For 46 years, Joe Paterno led the Penn State football program with pure class and dignity. His “grand experiment,” which demanded that his players succeed not only on the field but in the classroom as well, helped make Penn State into one of the finest academic institutions in the United States. He built the Nittany Lion football program around the motto “Success with Honor,” and there’s no doubt that he was the perfect example of it. JoePa was a man that became something more — he was nothing short of an icon, and all of Happy Valley loved him.

Photo by enviziondotnet via Creative Commons

But a scandal involving his former defensive coordinator and heir apparent Jerry Sandusky, who has been accused of committing acts that are unimaginably horrific, led to Paterno’s downfall and proved that even someone as legendary as JoePa is only human.

The scandal caused an upheaval that led to turmoil all throughout State College, and this was only increased on November 9, 2011, when John Surma, the vice chairman of Penn State’s board of trustees, announced what at one time seemed unthinkable; Joe Paterno would no longer be the head football coach at Penn State University. Many across the nation felt this was a necessary move, but it sparked riots by students across the university’s campus. This was a low point in Paterno’s life, but it ended up being only the beginning of his ultimate downfall.

Just a week after his ouster, Paterno was diagnosed with what was called a “treatable form of lung cancer,” but it ended up being too much for the 85-year-old. The cancer caused JoePa to be reduced to a frail old man, and it eventually caused his death on January 22, 2012.

Now that Joe Paterno has passed, I think it’s a good time to evaluate his entire life’s body of work, not just the tumultuous final two months. Joe Paterno was quite simply the greatest coach in the history of college football, and I rank him behind only John Wooden and Vince Lombardi on a list of greatest coaches in the history of sports.

He influenced countless amounts of people throughout his spectacular life, and there’s probably not a single coach in any sport that was more beloved by his former players than Paterno. And let’s not forget how much he meant to the university where he coached for more than 60 years.

He gave back so much to Penn State, and was as loyal as a person could be to his university. He could’ve been the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he turned it down and they hired Chuck Noll instead. He was offered the head coaching job at Michigan, he turned it down and they hired Bo Schembechler instead. He could’ve been the head coach and part owner of the New England Patriots, but he chose to stay in State College. He stayed at Penn State and won 409 games, two national championships (and was screwed over by the polls a few other times), and led the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and he won 24 of those.

Don’t get me wrong, Paterno did fail to stop Sandusky when he had the chance, but all the positive things he did during his life far outweighed the negatives. His legacy should be that of a man who influenced legions of players and fans who loved him unconditionally to the day he died, despite everything that happened in the last couple months of his life. Joe Paterno was an icon, a legend, a great man and the greatest coach in the long and storied history of college football.

Joe Paterno, arguably the greatest coach in sports history, passed away at the age of 85 from complications related to lung cancer.

Paterno was at Penn State since 1950, and was the head coach since 1966. That type of loyalty to a program will likely never be repeated by any coach today or in the future. Paterno could have chased millions in the NFL, but he ultimately decided to remain at Penn State for his entire coaching career.

Before I get to the unfortunate happenings of the past few months, let’s look at a few of the many accomplishments of “Joe Pa” during his time at Penn State.

• 3-time Big Ten Coach of the Year
• All-time leader in Bowl Wins (24)
• 2-time National Champion (1982, 1986)
• 2007 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee
• All-time FBS leader in wins (409)

Off the field, he donated several million dollars to the university  and even has a library, Paterno Library, named after him at Penn State. He was a major influence in the lives of his players, which is evident by all of them who are speaking out in the media. All of them only have positives to say about their former coach, as he was an inspiration in their lives.

Coach Paterno’s downfall came in early November, when former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested on numerous counts of sexual abuse of young boys. This came after a grand jury investigation earlier in the year, where it was found out that assistant coach Mike McQueary saw one of these incidents, and reported it to Paterno.

