Merry Christmas!

Meeting Joe Paterno

Because this site is not in any way connected officially to the Pennsylvania State University, I am still able to say the name of he who should not be mentioned.

Figment of our imaginations?

JOE PATERNO.

There.  I said it.  Believe it or not, the man did exist.  He did great things at Penn State.  He even reported a possible child abuse suspect to his administrators.  And after a 60 year career that set an NCAA record, the man--and the record--no longer exist.  And while the man himself is indeed dead, his legacy does exist, despite the University's overzealous intent to suggest otherwise.

Enter The Guy From Erie.  If you have a few minutes, please check out his blog and read about the recruiting trip he made to Penn State two years ago with his son.  He talks about meeting Joe Paterno--and he has a picture to PROVE IT.  Take that Trustees!  I knew the man existed!

There he was: this little, hunched-over Italian guy wearing a coat that looked two sizes too large, wandering through the middle of the field staring at some notes he was holding. At first, I felt bad because he looked like he was reading those notes like he needed directions to his office or something. I would find out later that Joe always carried his hand-written notes around with him to keep himself on task. He made his way over to us, introduced himself – like THAT was needed – and made a little joke about us bringing the cold weather with us from Erie. I soiled my pants right there.

Later on, we had dinner in the team dining room with the players and the coaches, and the evening ended with a trip on one of the blue buses to Beaver Stadium. The entire ride was narrated wonderfully by a former player, who stood on the steps by the driver:
“When you turn this corner, you’re going to look out of the window and see thousands of people tailgating in the fields around the stadium.”

“When you turn THIS corner, you’re going to see this 85 year-old alum who hasn’t missed a home game in 50 years…he came to see YOU play today.”

“When you turn THIS corner, the crowd is starting to swell…you’ll start hearing the sirens from the police escort in front of you.”

“When you turn THIS corner, you’re going to feel the bus start to shake from the fans that are running next to it and pounding on it.”

“And finally…you’ve arrived at Beaver Stadium, where 3,000 fans are waiting to see you get off the bus. The quarterback is the first one off, which is the symbol that on game day, it’s his team now. Joe exits the bus second, followed by the starting offensive team.”

How cool would that have been?  I have Erie Envy!  The Guy From Erie goes on . . .

If I took one single thing away from that weekend, it was this: When Joe Paterno stood up to speak, the room went quiet. Not “any” quiet…Catholic church quiet. Dead silence.

Respect. That’s just the way it was.

Joe thanked all of us for traveling to State College, made a few remarks, and said he was looking forward to seeing us later at his home for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres…he spoke so softly, but was as sharp as a tack. He finished with stating, “That was a pretty good speech…I usually get paid a buck for that. Of course, a buck used to be worth a lot more a few years ago.” Cute.

At that point – I will never forget this – Jay Paterno shouted out something about Bush being a moron. It was like the most inappropriate thing I ever saw in my life, and may ever see. I watched all of the assistant coaches nervously look at each other and roll their eyes as in…w-o-w. C’mon, Jay…REALLY? In fairness, Jay DID handle the aftermath of the Sandusky mess with dignity, so maybe his dad kicked his arse so hard that night that he learned his lesson.

Insider information: when you looked around the room, you could have been at Harvard. ALL of the coaches wore navy-blue blazers, striped ties, and shined shoes. Short haircuts, and no facial hair. The wives were decked out in silk dresses, lots of very nice jewelry, very high heels, and had professionally styled hair. It was quite a scene.

Okay, into the white van driven by our chaperon for the weekend: Mr. Mike McQueary. I am NOT kidding. But, we’re on our way to “Joe and Sue’s.”

Wow.  The part about Jay is kind of out of whack, but the whole experience plays out like a dream sequence.  And there's more facts--video and pictures-- in this blog than you will ever find in the Freeh Report!

And in case you are wondering, The Guy in Erie's son--Jordan Kerner--is on the Nittany Lion's roster as a DE Sophomore with Freshman eligibility last season.  From this, I conclude that his dad's impressions of Coach Joe were real.  And that is a better conclusion than you will find in the Freeh Fiasco.  Freeh didn't even bother to interview Joe Paterno, but what do I know?

I actually had the opportunity to meet and shake hands with Joe at a Hershey Medical Center fundraiser held at the Mt. Nittany Club at Beaver Stadium.  Alas, my wife didn't have her camera and this was in the days before cell phones took pictures as well as made calls.  Like The Guy From Erie, I sent Joe a Thank You letter, and he sent a handwritten reply on my original letter.  That reply now sits in a bank vault and a framed copy is displayed in my office.

I believe the murals/posters of Joe in the football building are gone now, like he never existed. What a shame.

I love Penn State, and I love Joe Paterno. His name will be cleared. Justice will run it’s course. He was a good man – not without flaws – but a good man.

Amen.

Next Man Up

It has been the mantra of Coach O'Brien since he took over the job as head coach of the Nittany Lions.

