Gametime: 3:30 pm

Series Record: Penn State leads, 3-0

TV: Big Ten Network

Audio: Here

Weather: Partly cloudy, high of 80.

Before we start the preview, we wanted to pass along a link. Lost Lettermen alerts us whenever a former PSU athlete updates their blog. Today, it's Ki-Jana Carter talking about what his company is doing to prevent the spread of swing flu. Check it out.

Now onto the preview...

We're going to start a new feature on the blog now that the season is about to begin.  This one might appeal to some of our gambling readers (not that we condone that sort of thing.... wink wink).  Every week, we're going to pick every Big11Ten game against the spread, and because we're fans of college football in general, we'll throw in some other big games from the week as well.  If you weren't aware, there are two of who write this blog, so we're going to keep track of our picks and have a little friendly competition throughout the season.  At the end of the year, the winner will claim the Pick 'Em Championship Belt (which we don't really have, but it sounds like a great idea).

Just a couple notes before we begin.  We're going to use Danny Sheridan's odds as a source for our lines, as it appears to be the standard for sports lines and we've used his page for office pools in the past.  And this week there are no lines available for Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern or Indiana because they're playing D1-AA schools.

Here are the games we're picking for Week 1 (home team in CAPS):

OHIO STATE    21½    Navy   
PENN STATE    26½    Akron   
MICHIGAN       12½    Western Michigan
ILLINOIS           6½      Missouri
Minnesota            6½     SYRACUSE
WISCONSIN     16½    NO Illinois
PURDUE            10½    Toledo
OKLAHOMA STATE   5½    Georgia
ALABAMA        6½     Virginia Tech

And here's how we're picking:

Penn State 2009: Last Minute Defensive Preview

For the vast majority of the season, the Penn State defense was outstanding in 2008.  They were the best defense in the conference (finishing first in both scoring and rushing defense, and third in pass defense), and one of the best in the entire nation (fourth in scoring defense, seventh in rushing).  The defense faltered at times, most notably in the losses to Iowa and USC, but most of the time they were a classic Penn State D.

Of course, a number of key pieces from the 2008 squad are gone.  Breakout pass rusher Aaron Maybin went 11th overall in the NFL draft, and he was joined by line-mate Maurice Evans.  Losing two productive ends is never good, but couple that with the loss of the entire starting secondary, and that can be a recipe for disaster for most schools.  Can the new starters step up and make the 2009 edition of the defense as formidable as the 2008 squad?

Penn State 2009: Last Minute Offensive Preview

It's finally September and that means we waited until the last possible second to bring the PSU previews. We did it on purpose -- seriously.  The season opens up in just a couple of days and people still have a lot of questions about the team. Most of them revolve around the offensive line, the secondary and the receiving corps.  We'll address some of those questions, as well as discuss what the other parts are doing in this preview.

Right now, we're going to get going on the offense.  A lot of the news is positive. The team returns a verteran quarterback that could be one of the tops in the country. The Lions also return a loaded backfield that rushed for 1800+ yards last season. Both backs have significant experience and offer a solid combination of speed and grit.  Of course, no one is really sure what is going to become of the wideouts and o-line. That's where we're going to start.

This year on the o-line, all 5 players will be either brand new starters or starters playing in a new position.  Dennis Landolt and Stefen Wisniewski are both back, but move from RT to LT, and RG to C, respectively.  We're not all that concerned about these guys because, even though they are starting at a new position, they're both experienced hogs.  They both played well last year and there's not much of a reason to think they won't be able to adapt this season, but it's still going to be difficult to replace this guy:

Not only an excellent center, but Daryll Clark's on-field doctor.

At left guard, Matt Stankiewitch fills the void. He brings, arguably, the best last name an offensive lineman could have.  Replacing Wisniewski at right tackle will be DeOn'tae Pannell.  He had some action last year and the 6'5" 300lb monster will get his chance as a starter from the get-go this year. And finally, that leaves the right guard position to Lou Eliades. According to this depth chart, Eliades weighs 3010 lbs. With size like that, we would expect him to play all 5 positions.

With three new guys and two guys playing new positions, it's going to take some time for this unit to gel. Fortunately, the team opens the season against Akron, Temple and Syracuse.

