than I have anywhere outside Iowa City as a visiting fan.

Whenever the Hawkeyes win in Ames, you can expect a certain four-letter word followed by a three-letter word. The same is true for fans in State College, but it’s a
considerably less crude — “Good job.”

I couldn’t count how many times a Penn State fan walked up to my group of Iowa fans after the game and said, “Congrats” or “the best team won.” One guy even gave us an entire box of still-hot leftover pizza. . .

With these and a myriad of other instances in mind, I firmly believe the Big Ten is composed of the classiest fans, coaches, and players in the country. Who is the trendsetter of the group?

They are … Penn State.

Thank you.
(You're Welcome!)

PS(u): For the record, the idiot mentioned above was NOT me.

Holding Down the Fortt

The recruiting juggernaut continues to roll, growing like a snowball rolling downhill.

Inside LB Khairi Fortt has chosen Penn State over Georgia, according to this blurb from ESPN:

Rated No. 2 among inside linebackers in the country, ESPNU 150 Khairi Fortt of Stamford, Conn., announced his college choice for the Nittany Lions over the Bulldogs on Monday (Oct. 5), NittanyNetwork.com reports. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound
Fortt, who holds over 30 offers from major programs, has also considered North Carolina, Tennessee, Southern California and Michigan. Among his many other offers were Ohio State, Boston College, Rutgers, UConn, Syracuse, Miami-Florida and Notre Dame.

Welcome Aboard!

Penn State's recruiting class is now ranked #2 by Scout.com.