And when top-rated JUCO QB Jake Waters opted for Kansas State, O'Brien went with the next man up.  Welcome Tyler Ferguson.

Ferguson verbally committed to Penn State early Friday evening, becoming the team's 18th recruit in its 2013 class. Ferguson, though, will enroll in January and count against the Nittany Lions' 2012 scholarship numbers.

Ferguson is rated second only to Iowa Western's Kansas State recruit Jake Waters among national JUCO quarterback prospects by 247Sports.com.

We Are . . . Penn State!

We Got Spirit Yes We Do

We Got Spirit, How 'bout you?

Penn State's senior class has been honored by the Maxwell Football Club, winning the Thomas Brookshier Spirit Award as a collective unit.

Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski has announced that the 2012 senior members of the Penn State football team will be honored as winners of the Club’s Thomas Brookshier Spirit Award in recognition of their commitment, leadership and outstanding effort during this season.
Penn State completed the 2012 season, its first under Coach Bill O’Brien, with an 8-4 record, winning eight of its final 10 games. The Nittany Lions were 6-2 in Big Ten Conference play, with the only setbacks coming to division winners Ohio State and Nebraska. Under O’Brien, the Big Ten-Dave McClain Coach of the Year, Penn State finished the season by defeating eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin, 24-21 in overtime, on Senior Day.

“The senior leaders at Penn State demonstrated incredible commitment, character and effort during the past year, and what they accomplished on the field this fall is just astonishing”, said Jaworski.

“With the difficult circumstances surrounding the program it would have been easy for many of these players to look for a different situation to finish their college careers. But they chose to stay and support their teammates, coaches and university. The spirit and courage demonstrated in their actions is worthy of recognition with the Thomas Brookshier Spirit Award. They are a very special group of young men.”

The actual award will be presented in Atlantic City on March 1, 2013.

With O'Brien winning the Big Ten Coach of the Year, and McGloin capturing the Burlsworth Award, there's a lot of hardware coming to Happy Valley despite no bowl game.

Congratulations Seniors!

Awarding Matt McGloin

Matt McGloin may not be leading his team into a bowl game this season, but he will be holding a trophy nonetheless.

McGloin has won the Burlsworth Award, named for former Arkansas lineman Brandon Burlsworth.  The award is given to the top college football player who started his career as a walk-on.

From the AP:

McGloin helped the Nittany Lions to an 8-4 record this season, setting school records for yards passing (3,266) and touchdowns (24) in a season. The senior also holds the school mark for career passing touchdowns (46).

The West Scranton (Pa.) native's only scholarship offer out of high school was from Lehigh. He helped Penn State win eight of its final 10 games this season, throwing for at least 200 yards and a touchdown in all 12 games.

The other finalists were Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs and San Jose State offensive tackle David Quessenberry.

CONGRATULATIONS MATT!

Blue Christmas

BALL Controlled

This team would not quit.  This team didn't want to quit.  While the NCAA seems to think that punishing these kids somehow helps the victims of Jerry Sandusky, or will change a culture of football when none of those decision makers are even at the University anymore, this team just wanted to play football.  And play they did.  They were having so much fun, they took this thing to over time.

I debated on the title of this recap for quite a while.  The alternative was Ficken Kicken Good, a play on the KFC 'finger lickin good' slogan.  And while Mr. Ficken deserves a lot of credit for slipping his 37-yarder inside the upright to seal Penn State's OT victory, I think the key to this win was the defense adjusting after two early scores, including a record breaking 17-yard touchdown run by Monte Ball to put the Badgers up 14-7.  Ball was held to 111 yards on 17 carries, which I believe is well below his average.

In the meantime, Zach Zwinak rushed for 179 yards (and exactly 1000 for the season) against the nation's 9th best rushing defense.

Unlike past games, Penn State did not perform well in the first half, but then dominated the second.  Adjustments were made on both sides of the ball.  O'Brien noted after the game that perhaps he should have rushed the ball even more.

But despite the emotion, and despite the punishing attack of Zwinak, the Badgers fought back.  The score board shows fours across the bottom: fourth down, four to go, fourth quarter, ball on the four yard line.  And with just 18 ticks left on the clock, the Wisconsin Badgers were still poised to disappoint this emotional and scrappy Penn State team.

Fans in the stadium were grumbling about the previous Penn State possession which opened with an incomplete short pass.  Penn State went three and out and failed to milk valuable time off the clock, allowing the Badgers a chance to tie up the game.  Personally, I like the call.  It was a short, safe pass--almost but not a lateral.  Ninety eight times out of a hundred, you complete that pass.  If the receiver makes the first guy miss, you get some good yardage.  Unfortunately, on this cold blustery night, the pass fell incomplete.  Clock stopped.  Hearts stopped.

My feet were frozen, and the night seemed to be growing colder with each passing second.  Penn State clung to a three point lead in the first OT.  But the defense rose to the occasion stifling the first run for a yard by Monte Ball.  They sacked and forced a fumble on the next play, but we were unable to recover the fumble.  On third down, Glenn Carson should have intercepted the pass and secured the win, but dropped the ball.

