Back in 2005, the NCAA declared that Native American mascots were “hostile and abusive” and outlawed them. Eight years later, the fact they are still around may be the perfect example of why the NCAA is the standard by which one measures ineffective and hypocritical organizations. The fact the debate spread beyond that is even more of a damning statement.
In today’s installment of the Dubscast, J-Dub takes a critical look at how the NCAA really isn’t interested in “hostile and abusive” because it clearly makes decision based on other criteria it won’t tell anybody. It is important to understand this IS NOT a discussion as to whether these mascots are “offensive,” you will need to get past that debate in order to see the bigger picture in play in this issue.
In other words, after checking out this episode of the Dubscast, you will need to decide for yourself why the NCAA either cannot or will not enforce its own rules.
OK, so I get that the Berlin Wall came down close to 25 years ago. But it still has far-reaching impacts. Stolichnaya vodka isn’t hard to get anymore. Guys can beat off to pictures of Maria Sharapova without feeling like a traitor. And college basketball is full of guys with names that can’t be pronounced with a western tongue.
To keep this rant concise, I’m sticking to five examples; feel free to submit your own. I’ve picked out these guys because I think all of them have a shot to be NBA players in the near future. So even the guys you won’t see in the upcoming March Madness you re likely going to see on an NBA team near you. Oh, and just for purposes of clarity, I’m staying away from all the African guys…names like “Mbakwe” that also have consecutive like some these Europeans would be just too much for one post…the combination might make my tongue snap off its roller like an old-school window shade.
So, look at that surname and tell me as an American how you would pronounce it. Unless you guessed “mar-chooch’” you guessed wrong. Thanks to Purdue’s loss to Nebraska in the B1G Ten tournament, you won’t be seeing the “Sandi-nista” again until October. Maybe it is the fact that I’ve been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers since childhood, but I can’t resist a European big…Swen Nater, Vlade Divac, and now this guy. The name alone means he could be changing Purdue black and gold for Laker purple and gold in a few years.
Want to try to pronounce that name correctly? The name is Turkish, and they don’t even use the same alphabet we do. Having said that, the proper pronunciation is “kah-lich-lah.” Admit it, you wouldn’t have been within miles of that. However, you may want to get familiar with the name since the 6’9″ 260-pounder is going to provide an inside presence for somebody in the NBA next season. Not to mention, he is a musket and a couple of skipped haircuts away from being a Sports Doppelganger for the West Virginia mascot.
So, by now I’m guessing you’ve latched on to the whole “unpronounceable” angle, so I’ll let you off the hook. In terms of a player, at 7’1″ 305 pounds, Karnowski is like a Polish version of Shaquille O’Neal. I really want to start calling him “The Big Karnowski.” Along with that, he is a better-than-average shooter, he can consistently hit 15-foot pull-up jumpers. Defensively, he has some weaknesses, particularly rebounding, but a few years’ development in the college game should make him a first-round NBA pick.
A 6’9″220-pound forward, Vujovic played for S Beograd, the junior team of Euroleague member Partizan Belgrade. He averaged 16 points on 53% shooting, in addition to pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game. This is why Vujocic was regarded as one of the top junior power forwards in Europe. He also comes from one of the best basketball countries in the world, and let’s be honest…Serbia owes us all an apology after foisting the likes of Darko Milicic on us.
Here’s another big coming from the Serbian junior circuit. A 6’10″ 230 pound forward, played Cabarkapa for the Vojvodina Sport Key junior club, where he averaged 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He also comes from NBA lineage; he is the first cousin of former NBA player Zarko Cabarkapa, who played three seasons with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors. The fact that Serbia, a country roughly the size of Minnesota with a population of only 7 million , has put two players on this list can only mean they really want us to forget about Darko Milicic.
Every January since this blog was created, we here at Dubsism have given an award for achievements during the previous year in some under-recognized categories in the world of sports. In prior years, the nominations for the awards were done exclusively by an internal committee. This was the first year we allowed nominations from the general public.
Between our committee and our valued readers, we had more quality nominations than we could ever possibly use. Thank you so much for that. When we received an outstanding nomination that proved to be a winner, we made sure to recognize those who submitted it. However, we did also receive nominations on multiple ballots that proved to be winners. If you see a winner that you nominated, and you weren’t credited, just know that you weren’t the only one who had the same idea.