When it comes to the receivers, there is a complete overhaul at the position. Norwood, Butler and Williams are all gone. Zug, Brackett, Shuler, Powell and Quarless are in. No set of receivers will be able to replicate what the previous three had accomplished, but with the help of a quarterback like Clark and the ability to be set up by a solid running game, life should be a little bit easier for this inexperienced group.

Of that group, the most passes anyone caught last season was 13 -- by Brackett.  At the low end was Chaz Powell who caught all of two.  As of now, it's hard to tell what each of these guys bring to the table. All we've seen are small glimpses of what may be possible. Bracket brings ridiculous size, standing at 6'6".

Chaz Powell has loads of speed, but we've yet to find out how he will turn that into a receiving threat. What he has illustrated, however, is his abillity to return kickoffs -- averaging nearly 29 yards per return on 9 opportunities.

Graham Zug brings not only the coolest name, but some pretty steady hands.  You may remember him catching a huge pass in last season's Ohio State game.  It was pretty much the only play for any significant distance in the entire game. It also accounted for almost a third of his season's receiving yards.

The other two guys, Quarless and Shuler, will be holding down the fort at the tight end position.  They both had very similar statistics (Quarless 11 catches, 117 yards and Shuler 9 catches,120 yards) and while they aren't the standout wide receivers you may see on other teams, they both have been more than adequate playing the role as the safety valve. Quarless has shown the ability to make some clutch plays, and we hope to see him get the opportunity to do so more regularly.

Now it's on to the veteran players. In the backfield the Lions get back one of the best tandems in the league -- if not the country. Evan Royster and Stephfon Green are both back, bringing an excellent 1-2 punch that accounted for 1800 some odd yards last season and was the backbone of an offense that rushed for 205 yards per game last season.

All your touchdowns are belong to us.

There's almost nothing negative you can say about this duo. Royster has had his troubles with injuries but when he's on the field, he's exactly the player you want carrying the ball.  He's a solid blend of speed and power with the ability to break through a line and then run away from whoever is left. Green on the other hand is just... well, super-fast.  It's a cliche term, but he's the home-run threat on every play. Ask Michigan fan. If he's in the open he's gone. If he develops the patience that Royster has -- watch out.

A lot of what these guys do is dependent on the offensive line, but if there's a position on this team that we're not concerned about -- aside from quarterback -- it's the running back.  Both guys can hold their own as starters and having them both is almost a luxury.

And finally, that brings us to the quarterback position.

Daryll Clark has gone from the guy fighting to start, narrowly beating out Pat Devlin, to the big man on campus and starting quarterback for the defending Big11Ten champions.  The confidence coming from this guy at the end of last season was almost visible and, according to reports over the summer, he's only getting better as a leader on and off the field.  If Clark picks up where he left off last winter, the Lions will be in great shape. If he's improving as a student of the game and as a leader like is being reported then there's no reason Clark couldn't be one of the top quarterbacks in the league.

A few places have listed him as "potential Heisman quarterback" which to us is pretty unrealistic considering who is out there, but just being mentioned with the three-headed monster of Bradford/Tebow/McCoy is saying something for what Clark may be becoming.  He's a perfect fit for the offense the Lion's will be running and by all accounts, a player you want to lead your team.  On a team with a couple significant concerns, Clark is the one guy that may be the reason this team can win.  Everyone knows that a quarterback is the most important player on the field at any given time, so having a standout player at that position may be enough to balance out any deficiencies elsewhere on the field.

With that, we leave you with this kick-ass video that's being passed around within the Penn State internets scene:

Chills.

Saturday.

*Just a quick disclaimer: we wrote this before we heard the news on Brandon Ware's foot.  We hope he makes a speedy recovery.  Or as speedy as possible for a 340-lb dude.

The 2009 football season is almost here, and with it comes the first edition of the Blue & White Roundtable.  Here are this week's participants:

W. F. Yurasko
Happy Hour Valley
The Nittany Line
Zombie Nation
Nittany Whiteout
Nittany Lounge

1. We all know Penn State is going to beat Akron. But what is it about this year's Penn State team that really scares the crap outta you? Basically, explain what will cause you to throw the tortilla chips across the room more than once this Saturday?

It's going to be the secondary. We just know it. Fortunately, we party outside and mother nature will take care of the chips.

