Another weird headline, but here’s the deal: I’m heading to the Ocala National Forest in the morning for a fun, albeit abbreviated, weekend of easy-ass camping with a bunch of fellow GeoGeeks. This is not the type of camping I would have been caught dead doing as recently as five years ago, but as the Turkey ages, he has to concede that backpacking with a bad back is not very pleasurable. So, it’s the Griswolds, senior citizen style now.
I’ll drag two kayaks on an 18′ trailer. I have a Thule car top carrier in which I’ve loaded the following backpacking supplies:
- folding camo chair (my throne) with ottoman
- a hammock, where I will spend the time I would have spent hiking
- 3-man backpacking tent, just for historical reference
- cushy, thick, air cell, ThermaRest pad
- another ThermaRest closed-cell foam pad
- a real pillow!
- two sleeping bags, 20 and 40 degree rated, respectively
And that’s only the car topper. I’ve got lots of other “stuff”, but I won’t bore you with that, other than to tell you that the cooler contains a case of Sierra Nevada. Artificially Sweetened will arrive on Friday with the Martha Stewart kitchen and the gourmet food. However, [cue minor key music played by cello] I have to say that there’s a hurricane named Sandy bearing down on the Bahamas, which threatens to thrown a wet, windy blanket over the quasi-weekend’s festivities.
My original plan, which I’ll still try to complete, has be leaving the camping area on Saturday afternoon in order to get to Mike’s Garage in time for the kickoff of this latest “Game of the Century,” the game which, if won, will cure all of Penn State’s ills, “arguably the most important game of the year” (attribution uncertain, but a lot of the sports yokels are calling it that), namely, Ohio State vs. Penn State.
“I’m good, I’m good, I’m all good. Just a little bit sore, but that’s about it. I’d say I’m full go.” —Braxton Miller
It is that game, Penn State’s potential apotheosis, that I set out to write about here. But you’ve already read all you need to know about the technical aspects of the game, and you already have your opinion as to what is going to happen in it. In that respect, it is sort of like the forthcoming presidential election. We’re all suffering from factoid spindiasis: overloaded with facts and spin, but with mind probably all but made up. (I’ve had enough “Romnesia” and “Obamamania” and all that. But I digress.)
So, because Ima go camping and because you already know what is happening this weekend, by whom, to whom, and for what. No sense being redundant. I wanna get outta here!
Braxton Miller is going to play. That’s significant. Kids are living in “Nittanyville” and there will be a white-out on Saturday. Those are significant. OSU can be scored upon. That’s significant. The Big Ten ain’t what it used to be. That’s significant. Penn State special teams suck. That’s very significant. All of this significance has driven the gambling line to dead even with a 50-point over/under.
Ohio State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) comes into this game off a near upset against Purdue. In the conference, they’ve also beaten Moo U., Nebraska, and Indiana. Meanwhile, Penn State (5-2, 3-0) is feeling pretty good about itself after a couple of lopsided wins over mediocre conference foes. Iowa is a mess, Northwestern isn’t much better, and Illinois — well, if ya ain’t got nothing good to say, don’t say it! Thing is, the Nittany Lions haven’t beaten anybody, but Ohio State has.
While there is love in my heart, there is ice in my veins. I’d sure like to go with Penn State. I really would, but…
Ohio State State 22, Penn State 21 and take the “under”.
lawrence hamilton says
If what you predict comes true U Meyer will be the most hated man in PA, except for, well, I won’t even mention him rotting in a jail cell.
The Nittany Turkey says
Sorry for the delay in my response.
Meyer being the most hated man in Pennsylvania makes for a great rivalry with OSU. I don’t get the hatred thing, though. Respect for one’s opponent gets one farther.
—TNT
K. John says
Well, the game didn’t turn out as expected because nobody predicted that the Big Ten, in my opinion would help determine the outcome of the game. The scoring breakdown as I see it.
Officials – 21 – Number of Ohio State points directly attributable to bad calls or missed calls.
Ohio State – 14 – Pick six and Ohio State lone legitimate offensive score in the fourth quarter.
Penn State – 23 – Earned every one of those scores and a few more.
Penn State drives cut short by bad calls or no calls – 5
Ohio State’s pass defense was essentially a combination of interference and defensive holding. This occurred on almost every deep pass play allowing Ohio State to cover Allen Robinson one on one allocating more players to deal with the short passing game and the running game.
This game was an out and out embarrassment for the Big Ten. The officiating was one sided. You usually only see this level of bias in Ann Arbor and never to this level. Even the guys on ESPN were at a loss of words and one of them is a Buckeye. Historically, the Big Ten’s treatment of Penn State has been unfair, especially as of late when they piled on after the NCAA’s ridiculously undeserved and very likely illegal sanctions. Afterall, there is no evidence to support the obviously fabricated cover-up narrative.
No Penn State did not play their best game, they played their worst since UVA while Ohio State played their best, and it wasn’t good enough. They still needed a lot of help to pull the upset because Penn State is the best team in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Turkey says
Sorry for the delay in my response. I was camping and there wasn’t even cell phone connectivity to enable me to bloviate here.
I can point to only one pivotal call blown by the officials — the mystery defensive holding call that I still can’t fathom. Otherwise, although PSU made enough mistakes to beat themselves, I was impressed by the OSU front seven and by Braxton Miller. They won it. It wasn’t handed to them by the officials. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
—TNT