It was said that Paterno informed his superiors, AD Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, who was the head of the university’s police. The general public could not believe this news. First off, people were enraged at the actions of Sandusky, who is simply a sick human being. He has the right to a fair trial, but all indications suggest that he is guilty of the crimes he is charged with. Why else would it matter if Joe Paterno reported the incident if it never happened?

The focus then shifted from Sandusky to the superiors at Penn State, including Paterno. He told those above him, but he did nothing to follow up on the situation. Many cited a “moral responsibility” to report such sickening activities directly to the police. The lack of a follow up by Joe Pa is what ultimately led to the Penn State Board of Trustees relieving him of his coaching duties on November 9th.

The actions after his being let go proved that the majority sided with Paterno and disagreed with the decision to let him go. Students at Penn State began to rally, and small “riots” broke out. This type of activity is unacceptable, but it showed the overwhelming support for Paterno at the university. Hundreds even gathered at his house, which is located right near campus.

Some members of the media will say that the students supported Paterno because they are young and refuse to see the bigger picture, but that is not true. They saw a legend, maybe even a reason why they chose to come to Penn State, being forced out due to the actions of another man. The fact that Sandusky committed the crimes seemed to be lost in the days following his arrest, as the bulk of media attention was devoted to the news surrounding Paterno.

Paterno may have overlooked the severity of the situation, but he did not commit a crime. It is unfair for anyone to say what they would do in such a situation, especially considering the magnitude of the situation. One could say that they would go right to the police, but we do not know what exactly went down in the conversations between the coaches and superiors at Penn State.

The pain of the entire situation at the university may have ultimately led to the passing of a man that fought for over 60 years at his beloved Penn State. He died of lung cancer, but his fighting spirit was without a doubt damaged by the events surrounding Sandusky and the resulting fallout.

If there was still any doubts about whether Paterno would be remembered for what he did do, and not for what he didn’t do, those doubts were erased after his passing. Coaches and former players from all over the country only had positive things to say about Coach Paterno. His statue right outside of Beaver Stadium was surrounded by hundreds of students who were paying their respects to the man who influenced their lives, even though they may never have met him.

Time will tell how Paterno will be remembered, but nothing can ever take away his accomplishments in the game of college football. He is Penn State. People associate the university with Paterno, and this will continue to hold true for years to come.

The truth will come out in the case of Sandusky, and Paterno will still not have committed any crime. Hopefully, everyone will remember who actually committed the crimes and who was put in a tough position by them.

Things will eventually blow over, whether that takes months or years I cannot say with certainty, and Paterno will regain his place as the greatest coach who ever lived.

Not for what he didn’t do, but for what he did do.

But I had to post the video below, which is apparently a trailer for a documentary soon to come called “In The Dark: The Jerry Sandusky Story” by Illview Designs. Either way, it’s very well done…if you can stomach even seeing Sandusky’s face.

Hat tip: @Ben_Jones88

Creepiness obviously abounds, but the best part is the Jay Bilas voiceover. Bilas succinctly made the most reasonable and important argument about the entire story, which is that when Penn State told Jerry Sandusky not to bring young boys on campus they were essentially acknowledging a problem but saying, “just don’t do it here.” As Bilas says: old man + young + shower = a huge problem. It’s simple. Except that it wasn’t because Penn State did nothing about it.

Yuck.

It makes me feel nasty just typing about it. Sorry for making your skin crawl all over again, but the guys who made this trailer did a really good job on it so I felt it warranted posting. Well done Illview.

This week we have a number of important matchups that will help determine who goes BCS bowling after the season. So settle down, relax, and get ready for another great weekend of college football.

As always, we begin with some of the marquee games to pay attention to this week and then the entire rundown of the college football TV schedule and point spreads for Week 13.