Last year it was painful to watch the secondary at times and really, they weren't even all that bad. The inability to stop teams like Iowa from nickel and diming their way down the field was heart-breaking, and then seeing Mark Sanchez fling the ball around like his receivers were running around pylons made it very obvious that maybe our secondary wasn't quite up to snuff, despite relatively decent numbers. This year the turn over is going to be an absolute killer and it will take some time before they get used to playing with another. We're generally patient people, but we're getting out the blood pressure medicine just in case.

2. Hopefully, the backups will see plenty of playing time this weekend. Which second-stringer(s) are you most interested in seeing take the field against a living, breathing opponent? What kind of role do you want to see them play this year?

Backup QB Kevin Newsome is the obvious choice here.  He's definitely athletic, but he looked pretty raw in the spring game.  Hopefully he can get some work under his belt in the first couple weeks, just in case the unthinkable happens somewhere down the line this season.

Besides Newsome, we're interested to see Brandon Ware get some time in the rotation at D tackle, because anytime you have a 340-lb redshirt freshman on the line, it's going to at least be fun to watch.  We won't mind seeing Chaz Powell out there either.  He's gotten some positive buzz and we're hoping he turns out to be a playmaker for this offense.

3. So Penn State's non-conference schedule sucks in terms of straight up opponent quality. That aside, tell us why or why not this opening slate will help or hurt this team later in the season.

Well, the schedule is obviously going to help them in a couple of ways.  First, it gives them four relatively easy wins (hopefully), and ideally it  give the second-stringers a chance to get some game action.  The first three non-con games will also give the starters time to mesh, especially on the O-line and in the secondary.  The Eastern Illinois game will probably be big for the team, as it hopefully will provide another easy game smack in the middle of the season, and some injured players could get some rest.

Now, given all that, we're still not fans of a creampuff schedule such as this.  The benefits are nice, yes, but we think the negative aspects outweigh them.  Four easy wins is nice, but two tough wins and two easy wins looks waaaay better to the voters.  Even one tough win would be better.  Not only that, but playing quality teams in the non-conference schedule helps to make the team better, and prepares everyone for tough conference battles later on.  Beating up on low-tier programs might give the team time to mesh, but it doesn't really offer much in the way of overcoming adversity.

Lastly, and probably the most concerning, is that in college football's insane system, a weak non-conference schedule makes it almost impossible for a team to reach the national title game without going undefeated, at least in the Big11Ten.  If you have a ranked opponent early on your non-conference schedule, it can be a big boost.  If you win, it will definitely help you in the polls.  If you lose, a lot of voters will downplay an early season loss if it was against a good opponent. With a weak non-con schedule, it's win them all or else.

So there are some benefits to this non-conference slate, but it definitely doesn't leave much room for error.

4. What will it mean for this team to have Joe Paterno back on the sidelines again, right up in their facemasks, for ALL the games?

If this event were taking place last year, with all the veteran players that team had, we wouldn't say it was as big a deal. However, with a lot of new guys stepping in all over the field (wideouts, o-line, secondary) it will be helpful to have Joe down there letting these guys know what they're doing right and wrong.  The other coaches have been great and did more than most people may have expected last year, but Joe on the field will make a difference with the younger guys and first-time starters.

Quick Hits

1. Over/Under: Penn State's offense gains 500 total yards.

Under

1a. Over/Under: Penn State's defense gives 350 total yards.

Under

2. True/False: The student section will NOT fill out, even by the end of the game.

True

3. Are you going to the game?

Half.

With the colllege football season rapidly approaching, everyone is making predictions about things will play out.  So we decided we'd throw some early predictions for the 2009 Big11Ten season.  If we're way off with these, we can laugh and make jokes at our own expense.  If we hit on a couple, that's just a bonus.  It's a win-win, really.  So click "Read More" to check out our 10 bold predictions for the Big11Ten in 2009.

We've been spending all of our time the last couple weeks on bringing you some semi-coherent previews of each of the teams in the Big11Ten.  Today, we're taking a little time out from the previews to bring you a little something off the board before we go all Nittany Lions all the time next week during the run-up to the first game.

Anyway, if you're a fan of "Flight Of The Conchords," you're a hipster and enjoy ironic clothing or even if you're just a dude from the country who loves t-shirts with animals on them, you've probably seen a shirt like this:

That shirt is great for people of all ages and all backgrounds, but what if you want to combine your love of wolves with your love of Penn State football?  Well, thanks to a great friend of WeWantTheLion, the incomparable Rob-o, we are able to provide an answer to that question:

Now that is a thing of beauty.