With that, and after careful consideration, here are the winners of the 2012 Dubsy awards.
In what may actually be good news for Notre Dame football, quarterback Tommy Rees was arrested early this morning (from Yahoo Sports).
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees has been arrested and jailed on a preliminary felony charge following a confrontation with officers early Thursday, police said.
Rees, 19, was arrested on charges of resisting law enforcement, battery to law enforcement, minor consumption, and public intoxication, St. Joseph County police Sgt. Bill Redman said.
How can this be good news? Well, there is the obvious joke that it is hard to get on the field when you are on a chain gang. Let us not forget Tommy Rees sucks in that special “Tony Romo” sort of way, meaning he racks up some decent numbers; 253-384 for a completion percentage of 65.9%, 2,708 yards, and 19 touchdowns. But that was also against largely mediocre competition. There’s also the matter of the 12 interceptions, many of which came of particularly costly moments in ball games.
Then there’s also the observation that you just can’t be a top-flight college football program without some felons. Let’s be honest, Notre Dame hasn’t been on the Boardwalk-side of the college football Monopoly board in quite some time. It’s quasi-ironic this arrest took place in St. Joseph county because Notre Dame is now more like St. Charles Place. At least it’s close to the jail…
Redman said South Bend police officers arrested Rees and Notre Dame linebacker Carlo Calabrese and that he didn’t know details of the incident or which charge against Rees was a felony.
Calabrese was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and released after posting $150 bond.
Calabrese…insert your own “Mafia/Godfather” joke here. Now, for the classic bit of university-based obfuscation…
”The university is aware of this incident and is confident that it will be handled in a prompt and professional manner through the criminal justice system,” Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown said in a statement. ”Internal discipline is handled privately, in accord with our own policies and federal law.”
As if that weren’t enough, don’t forget this isn’t this first scrape with the criminal justice system for the Rees clan. Tommy’s sister Meghan ran afoul of the boys with the badges in Tippecanoe County, Indiana last year for getting into a drunken brawl at Ross-Ade Stadium.
So, a fight breaks out in the stands during last Saturday’s game in West Lafayette, Indiana between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Nothing really new there: there’s usually some kind of altercation at ever major college football game played. The fact that one of the allegedly drunk combatants was a good-looking blond is a little unusual (usually they’re fat, middle-aged guys) but not totally out of the question.
But when the young lady charged is the sister of Notre Dame starting quarterback Tommy Rees? Now THAT doesn’t happen every day, but apparently it did Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium where university police were called to Section 116 after a fight broke out. At the scene, other fans pointed to Meghan Rees, 21, as the primary culprit and she was immediately escorted from the stadium. Meghan, a student at Miami University of Ohio, was cited for public intoxication and had her angry-looking mug shot taken for good measure.
You know what they say…the family that commits mid-level felonies together stays together.
Time for some brutal honesty, Boiler Nation. Nobody (and I mean NOBODY) looks at their football schedule and circles the Purdue date; knees knocking with fear. Why is that? After all, Purdue is an original member of the Big Ten and does have a rich football tradition. Hell, you can’t watch a Purdue game without hearing about their whole “Cradle of Quarterbacks” thing.
So, why does Purdue get no respect? It could be because most of that football tradition was built at least 40 years ago. I’m a middle-aged guy, and Purdue never won a Rose Bowl in my lifetime. Northwestern won the Roses more recently than Purdue; florists in West Lafayette don’t even know what a rose is. My wife is a Purdue alum and you couldn’t have found a rose within five miles of our wedding.
Believe it or not, there was a time when the sports section had headlines like “#1 Purdue Upset By Ohio State.” This was right about the same time a Purdue graduate became the first man to walk on the moon. That was then; now, Purdue fans (all 600 of them) would go to the moon just to escape the horrors of Ross-Ade Stadium…if they bother to show up at all.
The best illustration of how far into the BCS basement Purdue has fallen comes in the from of their own billboards standing throughout Boiler Nation.
In passing, that billboard doesn’t look so bad until you realize that Carson Wiggs is the placekicker. Let that sink in for a moment. A Big Ten university has a football team so weak that the weapon they are showcasing; the weapon that is supposed to make you lose control of your bladder is a freakin’ KICKER? Kickers don’t scare anybody; the average kicker is the sort of guy who pisses his pants every time the furnace kicks on. Not to mention, does anybody think fans will pay to see a bunch of field goals?