College Football TV Schedule and Point Spreads for Week 13

Marquee Games for Thanksgiving Week – Saturday, November 26th

No.3 Arkansas at No. 1 LSU

• Arkansas-LSU Date: Friday, November 25th
• Arkansas-LSU Kickoff Time: 2:30pm
• Arkansas-LSU TV: CBS
• Arkansas-LSU SpreadL: LSU -11.5

Again, this is just a rumor, and I present it only because people will be talking about it, so I’d prefer you actually have the source; but I will say that Madden has proven with respect to this story that he has credibility and prescience.

Listen here, and skip ahead to about the 7:30 mark if you want to get right to the rumor:

If you don’t have time to listen, here is what Madden said (h/t Business Insider):

“I hear a rumor that there will be a shocking development from the Second Miles Foundation … That Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to rich donors.”

Madden claims it’s being investigated by “two prominent columnists.”

Madden also said the following, which will surprise no one and actually makes perfect sense when you review the timeline of this sickening story:

Madden also claimed Sandusky was forced out of Penn State in 1999.

“I think you’ll find out that Jerry Sandusky was told he had to retire in exchange for a cover up.”

Again, I present the clear caveat that I have nothing else to back this up, but these words were said on-air by a person who has been covering this story, and respected journalists are already tweeting links to it.

Do with this information what you will; I just hope and pray that this isn’t true. It would be an unfathomably evil appendage to a story I keep thinking can’t get any worse but that seems to keep proving me wrong on that.

Tonight, in light of Joe Paterno’s firing and reports of unruly mobs in State College, I want to reiterate that question but with an important distinction: Should Penn State cancel or move Saturday’s game against Nebraska?

And I think the events of the 36 hours since I posted the original question warrant adding a fresh poll:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Now that you’ve (hopefully) voted, I’ll give my opinion.

In my original post, I said that I didn’t know the answer to the question I was posing and that my goal was simply to open up the discussion. My ambivalence is gone after tonight.

I think it’s become clear that Penn State needs to cancel Saturday’s home game against Nebraska. Or, if it is somehow possible, they should move the game either to a neutral field or even to Nebraska.

I know how “unfair” this is from a football standpoint, but frankly I think any football issues should be the last issues dictating what is done in this case. Making important decisions with football as the #1 barometer is what got Penn State in the situation it’s in; I think it should go without saying that it should now be moved to the bottom of the importance scale, even though I’d hate the negative effect on the innocent players who currently man the Nittany Lion roster.

There were reports tonight of media vans being tipped over and rocks being thrown at reporters. When I shut down Twitter to start writing this, police dogs were on the verge of being unleashed according to multiple reports.

Does this sound like a campus that is ready to host a football game on Saturday?

I don’t think so.

And to those who will say that things will die down by Saturday, I respond thusly: yes, maybe they will…but what if they don’t? And it leads me back to where the benefit of the doubt now needs to go in Penn State’s decision making: away from football and as close to an 100% assurance of safety as possible. I don’t think a football game just days after all of this, with emotions still likely to be raw and even unbridled, guarantees 100% safety.

If Penn State is committed to making changes that will ensure innocent people aren’t horribly violated on their watch in the future, this is a no-brainer first step.

Cancel Saturday’s game against Nebraska, or move it out of State College if you can (my preferred resolution, for the record). Any other decision is putting football over safety, and in case you need to know why that’s wrong, just remember that it’s the most likely reason for why we are here in the first place.

(And as usual, I find a way to bring up the Evansville Purple Aces.)

Click play on the players below to listen:

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Music notes:

• The opening song is “Smooth Disturbance” by my old band, the National Biscuit Company.
• The closing song is “Numbers” by another of my old bands, Three Hit Combo.
• (I use my own music so that I don’t have to worry about rights and such.)

In everything I personally have seen or read about this situation, and specifically regarding how Penn State students are handling it – an angle I am very interested in having once been a part of an emotional on-campus coach controversy roller coaster – nothing has been more compelling than this video of a Penn State student addressing his peers:

I really feel that this student is absolutely spot-on regarding the reasoning for what some call a “Paterno witch hunt” but what I and others simply view as a quest for answers and accountability, especially as it relates to Paterno and the culpability I feel he and others have for enabling child abuse through inaction.