After "That is f*cking amazing," the first thing we thought of when we saw this shirt is, "When can we start selling it?"  Well, we consulted with the blog's official lawyer on that matter before we set our plan in motion.  You may have heard of him before:

What a guy.

Unfortunately the great Bob Loblaw lobbed a law bomb when we inquired about putting this masterpiece up for sale and told us we would probably get sued for copyright infringement.  We live by only a few rules, and one of them is never go against Bob Loblaw.  So unfortunately for the masses, the shirt is not for sale.  But feel free to gaze at it longingly whenever you like.

Team: Ohio State Buckeyes

Head Coach: Jim Tressel

2008 Record: 10-3 (7-1), lost to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl

We couldn't even work a Tressel joke into the preview.  We just want to mention that he's pure evil.

Good God, where do we begin?  Just thinking about this team makes us angry, nervous and excited all at the same time.  Angry because they always have some hatable personalities on the squad (out with James Laurinaitis, in with Terrelle Pryor), nervous because they're obviously a great football team and excited because this is the one game on the schedule we circle every year without fail.  Everything you've read about the November 7th matchup between Penn State and Ohio State talks about how that game will be the de facto Big11Ten championship.  The fact is that game is a long time from now, and a lot of things could happen before then.  But the best part is that the Lions could be winless on the season and we'd still be there at the tailgate, getting fired up to kick to crap out of the Buckeyes.

Before we get into the preview, we should mention that Drew from the fine OSU blog "The Silver Bullet" was nice enough to help us out, so you'll see his comments throughout.  Big thanks to Drew for the commentary. Click "Read More" to check out the preview.

Team: Illinois Fighting Illini

Head Coach: Ron Zook

2008 Record: 5-7 (3-5)

Last year, Illinois was a team that may challenge for a Big11Ten crown.  Things didn't go as planned and towards the end of the season, with bowl eligibility on the line, Juice Williams turned into an interception machine.  It was the same inconsitency that had plagued Illinois in seasons past and it will be that same problem they hope to avoid this season.  The Illini return a lot of their offense, including Juice Williams, Arrelious Benn and all three running backs (Jason Ford, Daniel Dufrene and Mike LeShoure) that comprised the majority of their non-Juice Williams rushing attack.

The expectations will be high on offense, and with the experience these guys have, they should be able to live up to them.  It feels like Benn and Juice have been in the league forever and even though the team has been relatively mediocre during their tenure, we're betting a lot of PSU fans tense up every time a play call results in one of them getting the ball in the open field.  It doesn't help that Benn had his coming out party against PSU back in 2007:

No one's catchin that guy on the kickoff, and that touchdown reception is embarrassing.

Team: Wisconsin Badgers

Head Coach: Bret Bielema

2008 Record: 7-6 (3-5), crushed by Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl

What happened to Wisconsin last year?  They were a team everyone in the conference was scared of, but as it turned out, they were nothing more than a shaky team riddled with injuries and an offense with absolutely no semblance of a passing game.  Maybe if we had looked a little closer during the preseason, we could have predicted it.  But we are lazy, so alas...

Anyway, it was definitely enjoyable for us to watch Wisconsin wallow in mediocrity last season for a couple of reasons.  First, we've been there recently, so we can relate.  But more importantly, we have really come to despise Bret Bielema over his three-year tenure as the Badgers' head coach.  He had a stellar first season with all of Barry Alvarez's players, and everyone annointed him a genius.  But the last two years have shown us that he's probably closer to the dumb jock that he looks like in this picture:

Anyway, Bielema had this all coming to him when he decided to run the clock out on Penn State using offsides penalties in 2006, so the Lions couldn't get the ball before the half.  Some people called this a great coaching move, while we would substitute "great coaching" with "dick."  Kharma is real, and it has since taken a big bite out of Bielema's ass.  Case in point:

As you can tell, just thinking of this dude gets us a little fired up, but what we should really be concentrating on is whether or not he can turn Wisconsin's team around this year.  The team appears to be healthier, a young, mobile QB may be ready to take the helm, and the ground game is going to be killer.  Can the Badgers get back to the top of the conference?  What a teaser!  Click "Read More" to see the full preview.