Archives for September 2006

COLUMBUS, OHIO, Sept. 23 — The #24 Nittany Lions (2–2, 0–1 Big Ten) outplayed the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (4–0, 1–0 Big Ten) for the better part of three quarters before falling apart trying to clamber out of a hole in the fourth quarter, losing by a deceptive score of 28–6 before a hostile crowd of 105,266 in rain soaked Columbus.

You remember those old submarine movies? The little sub goes after the big battleship and stealthily fires a bunch of torpedoes. Suddenly, someone yells, “Runaway torpedo!” Yeah, that’s about what happened here. The Nittany Lions had the Buckeyes in their sights, right where we wanted them. Then, we shot ourselves in the foot. And then, we shot ourselves in the heart.

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The sportswriters and the coaches have voted. PSU is #24 in the AP poll and “others receiving votes” in the USA Today poll. Now, we have to go face the unanimously anointed #1 team in the nation, Ohio State. Do we have a glimmer of hope?

Forty-two years ago, we faced similar circumstances in Columbus. I’ll get to that in a bit, but first I need to blow some wind about the polls.

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In their final pre-season tune-up, the Nittany Lions (2–1) failed to prove that they are ready for Ohio State and the Big Ten season, as they played slop-ball once again, fortunately this time against an inferior opponent, the Division I-AA Youngstown State Penguins (2–1). The scoreboard is misleading, as are the stats. Yes, it was lopsided, but what this game demonstrated is that the Lions aren’t yet ready for prime time.

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