Fix the Fan Line

“Penn State’s No. 3 ranking is completely bogus. They have played no one, and the Big Ten is one of the weakest conferences in college football.” - October 31, 2008

Here were my predictions for key arguments from the Fan Line following Penn State’s win over Ohio State.

“The Big Ten is still super-weak this year.  Penn State got lucky that Pryor fumbled.  How can Penn State be ranked #3 when they haven’t played anybody respectable other than Ohio State?  Ohio State is just another cupcake.  Paterno is a manager, not a coach.”

This call covers two of my predictions.  I had a hunch that Ohio State would qualify as another “nobody.”

As far as strength of conferences, don’t let ESPN brainwash you too much.  The Big 10 is actually one of the strongest conferences in college football.  I calculate it as 3rd strongest.

Big 12 - 5 teams in the Top 25.  4 of them ranked in the Top 10.
SEC - 4 teams in the Top 25.  3 of them ranked in the Top 10.
Big 10 - 4 teams in the Top 25.  1 ranked in the Top 10.
ACC - 3 - teams ranked in the Top 25.  Florida State leads the charge at #16.
Mountain West - 3 teams ranked in the Top 25 (Utah, TCU, and BYU)
Pac 10 - 2 teams ranked in the Top 25.  USC is ranked #7.  Otherwise, this is an empty conference this year.
Big East - South Florida is the only ranked team (#24), and they’ll be exiting the polls next week.  The UConn/West Virginia winner should enter the Top 25, and Cincinnati may have a shot, and Pitt could have a shot with a win over Notre Dame.
WAC - Boise State is coasting through the WAC.  Only their game against Fresno State will stop them from running the table.
Mid American - Ball State is coasting through the MAC.  Only their game against Central Michigan will stop them from running the table.
CUSA - Tulsa is still undefeated in Conference USA.  Can they survive Arkansas this weekend?

Penn State 48

Wisconsin 7

First, for good measure…

“Nearly every game Penn State has lost the last few years can be traced to the fact that its offensive line got pushed around. Just wait until Penn State travels to Ohio State and Wisconsin this year. Both of those games will be decided by the offensive line, and you can guess which one will come out ahead.” - July 1, 2008

Hmm, let me guess.

“If you look at all the fluff that Joe Paterno has on the schedule, it’s pretty hard not to have a decent season. Even though they will lose to Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, his schedule is set up for a bowl game.” - August 31, 2008

One down.

“Penn State’s weak nonconference schedule coinciding with a weak Big Ten guarantees them eight or nine wins. Unfortunately, they will lose to Ohio State and Wisconsin and be left playing in a bowl game that means nothing.” - September 9, 2008

Unfortunately, you’re wrong.

“With the exception of possibly Wisconsin, the Big Ten does not have a legitimate top 25 team.” - September 15, 2008

So, Wisconsin is “legitimate,” right?  See below.

“Play someone, guys. Your time is coming. You play Wisconsin [tonight] and Ohio State later on. You shouldn’t have to wait until the middle of the season to play someone.” - October 11, 2008

So, Wisconsin is “someone,” right?  See below.

“How did Penn State get in the Top 25? They haven’t played anybody with a winning record.” - October 11, 2008

At the time of this call, Illinois was 3-2.  Now they’re 3-3.  For what it’s worth, Coastal Carolina was 3-2 at the time of this call.  Now they’re 3-3.

“Army, Navy, Air Force and Appalachian State could probably beat half of the teams on Penn State’s schedule.” - October 11, 2008

Temple 35 - Army 7

“I’ve been watching these college football games today and I would like to know how these announcers can say Penn State is the team to beat in the Big Ten when Penn State hasn’t played anybody who is ranked. How in the world can you get the rankings these guys get? They haven’t played anybody.” - October 12, 2008

See how teams rise in polls.

“Good job, Penn State, on the win. But, once again, this shows how weak the Big Ten is. The Big 12, by far, is the best conference in college football.” - October 12, 2008

A few weeks ago it was the SEC.  What happened?  Remember that many Big 12 teams still have pretty records because the Big 12 just started their conference schedule last week, while the SEC teams have been beating up on each other for 3 weeks now.