Things looked bleak as Wisconsin lined up to kick the field goal.    A time out to ice the kicker gave the frozen fans in the stadium the opportunity to reflect on the missed opportunities.  A dropped pass and three and out.  A field goal in OT.  An unrecovered fumble.  An un-intercepted pass.  How many more chances would the Badgers get to send PSU into the off season on a sour note?

The answer was none.  Kyle French yanked his 44-yarder wide worse than me hooking a drive into the trees.

And this team prevailed.  The story lines are well known.  The walk-on QB that many said would never be able to play for any marquee division I team played lights out all season with 17 TDs and five INTs.  He suddenly looked like a D-I QB.  Sam Ficken, missing four field goals and an extra point in a one point loss to Virginia, came back to hit his last 10 and the game winner over the Badgers in OT.  There was Michael Mauti, outspoken leader of this team and key instrument to keeping this team together when many were heading for what they thought were greener pastures, now sitting on the sideline with a knee injury on Senior Day.  And of course, there are those annoying little details like the ignominious firing and subsequent death of a legendary coach, the hiring of Bill O'Brien, and the NCAA over stepping it's charter to severely punish a school, when none of the administrators have yet to be found guilty of any wrong doing.  There is no dearth of plot lines in this season.

And although there is no bowl game, perhaps in this final, exciting victory, these student-athletes can find some redemption for their dedication and hard work.

Congratulations, Class of 2012!



BY THE NUMBERS:

There was one turn over in the game, a key interception when Wisconsin was driving just one possession before they tied the game.

Penn State won time of possession 31:45 to 28:15.  If you read my pregame statistics, I said it would be crucial for PSU to win this.  The Badgers were 6th in the nation in TOP.

Penn State out gained the Badgers 363 to 349 yards, and out-rushed them by 5. 

INTANGIBLES:

The Blue Band Drum Major had trouble sticking both flips, and I think he injured himself on the first one as he seemed to limp a bit after that.  Hopefully he will heal up before the NCAA Drum Major Flipping Combine.

Penn State won the toss and elected to defer in regulation.  The Badgers won the toss in OT.  I thought it odd that PSU chose to play in the North Endzone, but let's face it, the student section was rather empty (they didn't even have enough people for the card ceremony which otherwise looked really good) and the bowl of the North end was full and loud.  I know.  I was there.  Of course, it might have had something to do with the wind or other factors.  It's just odd that the home team didn't choose to play into its own student section.

The attendance figure of 93,505 obviously reflected tickets sold and not actual bodies in the stadium.  I blame STEP for this.  I think they even counted the ghost of Joe Paterno, but Rodney Erickson apologized afterward.  There were very few empty $100 seats in the lower bowl.  I think STEP needs to readjust it's pricing to demand, unless the University is satisfied just having a lot of empty seats on game day.

I actually had trouble giving away 6 tickets.  My brother-in-law had two on the 45-yard line that he couldn't give away.  So STEP isn't the only culprit here.   I don't know what the solution is, but apparently the University doesn't care.  But if I were in charge, there would be open admission for any students (no ticket or cost required) to fill in any available seats AFTER the FIRST QUARTER in the student section, providing of course that the section was sold out.  Upper decks are $50.  I don't care if they have chair backs.  Who would want to sit up there, when there are $100 seats in the bowl below?  The upper sections at mid field should be half--if on the 50, then $300 instead of $600, $200 instead of $400.  At least it would be a start.  But silly me . . . it isn't about the fans or the game.  It's about money.

Did O'Brien refer to his team as F%&KERS or FIGHTERS?  Come on.  Why would he call them that?  It was cold, his voice cracked.  Move on people.  Move on.

O'Brien's favorite band?

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

What is the real cost of a FREE TATTOO?  Apparently one national championship.  The Buckeyes finish undefeated after a 26-21 win over their arch nemesis from Up North, but they will sit at home with Penn State for the bowl season.  Happy Holidays!

Nebraska punched their ticket to Indy with an uninspired 13-7 win over Iowa, who isn't even bowl eligible.

Northwestern put up 50 to Illinois' 14.  Nice season there, Illini.  Go ahead.  make our day.  Try to poach some more athletes.  Losers.  I don't carry a grudge.  I wear it with pride.

Purdue steamrolled Indiana 56-35.  The Spartans managed to get to bowl eligibility with a 26-10 win over the 6-6 Gophers.

Both future Big Ten teams lost:  Rutgers fell to Pitt 27-6 and Marlyand lost to UNC 45-38.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1.  For college football, as ND continues to pretend to be relevant.
2.  For Oregon--no title game for you!
3.  For Auburn--3-9 and pounded 49-0 by Bama.
4.  For Championship games--Stanford beat UCLA, setting up a title game between, um, Stanford and UCLA.  Nebraska has to play Wisconsin again.  Woo Hoo!  Why?  Oh yeah, I forgot again.  It's about the money.

LOOKING AHEAD:

Blue White Game.