Early Thoughts on Penn State / Ohio State

[deliverance]

That's 20% of the games, but yes, go further.

[The Ancient Enemy]

They also do a lot of matching based on potential ratings, though. IMO they need to delete every bowl tie in, rank the bowls, and go down the list asking who everyone eants in their dang bowl game. You can still pick CMU and Vanderbilt if you are on the bottom of that food chain, because no one wants them anyways. Bowl tie-ins ruin potential matchups. Case in point: Boise every season. Tulsa this year. Ball State this year. 2nd place in the Mtn West this year.

[deliverance]

That's very true, TAE. I still think they do a decent job with matchups. Not great, but decent. No system can be perfect. It's a lot better system than it use to be.

[Former Wildcat]

When was I crying about losing? I have consistently told PSU fans this week that OSU lost to a better team. Just because I said PSU's offense was not as good as advertised? Almost every analyst I heard had PSU scoring close to 30 points or at least 20. PSU's offense was not good in the game and might have actually benefited from Clark's injury.

As for the future, PSU's recent recruiting classes have all been ranked far behind OSU and Michigan. RichRod, as much as I dislike him, will get Michigan going in the next few years. Tressel, as much as you dislike him, has gone to 5 BCS bowls and won 4 Big 10 championships in 8 years.

PSU loses its o-line and receivers. I don't know what they have returning at those positions but I can't imagine it will be as good. The Spread HD partially works because of a good o-line and good receivers.

On defense, PSU will probably be strong, but defense has not been their problem recently.

OSU will rely offensively on some great recruits that they have brought in over the past few seasons. Pryor will have Herron and Saine in the backfield, both of whom have been injured this year, but they also bring in one of the top freshman RB's in the country next year. At WR, they will return Small and Sanzenbacher, but I expect Posey to become the go-to guy because he is a big young receiver with elite speed. On the o-line, I expect OSU to be better once their talented young players take over for overrated guys like Boone and Rehring.

On defense, OSU will be as strong next year. They return everybody on the line. Homan is back at linebacker and their d-backs will be very good even without Jenkins. Chukwa is a really good player, Washington was a starter until Chukwa knocked him into the nickel role. Coleman and Russell are both returning at safety.

[deliverance]

Former Wildcat, TAE's hatred towards good coaches runs deep. Tressel hasn't utilized this team quite the way I thought he would, but in no way does that make him a bad coach. I just think that he should have left Boeckman at quarterback this season, but that is easy to say now.

[The Ancient Enemy]

"Every analyst had them winning by 30". Well, then they're retarded. Anyoen who expected PSU OR Ohio State to score more than 20 has rocks in their head. That had every making of a defensive game, and that's exactly what it was.

I want evidence how Paterno has ruined recruiting classes. Is there a better example of a program who find under the radar talent than Penn State?

Those star rankings mean nothing, Wildcat. Ohio State proves that every season.

Congrats on another great class, dude!

[deliverance]

One thing is for sure. PSU plays a lot better with a 3-star quarterback than a 5- star quarterback.

[The Ancient Enemy]

A lot teams do. A lot of teams also have 5-star players who get slaughtered in championship games so badly that they make the whole conference look bad. Then they encourage those kids to leave school early so that they tell MORE 5-star recruits that they'll play in the NFL, because look how many kids we send there every year. Those rankings only exist so people like me have something to kill time with at work.

[Former Wildcat]

Are you suggesting that recruiting rankings mean nothing. Look at the 2006 classes ranked on rivals, that would be this year's seniors and redshirt juniors. Seven of the top 10 classes are currently in the top 10, including Penn State. Look at 2007, six of the top 10 are currently in the top 10. Penn State had the number 6 class in 2006, but in their numbers the past three years have been 24, 43 and 22. Ohio State's class in 2006 was ranked 12, their numbers the past three years are 15, 4, and 1. So yeah, I think the future at OSU looks better than at Penn State and I do think Paterno has hurt their recruiting the past three years. One win in one season by 7 points does not constitute a shift in the balance of power. Even Michigan, whose last 4 classes have been 13, 10, 11, and 10, will move past PSU when RichRod gets things going. Penn State is just this year's Wisconsin '06 or Illinois '07. They are the non OSU-Mich school to crash the BCS. They have a number of good seniors. They will return to the second tier next year.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Not so fast, my friend!

Name me a team, in the whole country, who is better than Penn State in finding kids who are under the radar by these recruiting sites. You have to watch the clips on your own, Wildcat. Make your own judgement on a kid's worth. I've seen Rivals and Scout blow it on more than one occasion, buddy.

1-7, huh? How about 2-2 since 2005, one at home and one on the road since PSU got their brains back? Hasn't PSU had more success against OSU since 1993 than Michigan has, anyways?

I seem to remember Ohio State losing a game in Happy Valley by about 60 points. Its funny how Ohio State fans make up their own history.

You should WANT parity in the Big Ten, Wildcat. B/c when there isn't any parity, and one team dominates, and that team gets obliterated, takes a guess what happens when another team in that conference goes undefeated. They get questioned as to whether or not they are worth a dang.

"They will return to the 2nd tier" guess where Ohio State figures to be, buddy? You ever look at your own depth chart?