He says:

“This is not about Joe Paterno. This is not about Graham Spanier. This about our leaders and holding them accountable.”

…

“I love Joe Paterno just as much as you do, but we can’t give him a free ticket out of this. He’s a part of it.”

Naturally, right after the student said this, another student yelled out “Tony Dorsett went to Pitt!” This just shows the varying degrees of seriousness with which Penn State students are viewing this, and an immature college student simplifying a very complex and important human story into crass sporting terms should really not be all that unexpected. Fortunately maturity prevailed at least a little while longer and the speech continued.

The young man’s points are well taken, certainly by me and hopefully by his peers who listened to him. Joe Paterno is a football coaching legend, and he always will be. And he is far from the only person who was, at best, morally negligent in how he handled information that was given to him. He is far from the only person with culpability.

But the facts are the facts, and the facts – which we can all probably recite as they relate to what Paterno and other Penn State leaders knew, and when, and what they did and did not do with that information – strongly suggest that Joe Paterno could have and should have done more to protect society from a sexually deviant monster.

If JoePa deserves plaudits for all of his wins and for “putting State College on the map”, and he does, then he also deserves to be held accountable when unspeakable horrors he was told about are perpetrated on the campus he put on the map.

I think this is what the Penn State student in the video above is bravely trying to say to a number of emotional fellow students who want to celebrate JoePa rather than examine the ramifications of Joe Paterno’s inaction. I think he’s 100% right, and I applaud him for saying it.

**********

I didn’t help me sleep. It got me thinking.

Image source: UrbanGrounds.com

Thinking About the Victims

I thought about the 8 boys that Sandusky allegedly assaulted.

They are obviously the people who have suffered the most.

Many of the wounds inflicted by sexual assault never go away. I thought about how Sandusky earned the boys’ trust and friendship and then violated it. I wondered if there are other victims that haven’t yet been identified.

I thought about Jerry Sandusky’s wife, Dottie.

While the media has focused mostly on the incident in the Penn State locker room (the incident Joe Paterno was aware of), the presentment mentions several occasions when Sandusky allegedly assaulted a youth in his home.

Did Jerry Sandusky assault children while his wife was in the house? How much did she know? How much is she finding out right now?

I thought about the Sandusky kids.

Jerry and Dottie adopted 6 children, one of whom is currently director of player personnel for the Browns. Did Sandusky assault any of his own children? (According to this article, maybe.)

I thought about The Second Mile, the non-profit that Sandusky founded in 1977 to help children “who need additional support.”

Sandusky left The Second Mile in 2008, because “he was being investigated as a result of allegations made against him by an adolescent male.”

Throughout its 34-year history, The Second Mile has provided services to educate and empower disadvantaged children and youth in Pennsylvania and to counsel young people in crisis. The organization and its seven chapters have continued to provide these services in Sandusky’s absence.

The Second Mile issued a statement about Sandusky on Sunday saying, “To our knowledge, all the alleged incidents occurred outside of our programs and events.” That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that Sandusky used the organization to prey on boys. And any organization that serves children and youth should have policies and procedures in place to ensure that a young person is never left alone with an adult. (More on that later.)

Still, there have been countless volunteers and donors who have supported The Second Mile with no knowledge of how Sandusky used the organization to gain access to vulnerable minors. What about the current Second Mile staff, who are working in good faith to improve the lives of children and teens in Pennsylvania and whose work will forever be tainted by Sandusky’s alleged actions? And what about all of the kids and families who have benefited from The Second Mile’s services?

Anyone who has followed this story has asked: Did Sandusky found The Second Mile mainly to lure his victims? We may never know, but this question (rightly or wrongly) will hang over the head of everyone who has been involved with the group, whether as a staff person, a volunteer, or a beneficiary.

I thought about all the players who played for Sandusky.