It's hard to look fearsome when you're being carried by a dude with a pony-tail.
Frankly, this is just sad. I don’t know who in the Boiler football world has the power to fix this, but something has to be done. It’s one thing to have a bad season; it’s quite another to have a bad half-century. Stop screwing around and do whatever it takes to build a winning culture. Succesful athletic deaprtment can do wonders for a university; the Big Ten is full of land-grant schools which elevated themselves into top-flight universities partially by having sports which generated revenue. Stop hiding behind that “academic standards” crap; Purdue isn’t Harvard, it’s a state school which has to accept ANY Indiana resident. Besides, the argument that you can’t have winning teams and academic standards is a complete dodge; go peddle that hogwash to Stanford football or Duke basketball.
Here’s the bottom line: nobody is afraid of a kicker, and nobody pays to watch kickers either. If Purdue doesn’t want to invest in football, then they need to stop expecting anybody to care. Purdue’s’ opponents already have an apathetic attitude toward Boiler football, if nothing changes, the fans will as well.
For today’s “Purdue Joke of the Day” (although this is equally a shot at the equally putrid Minnesota Gophers), thank the good people over at SB Nation.
Comcast guide screens for football games can be an endless source of entertainment, usually for reasons that are purely accidental — typos, incorrect stats or whatever else. Not so sure this wasn’t completely intentional. In fact, this had to have been intentional: The program information for Minnesota-Purdue isn’t so much an advertisement for the game as it is a giant warning to stay away at all costs.
Comcast aren’t the only people warning you to stay away from this punt-fest. Even the folks at the Purdue athletic department are trying to hide this game. What other major universities do you know that schedule home games during fall break? The ones that do are admitting they have dates on their schedule for which they couldn’t give away tickets if they printed them on Christina Hendricks’ ample cleavage.
Somehow, still not helping.
Actually, it might me somewhat responsible on the part of the Purdue athletic department. By ensuring the student section at Ross-Ade will be virtually empty, there’s less of a chance that Purdue’s performance will induce a wave of Purdue Puke down Northwestern Avenue.
Morgan Burke, the citizens of West Lafayette thank you.
Yes, you read that correctly…From the good people at Bad Jocks.com, it seems the sister of Notre Dame’s starting quarterback decided Saturday night’s game at Ross-Ade Stadium was a good time to kick some Boilermaker butt.
So, a fight breaks out in the stands during last Saturday’s game in West Lafayette, Indiana between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Nothing really new there: there’s usually some kind of altercation at ever major college football game played. The fact that one of the allegedly drunk combatants was a good-looking blond is a little unusual (usually they’re fat, middle-aged guys) but not totally out of the question.
But when the young lady charges is the sister of Notre Dame starting quarterback Tommy Rees? Now THAT doesn’t happen every day, but apparently it did Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium where university police were called to Section 116 after a fight broke out. At the scene, other fans pointed to Meghan Rees, 21, as the primary culprit and she was immediately escorted from the stadium. Meghan, a student at Miami University of Ohio, was cited for public intoxication and had her angry-looking mug shot taken for good measure.
There has been no official comment from Notre Dame, Coach Brian Kelly or Tommy about the incident. We have also not been able to confirm if Meghan is single or not, but to many of our readers she is definitely “girlfriend material.”
With such a full weekend of college and NFL action, let’s just cut to the chase…
1) We still don’t know if Notre Dame is any good
Every year, Notre Dame gets over-rated, and every year, they prove that by the time they get to Purdue. This year, they’ve done nothing but send a mixed message; lost to South Florida and Michigan, and now have won three straight. but honestly, those wins are over mediocre Michigan State and Pittsburgh, and most recently against West Lafayette Junior High Purdue. It doesn’t get any better since the Irish start their usual parade of service academies with Air Force this week.
2) Speaking of Purdue…
Yeah, I know Giant Drum A&M gets picked on every once in a while here, but they might get more respect if they quit doing things like this.
3) As long as we are in Indiana…
Memorial services for any hope of the Colts having a watchable season will be held Thursday at noon at Lucas Oil Field. When the most glowing reviews of Colts quarterback Curtis Painter are “not completely horrible,” it’s going to be a long season in Indianapolis.
