William World News is hosting this week's edition of the Blue White Roundtable. Thank you, William, for coming up with good questions during a tough week.Other participants this week include 2theLion, Nittany White Out, and Zombie Nation...
Subscribe to Penn State Clips via Email1. Penn State played its most complete game of the season thus far against Illinois. What pleased you the most about the performance?
Seeing it in person! There's something about being in the stadium that's so much better than watching on TV. The tailgating with our Illini neighbors and friends was also terrific.
It was good to see the right side of the O-line perform so well, but we suspect it was as much about Illinois being awful as it is about PSU improving.
We also have strong opinions about what did NOT please us on Saturday: just one stinking play for Kevin Newsome. Joe's explanation was ridiculous...
"I didn't want to put him in there with too much pressure on him and have him not succeed, because that would only set him back. I wanted to put him in situations and give him things that I felt comfortable with, that Jay felt comfortable with, he could do as indicated by the way he did them in practice."If there's "too much pressure" playing in the fourth quarter of a blowout, how will Newsome possibly handle it if Daryll Clark gets hurt against a good team or if he makes the start at Alabama next season with virtually no career reps against I-A teams?
2. Has your outlook on the season changed dramatically compared to this time last week? What about before the Iowa game?
Nothing really changed last week as it went pretty much as we expected. In last week's Roundtable we predicted "We'll cover (the point spread) with Penn State scoring 21 or 24 and the Illini scoring 7 or 10." This certainly looked accurate at 21-3 early in the fourth quarter before all hell broke loose.
The Iowa loss exposed Penn State as a team with significant challenges on the offensive line. We were hoping for 11-1 and a Big Ten Championship, but we're significantly less optimistic now.
3. Eastern Illinois actually looks like a decent I-AA err FCS team, having been in that division's top 25 this season. How long can they stay in it with Penn State?
Great question. Their quarterback, Jake Christensen, was the starter for Iowa during a 27-7 loss at Beaver Stadium in 2007. That being said, this game will be over by the middle of the third quarter.
Lightning round...
- Will the scoreboard be fixed by Saturday? Some panels blew off in the wind on Wednesday.They were in the process of replacing the panels anyway. We think they'll be finished, but even if the panels aren't replaced, the scoreboard will work.
- Anybody having luck selling their Eastern Illinois tickets at face value? We don't have season tickets, so nothing to sell. Our next (and last) game of the 2009 season will be at Northwestern on Halloween afternoon.
- What is your favorite college football blog that isn't about Penn State? This one is easy: The Wiz of Odds.
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