Penn State Hopes

It's certainly not over. I'm worried that Iowa will put up a great defensive game and slow PSU down this Saturday. Nonetheless, there is a lot of talk about PSU going to the national championship game. There is also a lot of talk about PSU losing in the title game. A few weeks ago 6 of 8 CNN SI writers had PSU in the title game, all had them losing. The title picture has changed as of late but I'm sure the attitude towards PSU hasn't.

I don't think you can write off PSU so easily. Keep in mind the following items. Penn State is 9-2 in the past 11 bowl games. Joe Paterno is 23-10-1 in bowl games as a head coach. In the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, Penn State was a huge underdog to Miami who was supposed to kill PSU with their Vinny Testaverde high powered offense. Needless to say, Penn State prevailed 14-10. We would face a similar underdog scenario this year with Alabama, Florida, Texas or Texas Tech. All I can say is defense wins championships. Speaking of defense, Alabama has the 4th best defense in the nation, Texas Tech 55th, Penn State 6th (4th in pts. allowed), Florida 15th, and Texas 64th. So right now, Alabama is PSU's biggest threat. Penn State is 11th in the nation in the offensive category. Will this be enough?

All this said, Joe Paterno obviously prepares well for a bowl game. Penn State plays better as an underdog and the statistics favor the Nittany Lions if you forget the conference they are playing in. I don't care who you are, there would be nothing better than an 82 year old Hall of Fame Icon winning a Championship. If they do make it to "the game" then I'll be placing some money down on PSU while I'm in Australia (at the legal casino - the largest casino in the southern hemisphere).

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