4) The Detroit Lions – The Anti-Colts
Let’s face facts, this team has more upside that in all its previous 50 years combined. The Lions boast an emerging star at quarterback, a dominant weapon in Calvin Johnson, and a defense that is vastly improved, which is why they are the first team in NFL history to make two straight comebacks from 20+ points behind.
5) When is a fumble not a fumble, part III
First, there was the Rob Lytle “fumble” in the 1977 AFC Championship Game, then there was the infamous Tom Brady ”Tuck” rule from 2001, now there’s Victor Cruz fiasco this past weekend. Now I know why there is no coincidence between why Ed Hochuli is the best referee in the NFL and he just so happens to be an attorney; you need a law degree to even understand half the rules in the NFL anymore. Note to the Rules Committee…it is time to start simplifying.
6) Illinois – Your Cup-Check University
If picture is worth a thousand words, you would think an animated GIF would be worth more, yet this one is only worth two…
7) As The Romo Turns
With all the ups and downs, one would think you would find the “Romo-Coaster” at Six Flags over Texas rather than Cowboys Stadium. Week 1, he’s a choke-artist. Weeks 2 and 3, he showed “a rare brand of guts and leadership.” Now, he sucks again. Even ESPN doens’t know what to do with him.
There’s the “pro” side, as evidenced by Eric Mangini.
“But ex-Jets coach Eric Mangini said a couple of Romo’s picks against the Lions were not his fault. The gutsy Romo has also led the Cowboys to two victories this season despite playing with injured ribs.”
“Really, you saw the best of Tony Romo in a brilliant first half as he pushed Dallas to a 20-3 lead that swelled to 27-3 after the Cowboys took the second-half kickoff and drove for a touchdown. Then we witnessed the worst of Romo. He threw three second-half interceptions — two were absolutely awful decisions — providing the catalyst for Detroit’s comeback.”
After all the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth, NBC’s Bob Costas probably has the best observation…
“Here’s a guy who see-saws between hero’s laurels and goat horns, seemingly game to game. And today, it was half to half. Romo had three TD throws in the first 33 minutes against the undefeated Lions, but then, three picks – two of them returned for touchdowns,” said Costas.”This has been the pattern of Romo’s season, and, as it’s shaping up, his career. At any moment he is apt to rescue his team with feats of daring do, often showing the presence of mind to improvise his way out of one crisis after another. And then, the next week, or maybe the next moment, he’ll turn in a performance or make a decision that sends Cowboys fans to the ledge.”
After all, good Romo or bad Romo doesn’t matter…Cowboys’ fans ripping their collective hair out is what’s important.
8 ) By The Way, Romo’s Not The Only Thing Wrong in Dallas
Remember that crap Rob Ryan was spouting about how Detroit’s Calvin Johnson would “be the third’ best receiver on the team” if he played for the Cowboys. Who else took comfort in watching Johnson pack that bilge firmly in Ryan’s “Head and Shoulders commercial wannabe ass? Did anybody else notice the part where Ryan’ s “vaunted” defense had 12 guys on the field and STILL didn’t double-cover Calvin Johnson?
What has two thumbs, Lynyrd Skynyrd-hair, and a football in his ass from Calvin Johnson? THIS GUY!!!
9) As long as we are in Dallas…
Remember last year when Jason Garrett became the poster-child for uptight, straight-laced white guys everywhere when he was the guy who saved the Cowboys? Remember how this was all supposedly due to Garrett’s being a “disciplinarian?”
So, can somebody explain to me why this Cowboy team looks as undisciplined as ever? Seriously, this team can’t even manage it’s own snap count, half the roster looks like they don’t even know the playbook, and nobody is calling out Howdy Doody Jason Garrett, the supposed Princeton Prince of Discipline.
Forget Jason Garrett...It was Mrs. Garrett who knew how to keep the girls in line.
10) Oh, and before I forget about the other Ryan brother…
Rex, you are one of my favorite guys in all of sports, but…
It’s “put up or shut up” time. I’ve watched your teams gag two straight AFC Championship games, and now your team is looking suspiciously over-rated. Start winning games you are supposed to win so I don’t have to start bashing you.