For many of these players—including greats such as Greg Buttle, Shane Conlan, and LaVar Arrington—being an alum of “Linebacker U” is an integral part of their identity. There is little doubt that Sandusky was a great football coach with a gift for developing defensive talent. But how do his former players cope with the knowledge that their former teacher and mentor was a monster?

Assuming they didn’t know what Sandusky was doing, how many former players have asked themselves, “Should I have known?” “Were there signs I should have picked up on?” “Could I have stopped this?”

I thought about the entire Penn State community.

Penn State is a top-flight academic institution but one whose pride and identity have always been tied to its football program. How is it that the leaders of this great school failed to act on information about Jerry Sandusky assaulting boys on campus. Because of the negligence of a few, for the foreseeable future, many people will not be able to hear the name “Penn State” without thinking of what happened in the Lasch Building showers.

Image source: ABCNews.com

Lessons to Be Learned

This situation has claimed countless victims, foremost of whom are the boys whose bodies and trust Sandusky allegedly violated. There are also some lessons that we can take away from these horrible events.

If you are a parent or guardian, know that your child should never be alone with an adult in a situation where he or she may be vulnerable. If a coach or a teacher or a scout leader or a church leader offers to give your child a ride home from an outing or event, the answer is, “No.” No matter how much you think you trust that coach, teacher, or leader, the answer is, “No.”

In the last decade many churches and scout groups have done an admirable job of establishing policies and procedures to ensure the safety of the young people in their care. (One notable example is The United Methodist Church’s Safe Sanctuaries program.)

Such policies include:

• Requiring that two unrelated adults be present with children or youth at all times
• Prohibiting adults from being alone with a child or youth in a car or bathroom (A few weeks ago, I went on a Cub Scout outing with my oldest son. I was impressed to see that the facility had separate bathrooms for minors and adults.)
• Not allowing adults and children or youth to meet behind closed doors in a room without windows
• Running background checks on all staff or volunteers who work with children or youth

Some churches also require that an adult be a member of the congregation for 6 months or an entire year before working with young people.

These groups also have clearly defined procedures for responding to allegations so that all allegations are taken seriously and reported properly.

Before you entrust your child to a team, group, or organization, be sure that team, group, or organization has such policies in place.

If you are involved with a group or organization that provides services to children and youth, make sure that it has adopted policies and procedures to protect young people and make sure that its leaders take them seriously.

It is crucial that all staff and volunteers understand and honor the rules for creating a safe environment and for responding to allegations. Some of these rules can be cumbersome, and some may even seem unnecessary; but the inconvenience is worth it.

**********

Josh Tinley is the author of Kneeling in the End Zone: Spiritual Lessons From the World of Sports. Follow him at twitter.com/joshtinley or send him an e-mail.

So settle down, relax, and get ready for another great weekend of college football. As always, here are some of the marquee games to pay attention to this week and then the entire college football TV schedule for Week 8, plus a link below to another fantasy college football freeroll tournament from our friends at Daily Joust.

No. 4 Oklahoma State at Missouri 

• Oklahoma State-Missouri Date: Saturday October, 22nd
• Oklahoma State-Missouri Kickoff Time: 12pm
• Oklahoma State-Missouri TV: FX
• Oklahoma State-Missouri Spread: Oklahoma State -7

#20 Auburn at #1 LSU

• Auburn-LSU Date: Saturday, October 22nd
• Auburn-LSU Kickoff Time: 3:30 ET
• Auburn-LSU TV: CBS
• Auburn-LSU Spread: LSU -22

This post was written a few weeks ago, and included the wishful thinking of an Ohio State fan who wanted the Buckeyes to make it to the Rose Bowl. Follow the link to view the 2008 college football schedule, which will be filled in with all the matchups once they are set.  You can also view the updated BCS Bowl projections, with Ohio State likely going to the Fiesta Bowl.

