Penn State is unappreciated, unloved and undefeated in Big Ten: National College Football Insider

There are a lot of questions about Penn State's 5-0 Big Ten record against lesser opponents, but first place in the Leaders Division isn't a bad place to be with three games to play.

View full sizeAbby Drey, Centre Daily TimesDevon Still had Illinois QB Nathan Scheelhaase hurrying out of the pocket during Saturday's game, which was another dominating effort by the Penn State defense. But can it's offense keep the Nittany Lions atop of the Leaders Division?

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- What's the right way to describe Penn State as the Nittany Lions relate to the Big Ten?

Best team? No. Least unblemished? Better. First place? Gotta be.

The team with the No. 101-ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 21.8 points, is the only undefeated team in Big Ten play. That is either a disturbing blast of reality for the conference as a whole or a tough-minded reminder that defense wins, and there's something to be said for finding a way.

Right now, Penn State at 5-0 not only sits atop the Leaders Division, it has a two-game lead. This side of the Big Ten has a 5-0 team, an 0-5 team and four others with at least two conference losses. The 5-0 team beat the 0-5 team just 16-10.

The Nittany Lions' six-point victory over Indiana on Oct. 1 is some indication of what type of first-place team we're dealing with. In the Hoosiers' next four Big Ten losses, they allowed 41, 59, 45 and 59 points. Penn State managed three field goals and a 74-yard touchdown pass.

Updated Big Ten bowl predictions

• Rose, Jan. 2: Nebraska vs. Stanford
• Capital One, Jan. 2: Ohio State vs. Arkansas
• Outback, Jan. 2: Wisconsin vs. South Carolina
• Insight, Dec. 30: Michigan State vs. Kansas State
• Gator, Jan. 2: Penn State vs. Florida
• Meineke Car Care of Texas, Dec. 31: Michigan vs. Texas
• TicketCity, Jan. 2: Illinois vs. Southern Miss
• Little Caesars Pizza, Dec. 27: Iowa vs. Toledo

This week’s best national games

• 1. No. 1 LSU (8-0) at No. 2 Alabama (8-0), Saturday, 8, WOIO Ch. 19: The first No. 1 vs. No. 2 regular-season matchup in the history of the SEC. Both teams are coming off bye weeks, and both defenses may have designed game plans to turn this into a “first team to 17” kind of game. A must-watch, and there’s not even a Big Ten game at night to potentially distract anyone.
• 2. No. 6 Oregon (7-1) at Washington (6-2), Saturday, 10:30, FSN: Flip to the second half of this after the end of LSU-Alabama to see if the Ducks deserve consideration as the best one-loss team in the country. They can answer questions with a road win here before readying for a road game at Stanford the following week.
• 3. No. 4 Stanford (8-0) at Oregon State (2-6), Saturday, 3:30, ESPN2: Looking for a decent national 3:30 game, because no one’s watching anything at 8 besides LSU-Alabama. Also consider turning off the TV, sitting quietly in a dark room and contemplating Les Miles.

This week’s best Big Ten games

• 1. No. 13 Michigan (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) at Iowa (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten), Saturday, noon, ESPN: The Wolverines saw running back Fitzgerald Toussaint run for 170 yards in Saturday’s win over Purdue, and that added to quarterback Denard Robinson won’t be good news for the Iowa defense.
• 2. Purdue (4-4, 2-2 Big Ten) at No. 19 Wisconsin (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten), Saturday, 3:30, WEWS Ch. 5: The Boilermakers have reason to think they’re still in the Leaders Division race. Their formula? Win out and three Penn State losses, and they’re in the title game. Wisconsin just wants to avoid a last-minute replay for a third straight week. “The replay has definitely not been our friend the last two weeks,” Badgers’ coach Bret Bielema said after Saturday night’s loss.
• 3. Northwestern (3-5, 1-4 Big Ten) at No. 9 Nebraska (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten), Saturday, 3:30, Big Ten Network: The Nebraska defense held Michigan State to 187 yards Saturday. Northwestern gained 616 yards on Indiana. How will that 429-yard difference be split? Figure a little closer to the Cornhuskers’ side of things.

Heisman Watch

• 1. Andrew Luck, Stanford QB, Jr.: He had everyone watching Saturday’s wild three-overtime win over USC. He threw a pick for a touchdown that nearly cost the Cardinal the game, but what mattered more was leading his team back to tie in regulation and win it to move Stanford to 8-0.
• 2. Trent Richardson, Alabama RB, Jr.: Had an off week, but he maintains this spot based on the stage he has this week when all eyes will be on Alabama-LSU. Run for 150 yards and a couple scores in a win, and he’ll have his case for No. 1.
• 3. Case Keenum, Houston QB, Sr.: Anyone who throws for nine touchdowns in a game, as Keenum did against Rice, moves into the top three. He also set the career major college football record for touchdown passes with 139. With Houston still one of six undefeated teams, he’s definitely a candidate to make it to New York.

The Nittany Lions also have beaten Iowa by 10, Purdue by five, Northwestern by 10 and Illinois by three when the Illini's game-tying field goal try in the closing seconds Saturday banged off the upright. Any reasonable Big Ten power rankings would show the Nittany Lions are 5-0 against the bottom six teams and haven't played anyone in the top six. But wouldn't you think Wisconsin or Ohio State, both 2-2, would take a 5-0 record against bad and mediocre teams?

When they needed it in the snow on Saturday, the Nittany Lions found it. Quarterback Matt McGloin was 5-for-18 for 20 yards before Penn State's final go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter. On the 10-play, 80-yard march, McGloin was 4-for-6 for 78 yards.

Now Penn State goes into a bye week trying to find its offense, the way Ohio State looked for it during its bye week after a one-completion win over Illinois. There's some hope. Top receiver Derek Moye, out since Oct. 11 with a broken bone in his foot, returned for the game-winning drive Saturday and is back in the mix. He could be a game-changer.

Running back Silas Redd has done for the Penn State running game what Dan Herron has done for Ohio State, and his 137-yard game Saturday was his fifth straight over 100 yards. According to the Big Ten Network, he led all major college running backs in rushing in October with 703 yards.

The quarterback position doesn't have anywhere to go but up. Most Penn State observers don't understand why McGloin isn't the only guy who plays, but Joe Paterno continues to give two quarterbacks a chance. Rob Bolden was 0-for-4 Saturday and he's completing 43 percent of his passes, with one touchdown and four interceptions. But maybe he keeps McGloin motivated in practice.

So imagine how good the defense must be. Linebacker Mike Mauti, one of Penn State's best defenders, was lost for the season to injury in late September. But defensive lineman Devon Still is an All-American candidate and the Nittany Lions are 10th in the nation in yards allowed and fourth in fewest points allowed.

The prediction here isn't for the Nittany Lions to reach the Big Ten title game. But at the very least, Penn State will play Wisconsin in the last game of the regular season with a shot at it. They have Paterno, who passed Eddie Robinson for the top spot among all Division I football coaches with win No. 409 Saturday.

The next target for Paterno? Connie Mack, who holds the all-time record for wins as a big-league baseball manager with 3,731. He's just 3,322 wins away. For now, Paterno only needs to reach win No. 411 in this regular season to take his shot at 412 in Indianapolis on Dec. 3.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2011/10/penn_state_is_unappreciated_un.html

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