11) Speaking of “Time To Prove My Love” – The All-Pennsylvania Edition
The Eagles have managed in four short game to go from “The Dream Team” to “The Nightmare Team.” Two reasons – the hardest hit the offensive line has made all season was on their own quarterback, and in the immortal words of Jets’ linebacker Bart Scott, the defense “couldn’t stop a nosebleed.”
But the award for the worst offense in the Keystone State goes to Penn State. Don’t get me wrong, as a Nittany Lion fan, I’ve seen some Joe Paterno offenses that literally dated from the Paleozoic era, but this is the worst I’ve seen under the Galen Hall/Offensive Coordinator regime. With all due respect, GET RID OF THAT GODDAMN TWO QUARTERBACK SYSTEM!!!! I get they both suck, but pick one, shoot the other in the head and let’s move on.
12) Cam Newton Is Now A Poster Child
There’s new mentality in the football world…throwing the football is Nirvana, outcomes be damned. Cam Newton exemplifies this. The world is singing his praises as a young quarterback because in four games he has nearly 1,400 passing yard and 5 touchdowns.
But he also has 5 interceptions and more importantly, only one win as a starting quarterback. This makes him a stud in fantasy football, but not so much in the real game. But, for some reason, we let the fantasy mentality rule the day.
If you doubt that, look at it this way. This past weekend saw 11 quarterbacks post 300 passing yards, but only 4 of them won their games. In contrast, the running game (which has been relegated to the NFL scrap heap) saw 8 running backs rack up 100 rushing yards , and 5 of them played on winning teams.
13) The Dubsism Simplified College Football Top 25
I’ll give you the moral of this story up front. This is what happens when a die-hard Penn State fan marries into a decidedly Boilermaker family. Not only is my wife a Purdue alum, her father is a chemistry professor at Giant Drum A&M. If that weren’t enough, the wedding was being held literally within a PGA-length golf course distance of the Purdue campus.
In other words, I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Nittany Lion playing a road game in the heart of Boilermaker country. However, this does not deter me from having my football idol present on the day that promises to end my life as I know it. Being that my wife wanted a fall wedding (we’ll discuss later how freakin’ stupid I am for marrying a woman who wanted to get married on a FOOTBALL WEEKEND!!!), since we are in the greater Lafayette metroplex, we had to schedule these festivities around the Boilermaker football schedule. This also means that even in the unlikely event the Joe Paterno accepted the invitation I sent, he wouldn’t be able to attend as he would have his own game to worry about.
It didn’t matter, I would not be deterred.
One of the central components of the wedding is that we were going to stick to an exceptionally reasonable budget. Part of that strategy was I used a graphic design program to make all of the printed materials for the wedding, such as the invitations, RSVP cards, and the programs. I knew this was my shot. As I was creating these materials, it was obvious that for JoePa to be present, I would have to sneak his image into one of these documents. The wedding program was the obvious choice; the invitation offered too much time for a large number of people to scrutinize, and therefore rat me out. After all, stealth was the key to success. Plus, the program is the document which would be present in large numbers on the wedding day.
This meant hiding a picture somewhere. I made the decision that given a common theme of all these printed wedding materials was a floral pattern, I decided I would create a border pattern disguised to be floral in nature. Pay attention to the green, patterned band at the bottom.
Naturally, it isn’t immediately apparent what constitutes that pattern…until you blow it up and add just a bit of contrast.
The subterfuge was a complete success. Nobody was the wiser…until the day about a month after the wedding when I confessed. What fun would it have been had I not let my wife in on how I injected the essence of winning into our day to counteract the inherent Purdue-iness of it all?
That’s right, with the addition of Nebraska, the Big Ten has twelve members. Gone are the days of hiding the “ten that is actually 11″ thing Escher-like in the conference logo.
Gone are the days of my being able to refer to this league as the Big Eleven Ten (I will be sticking with Big Tweleveten until they expand again). Gone are the days of Penn State being the figurative new kid on the Big Ten block. But when the focus is returned to this upcoming season, what isn’t gone are the days of Penn State having an early loss. In fact, the Blue and White may have doubled-down on that trend as the Nittany Lions face Iowa and Alabama in their first six games. The end of the schedule doesn’t get any easier, with a home game against Nebraska followed by consecutive road trips to Columbus and Madison.
September 3 - Indiana State
Let’s be honest…This is merely a tune-up. The Indiana State Fighting Trees won’t mount any real opposition; instead, they will be happy to take a Happy Valley seal-clubbing, and return to Terre Haute check in hand.
