Recently I’ve been pretty busy with school. Starting this week I should have more time to put up a post game article and post on a regular basis. Til then I think everyone should watch this video, even if you’ve seen it before, it’s a good reminder of what it really is to be a Penn Stater. I think every student who has come to Penn State without knowing their history should be a little more greatful of what we have had these past two season, and what it really means to be a fan. It’s about pride folks, and lots of it regardless of the wins and losses.

Instead of a preview of the game that has been covered inside and out, we’re going the way of the internet and filling your mind with videos and anything else that will dry your mind up and excite you for a weekend of nothing but loud noises and 4 quarters, let us start with some modern history. Here even in the first meeting between these two school Ohio State decided to ignore the halo rule, if that doesn’t make sense…just wait for the first play in the video:

I thought he had the ball coach, I swear..

Savon Goodman (front) and Malcolm Gilbert,

 underclassmen at the Academy of New Church, are on the radar of recruiters.

In a week full of excitement for the always heated contest between the Buckeyes and the Lions there is reason to be excited about the basketball program. Besides the exhibition game against Slippery Rock there will be many high-profile recruits in town to check out the basketball program. Their visit is flying a little bit under the radar in what could be the biggest weekend in the growing programs history. It’s safe to say that landing any of these recruits could go along way to become a two sport school in the eyes of the national media. Here is a list of the visitors you can expect to see court side this friday:

Bold indicates already committed to Penn State. All players followed by position and positional ranking.

Northwestern is always a fun place to play. That is if you like watching a talented Penn State squad struggle for no reason other than they dont know what to do with themselves in front of such a small crowds. With the Lions slow start it looked as though this game would follow suit. That was until the high-powered fourth quarter when they dropped 21 points and put their foot down and were able to look ahead to next week and the highly anticipated game against the Buckeyes. Before we get ahead of ourselves lets take a look back at the keys to the game:

Dont look ahead: Basically the only way you could do this was if you gave up the loss to a lesser team. Some fans might point to the slow start as the Lions not having their head in the game, but I belive that the Wildcats are a well coached team so the slow start was more of a product of a good opponent rather than sloppy play. That isn’t to say they came out of the blocks playing the best they could, I just think Northwestern is a well coached team that was ready to play.

So before we get caught up in the weekend and are thinking about football there is some basketball news worth mentioning:

• Bill Edwards hurts his MCL. Expected to be out 4-6 weeks

At first glance that’s scary to hear but apparently the injury looked a lot worse at practice. Edwards should be out for a good portion of the OOC slate so he’ll have to keep his head in the game from the bench to try and make up for not being able to play. Once healthy Edwards is expected to be part of the what looks like 8 man rotation for games. So heres to a speedy recovery.

• Talor Battle was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team for the second straight year.

At this point it is really more of a formality but when was the last time a Penn State basketball player was part of any “formality” that was positive? I’ll take it. Talor was also named to the preseason Naismith Award watch list.

Sadly the hangover of happiness from beating Michigan has ended and we’ve still got 4 games and bowl game left to go so let’s get back to work. Northwestern is coming of the largest comeback in school history against Indiana. I doubt that the Wildcats will have any issues getting focused again after an emotional win, but I wouldn’t expect the win to have much of a carryover effect. It should be a pretty pass happy game with Clark leading the Big Ten in QB rating and Mike Kafka leading the Big Ten in passing yards. The x-factor in the game will be Evan Royster and Co as the Wildcats are having issues stopping the run this season. Those are the basics, lets take a look at the keys:

Time for a change of pace. I owe my alma mater a bit of face time to get the word out about this game this Friday night at 7. Bishop McDevitt comes into town this friday ranked #2 in the state and looking for revenge after State High upset them 20-19 at home last year. State College on the other hand, comes into the game with a #15 ranking in the state and are 22-5 in their past 27 games including a Mid Penn League Championship and a PIAA District AAAA Championship. In high school football losing doesn’t end your season the same way that it does in college football but a victory for either team will go along way for seeding and bye weeks in the playoffs just a few weeks away.

If you dont care too much about either teams playoff hopes it is still a good chance to enjoy State College’s best kept secret in friday night football in the heart of downtown. It is also a good chance to see one of Penn State’s soon-to-be-freshman in Alex Kenney who has amassed 18 TDs this season and has an eye-popping 8 yards a carry. Tickets are only 5 bucks and you are bound to see a great game between two solid teams that have a lot of history between them.

Going into the game today nobody was sure what to expect. Michigan had made a serious turn around from last seasons epic fail, and the Lions have had a solid season themselves; but then again it was still Michigan so somebody was bound to call shenanigans. Apparently this years team didn’t care where the game was and came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. There were three keys going into the game that would make the difference between going home with a win or going home wonder what to make of the rest of the season.

The official board game of Big Ten refs everywhere

Defense: It’s safe to say they showed up and flexed their muscle once again this season and essentially shutdown an offense that has looked unstoppable at times this season. holding the highest scoring offense in the Big Ten to 10 points. Tate Forcier was sacked 5 times and the Michigan offense turned the ball over 4 times, held to 10 points, and only 250 yards total offense. You really couldn’t ask for a better performance on the road from a team and it can only do wonders going into the rest of the Big Ten season. 

In a rant that would have made this guy proud a Ohio State fan takes on his coach and his quarterback. Apparently somebody didn’t enjoy seeing Pryor turnover the ball four times in one game. Can’t say that I’d blame him, but unless he puts on a few pounds, I’d stay away from offering to fight Pryor…although I’d pay to see the fight.

It’s always a shame to see the fan base resort to the Thunderdome to pick quarterbacks

  While we’re hanging out lets take a look at some stats for this weekends game in the oh so friendly Big House. Offense against Offense first: The titles were getting messed up so for reference: Lions are on the left, Michigan is on the right

4th and 1 the crowd is screaming and it looks as if the Gophers are going to finally get on the board. The defense answered like they had answered all game with another suffocating play stopping the Golden Gophers on the goal line and setting off the celebration that would carry the Lion faithful on through the night. So how did the Lions execute the Three Keys? Lets take a look.

Defense: I think it is safe to say that the defense did a good job. That might be a bit of an understatement considering that they held the Gophers to 138 total yards and 0 points. It’s worth mentioning that the Lions haven’t given up a touchdown in  the first half yet this season. Josh Hullstash has turned into a monster in the linebacking core and the Lions spent a lot of time in the Gophers backfield. AJ Wallace also shutdown Eric Decker and held him to only one catch in the game; a huge victory for the Penn State secondary. If they continue to play like this through the thick of the Big Ten season it could be a pretty impressive defense in a long list of dominating Penn State defenses.