We are down to the final two weeks of Big Ten football play and I am pretty sure every fan believes their team underachieved this year. This probably doesn’t include Michigan State, Northwestern and Minnesota but all three got destroyed by Ohio State (30 plus point losses). All three teams probably lost a lot of their fan base before this year. Speaking of losing a fan base, I look at Indiana and Purdue in last place and Notre Dame barely bowl eligible and Ball State is the only exciting team in Indiana.

Anyway, moving on to the top of the Big Ten we virtually have a three way tie for first. Michigan State sits atop at 6-1 and they have a bye this week to prepare to go to Happy Valley for the Penn State rivalry game November 22nd.

Penn State is playing at home against IU this weekend and it could get ugly since they are coming off the last second FG loss at Iowa. The sports media world took a collective sigh of relief because they were not ready to cover a national championship game where a Big Ten champ gets their asses handed to them for a third straight year. Plus one model should be the motto for the future of the Big Ten conference so they can have a championship game.

THE Ohio State University Buckeyes go to Illinois for a noon game (ESPN) and they have revenge on their minds after last year’s 28-21 loss in Columbus. The Illibuck Trophy is up for grabs in Champaign which will be playing in freezing temperatures, maybe some flurries, before they get the Wolverines at home in The Game November 22nd. Now on to Bowl projections:

ROSE BOWL (Jan 1st) – Ohio State v. USC - The Buckeyes have a not so outside shot at a rematch against USC with a Michigan State win at Penn State. If the Spartans do win, Ohio State couldn’t be happier going to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997 when they beat Jake “The Snake” Plummer’s Arizona State team 20-17. If Penn State wins out look for the Buckeyes to be in the BCS at-large game (Fiesta or Sugar) against maybe Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Utah, or even Ball State.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL (Jan 1st) – Michigan State v. Georgia - The Spartan faithful would enjoy a trip to the Capital One Bowl with a win at Happy Valley. Javon Ringer would go pro after this game if can run wild on the recently porous Georgia defense. The last four #2 Big Ten v. #2 SEC match ups have gone to the Big Ten squad in this January 1st Bowl game. Michigan, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, and Iowa over Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, and LSU respectively.

OUTBACK BOWL (Jan 1st) – Penn State v. South Carolina – Joe Pa versus the Ol’ Ball Coach. Sounds ironic considering Spurrier is about 30 years younger right? Anyway, who knows who will show up in this 11am New Years Day bowl. Then again it is premature to discuss this potential game two weeks before the season is over and since I am probably underestimating Penn State who could get their starting QB back for the MSU game.

ALAMO BOWL (Dec 29th) – Iowa v. Missouri - Most would look at the QB match up here and would check the spread for Chase Daniel’s Tigers, bet their savings, and laugh all the way home. But Kirk Ferentz’s Hawkeyes always stay competitive (or win) in these Bowl games that they are supposed to be over matched. They almost beat Texas last year, came close to Florida before that, and beat LSU and Florida respectively the previous years before the close losses.

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL (Dec 29th) – Northwestern v. Miami (FL) - Two private schools, North versus South (or Thugs vs. Dorks whichever you prefer). Both programs are young and on the rise so if they meet here, the winner could build off the momentum and be pretty tough next year. The loser could as well.

INSIGHT BOWL (Dec 31st) – Illinois v. Nebraska - This is a coin flip between Minnesota and Illinois but I think Illinois will get the nod based off of fan base. It is unbelievable to me that the Fighting Zooks even have a chance to make a bowl after tanking it against WESTERN Michigan last weekend. Illinois has to beat Ohio State or Northwestern to even become eligible.

MOTOR CITY BOWL (Dec 27th) – Minnesota v. Ball State - The Gophers had a pretty good year but a lot of their Bowl eligibility has to do with a horrible non-conference schedule. Ball State is probably better than their non-conference and half of their Big Ten schedule. If Ball State runs the table while Utah and Texas Tech lose, then you would see Ball U in a BCS game and Central Michigan here against Minnesota.