September 10 – Alabama
Last year in Tuscaloosa, this was the Ghosts of College Football’s past. Back in the days when Penn State was still independent, a JoePa vs. Bear Bryant contest was a regular on the schedule. Not to mention the Nittany Lions routinely faced an SEC team in their usual bowl game.
What do Elvis and Bear Bryant have in common? Most Alabamians think they are both still alive.
This year in Happy Valley, the Penn State faithful will remember how they were outclassed at Bryant-Denny Stadium. This will be one of those games where if you see just the final score, you will know the winner. If the final score is 12-7, you know Penn State won. But, if the final is 43-6, you know that was an Alabama victory.
September 17 – @ Temple
Once again, Temple will face the Nittany Lion buzzsaw. Once again, they will set a record for losses to a Joe Paterno-led team (27). Once again, this will just continue to put the in-state rival from Philadelphia in sole possession of the distinction of suffering the most losses to a Paterno-led team.
September 24 – Eastern Michigan
For the second week in a row, the Nittany Lion buzzsaw will slice through the flesh of a MAC sacrificial lamb. Eastern Michigan is ranked dead-last in the Dubsism pre-season rankings; look for this game to be over by half-time.
October 1 – @ Indiana
Now for the big streak Penn State has since joining the Big Twelevten. Penn State is 14-0 vs. the Poosiers in conference play. This streak will continue, just like Amy Winehouse’s current consecutive Days-Not-Alive streak.
October 8 – Iowa
For the second year in a row, this game is the Rolaids Bowl. Now with the current conference re-alignment as resultant schedule, Iowa has replaced Michigan as one of two “red circles of seething hate” on my Penn State schedule (of course, the Ohio State Suckeyes being the other). How does this game get such a distinction? Because (deleted) Iowa always finds a (deleted) way to win this (deleted) game. This is why the Fawkeyes are 8-1 in their last nine games against the Nittany Lions.
October 15 – Purdue
Purdue represents the second conference foe in Indiana toward which I am officially dismissive. Gone are the salad days of Drew Brees, Kyle Orton, and uh….give me a minute…you know, that other Purdue Toiletmaker that didn’t suck. You know, tall guy, always wore a shirt…never mind. The point is Purdue has had a few years to forget what a historic death-pit they’ve found Happy Valley to be, but they should be getting a reminder about 12:30.
October 22 – @ Northwestern
Honestly, Northwestern scares me when Penn State has to go to Evanston. The Blue and White have only ever lost three times to the Wildcats; two of those occurring in Illinois. While Northwestern has improved to the point where the Mildcats are no longer everybody’s homecoming patsy, they tend to have surprises at home.
October 29 – Illinois
REVENGE GAME: Thanks to the quirks of scheduling in a growing conference, the Fighting Saliva get to return to the scene of the Homecoming crime they committed last year. I want to drink beer out of Ron Zook’s hollowed-out skull. Somebody needs to make that happen.
Michigan supporters simply won’t support any further slippage of this program; its “bowl or bust” for Rodriguez, and like Zook, he isn’t likely to get a helpful outcome in State College.
November 12 – Nebraska
This is first conference match between Penn State and the Cornsuckers who used some B.S. pity party (“poor Tom Osborne hasn’t won a title yet” even though he NEVER deserved one…) to rob the Nittany Lions of a National Championship in 1995.
This also marks the “make or break” stage of the schedule; this is the first of three straight games against Top-20 pre-season opponents, and the only one at home. I may need to save some of those Rolaids from the Iowa game.
November 19 – @ Ohio State
There is a formula for beating the Ohio State Penitentary University; Joe Paterno has proven it, but hasn’t been able to pull it off in a couple of years. The calculus remains the same; if you want to see a Penn State win, you want to see a plodding, ball-control type game with stiff defense on both sides, something akin to watching two sloths using a rock to break open a coconut. If that happens, the blue sloth wins by a field goal.
November 25 – @ Wisconsin
I’d love to say Penn State gets to this game with the idea that a win in Madison means a trip to the first Big Ten championship game, but I’m not that drunk yet. Honesty, I think the Nittany Lions roll into Camp Randall stadium eyeing one those 25 Big Twelevten/SEC New Year’s Day bowls.