Hello, Penn State fans. Don’t get excited about beating Wisconsin because Wisconsin won’t be ranked again. There will be one ranked Big Ten team besides Penn State and that will be Ohio State. Illinois? Real tough game. They lost to Minnesota. The Big Ten is the weakest conference outside the Sun Belt that I’ve seen. - October 12, 2008

How about the Pac 10, Big East, and ACC?

Next weekend, Michigan travels to State College.  But “don’t get too excited Penn State fans.”  Michigan is just another cupcake, and the Big Ten is horrible, and just wait until they play Ohio State, and Wisconsin and Illinois were terrible opponents, and Joe Paterno isn’t even coaching so it doesn’t matter that he’s in the press box, and there’s no reason that Penn State should be ranked in the Top 5, and the SEC and Big 12 are awesome, and why isn’t BYU ranked #1 anyways?  So, don’t get too excited Penn State fans.

“Isn’t it ironic that Penn State is ranked No. 6 and hasn’t beaten a ranked team of any decency? ” - September 30, 2008

“Mr. Play-it-Safe was afraid to fly…” - You’re having as much trouble with irony as Alanis Morissette.

To be honest, I see nothing ironic about it.  If you choose to completely discount PSU’s wins over Oregon State and Illinois, then you might find Penn State’s #6 ranking undeserved or inappropriate, but certainly not ironic.  I find it more ironic that Penn State’s two best wins, over teams that you consider indecent, have combined to:

a) defeat a team previously ranked #1 in the country, and

b) be the most decent team that #4 ranked Missouri has defeated in 2008 (a 10-point game).

“I cannot understand how Penn State jumped up to No. 6 after playing four cream puffs.” - September 30, 2008

Both Illinois and Oregon State are currently receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today polls.

Apparently, cream puff is the new cupcake.  The concept of polls and the ways in which teams can move up/down in polls is a difficult one for many of you to grasp.  I’ve tried to simplify this concept here.  Penn State was ranked #12 prior to the Illinois game and moved ahead of: USC, Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, Brigham Young, and Texas Tech.  Four of those teams lost last weekend.  As I mentioned in Poll-Jumping 101, teams generally move down in the polls when they lose.  I also mentioned that teams can move up in the polls following impressive victories.  Penn State’s win over Illinois was impressive enough for voters to place them ahead of Brigham Young and Texas Tech.

“The rule is you cannot use the ball in any form of celebration and the [Washington] kid threw it way up in the air. Good call. The kick was from 18 yards out and the kid can kick 40-, 50-yard field goals. Why would a 15-yard penalty affect that? You are making too much out of nothing.” - September 8, 2008

This call is in reference to the BYU @ Washington game last Saturday.  With two seconds remaining in the game and BYU leading 28-21, Washington’s QB Jake Locker scored a touchdown to make the score 28-27.  Immediately after the Locker scored, he threw the ball into the air and was congratulated by his teammates.  The officiating crew called an unsportsmanlike celebration penalty against the Locker for throwing the ball into the air.  The penalty was assessed on the extra-point, making it a 35-yard extra-point attempt.  The attempt was blocked, and BYU survived, 28-27.

While the caller is correct that an NCAA rule (Rule 9, Section2, Article 2c) states that a player may not throw the ball high into the air following a play, it isn’t “nothing.”  Nothing about that final play constituted “unsportsmanlike conduct.”  Had Locker taunted opposing players or celebrated in some unsportsmanlike manner, then the flag would have been warranted.

Again, I understand that the rule is present in the NCAA football rulebook, but that rule was not intended to be used in a situation like Saturday’s.  Officiating crews need to use some discretion when determining if such flags are appropriate.  It’s disappointing to see an officiating crew have that much of an impact on the outcome of a football game.

It’s worth pointing out that the Pac-10 decided today that the officiating crew made the correct call.  That’s fine.  It just doesn’t sit well with me.

“Let’s give credit where credit is due, Brigham Young blocked the kick. What would it matter if it was up at the 7-yard line? They still blocked the kick?” - September 8, 2008

Yes, it would matter if the ball was spotted at the 7 3-yard line.  You know as well as I do that extra points (20 yard kicks) are converted far more frequently than 35-yard kicks.  Looking just at Ryan Perkins’s (the Washington kicker) 2007 statistics, he converted 45 of 46 extra points, and 15 of 20 field goals… his longest being 45 yards.