Purdue was picked to finish first and the recently punched-in-the-balls by Kelvin Sampson IU program was selected to finish dead last in the Big Ten.

Here are the results (first place votes are in parenthesis):

1. Purdue (10)

2. Michigan State (5)

3. Wisconsin

4. Ohio State

5. Minnesota

6. Illinois

7. Penn State

8. Michigan

T9. Iowa

T9. Northwestern

11. Indiana

The Pre-season all Big Ten team is:

Robbie Hummel (Purdue)

E’ Twaun Moore (Purdue)

Marcus Landry (Wisconsin)

Manny Harris (Michigan State)

Raymar Morgan (Michigan State)

Hummel was also selected as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. He is the first Purdue player to be selected since Chad Austin in 1997. Purdue was also selected to win the women’s Big Ten title as well if you are interested in Jump Balls, falling down and traveling violations.

I think this is pretty fair considering that it is a Preseason poll and it is pretty much based on last years results. Obviously Indiana was hurt by the mass exodus that occured last spring summer from their much maligned basketball program. I still think Tom Crean is a good enough coach to get them out of the basement of the Big Ten this year.

by KVB

Often I read my college friend’s Off The Tracks Purdue blog and he has gotten the attention of the Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable for his site on the Boilermakers. If I’m not mistaken he got slammed last year by readers for crossing the line in a rant about Notre Dame Football, but otherwise he’s a great writer and Notre Dame still sucks.

Soon maybe Midwest Sports Fans could have some writers in the Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable (even though I got rejected by the MAC Conference Bloggers) but until then below I answered their preseason questions. Keep in mind I’m wearing a sweatervest with no pants right now….

1. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently ranked the top 5 rivalries in the Big Ten and there were some controversial results (Illinois v Ohio State as #3?). Clearly Ohio State vs. Michigan is the #1 rivalry in the Big Ten, but give me your next three. It is obvious the Illinois upset over the undefeated Buckeyes last year made that a sexy pick at #3; as well as the game being in Illinois this year and probably on ESPN/ABC. But the ugly wooden “Illibuck” turtle trophy and Ohio State’s 60-30-4 all-time advantage make this not so sweet. The Wisconsin-Minnesota Paul Bunyan Axe gets the award for best trophy. Also, if you are a Big Ten fan you love every stadium in conference except the house that Kent Hrbek built, so be glad for the new outdoor Gopher football church set to be used on Saturday’s in 2009. Anyway…

// –>

Michigan-Michigan State – Some players say these inter-state rivals mean a lot more to them than any others (i.e. Florida-Florida State, Alabama-Auburn, Texas-Texas A&M, USC-UCLA). This is definitely attributed to those same in-state players feeling they got shafted in the recruiting process by “the bigger school” or players at said bigger school feeling embarrassed if they lose to the “weaker program.” Especially at the states big on high school football like Texas, Florida, and California.

Penn State-Ohio State – The Buckeyes took the all-time advantage (12-11) in this one after last year’s beat down in Crappy Valley, 37-17. Before joining the Big Ten, Penn State beat Earle Bruce’s squad 31-19, in the 1980 Fiesta Bowl. Compared to Joe Pa’s 7-12 career record, The Nittney Lions got 4 wins against Ohio State before Joe was the man, obviously pre-leather helmets era. I myself have a “Michigan Sucks, Penn State Swallows” t-shirt. Going through my head: I hope I don’t get reamed by the editor for mentioning a state outside of the cornfields.

5. Brian at MGO was kind enough to post a diary entry which gives us and new coach Rich Rodriguez a list of Michigan traditions that maybe we were not all aware of. This has inspired two final questions…

Similar to the succulent Buckeye candies (a peanut butter ball dipped in hot fudge to look like the buckeye tree nut); there is the lesser known, Michigan Cookies! Easy to make too! Put them in a big Bowl and beat them for three hours. Note: Despite the first game on January 1^st, the Outback Bowl in not a big bowl.

KVB