Ohio State Prediction

 The harsh reality of no bowl trip hasn't slowed down Ohio State or Penn State this season. New coaches Urban Meyer and Bill O'Brien have revolutionized the offenses in both Columbus, Ohio, and State College, Pa., and have their teams on long win streaks entering Saturday night's clash at Beaver Stadium. Expect an electric atmosphere in Happy Valley as Nittanyville has been packed all week and Penn State fans are viewing the game as by far the biggest of the season. Although neither team will play in the postseason, Saturday night's winner likely will have the label of the Big Ten's best team and will put itself in the driver's seat for the Leaders Division championship.
The Buckeye's are traveling to Happy Valley and Beaver Stadium this Saturday for the first time since 2009. Ohio State comes into the game a perfect 8-0 on the season without having really faced a true test on both sides of the ball. Penn State enters the week at 5-2 after reeling off 5 straight impressive wins. The keys to the game will revolve around the play of each teams quarterback. Both teams will have to rely on they play of their quarterback to move the ball this weekend. Whichever quarterback plays better will lead their team to victory.

Prediction: Ohio State's head coach and players have already dubbed Penn State's Beaver Stadium the loudest in the B1G. I expect the crowd and atmosphere to play a pivotal role in Saturday's game. Penn State will come out of the gates hot jumping out to an early lead like they have all season long. The early touchdown will keep the crowd amped and in the game all night long, being the difference late in the game. Good play by Braxton Miller will keep the Buckeye's in the game until late in the fourth quarter when Bill O'Brien puts on a play calling clinic leading the Lions down the field. A late touchdown run by Bill Belton will cap the game winning drive and give Penn State the lead, which the home crowd won't let them relinquish. Penn State takes the win:
Penn State: 24
Ohio State-21

Penn State is among the top programs in the country when it comes to the NCAA's graduation success rate.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/63225/northwestern-psu-leaders-in-graduation-rate#comment

Big Ten Power Ranking Week 8

Penn State comes in at #2 this week on ESPN.COM's Big Ten Power Rankings to enter week 8
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/62591/big-ten-power-rankings-week-9-4

We Still Are, Penn State

Penn State football will be affected by the NCAA sanctions. Limited scholarships will result in a lack of depth and talent. There’s no avoiding it. Not being able to offer recruits the ability to play for a championship until 2016 will push away some competitors to other schools. But Penn State is still Penn State. In terms of football, O’Brien can still sell recruits on the stature of Penn State, the program, the place and its power. He can still point to the world-class academics and the amazing surroundings and the state of the art facilities and the vast exposure and the alumni which are everywhere and the talented student body and the lifelong contacts.

He can still pitch Penn State, proudly and in full.

The recruit that won’t go to here because he doesn’t like the prospect of being banned from, say, the TicketCity or TaxSlayer.com Bowl probably wasn’t made for Penn State anyway. The one that understands the opportunity at hand will make for a greater Nittany Lion, regardless of the win-loss record.

That, no matter the headlines, no matter the ensuing criminal trials, no matter the forever attacks on Louis Freeh and the Board of Trustees and the NCAA and anyone who has accepted them and begun looking forward, is what is playing out in Happy Valley. The school sought closure and they got a good measure of it.

A winning, exciting team is simply highlighting what is obvious to anyone who strolls through this still remarkable campus and witnesses the forever energy of the students and faculty and staff. Even on the afternoon of the Sandusky sentencing.

You can say the big-game Saturday against Ohio State should help Penn State continue to move on.

The truth is most of this place has already.

Why ESPN.com thinks Penn State is looking more and more like "Big Ten's Best"

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/62760/penn-state-looking-more-like-big-tens-best#comment

Iowa Re-Cap

 The game started off with a boom for the Nittany Lions, scoring early and often against the Hawkeye's Saturday night. Penn State Head Coach, Bill O'Brien has worked absolute wonders in his first year with a depleted roster, and his team appears to be getting better every week. This Penn State team walked into a hostile stadium that has given them immense problems in the past and smacked a motivated Iowa team right in the mouth. The offense is clicking in ways we haven't seen in years as Penn State fans, and the defense is continuing to lock things down. The Lions are playing as well as anybody in the Big Ten right now, and nobody expected that.

Matt McGloin was the player of the game, completing 26 of his 38 pass attempts for 289 yards and 2 TD's. Once again the Penn State passing game looked to be the major difference in the game. But the passing game also got some help this Saturday. The run game with a healthy Bill Belton back in the starting role racked up 215 yards and 3 TD's on a stout Iowa rush defense. The Penn State offense is looking like it might compete to be one of the Big Ten's best, alongside a stout defense which held an Iowa team rushing for over 100 yards in every game to only 21 yards. Penn State may just have made the statement to be the favorite in next week's game against the undefeated Ohio State Buckeye's.

Iowa Preview

Penn State travels to it's "house of horrors" this weekend in Iowa City to take on the Hawkeye's. The game will be televised in prime time from Kinnick Stadium. The game will start at 7 p.m. CT and be telecast by the Big Ten Network. Kinnick Stadium has been a thorn in the side of the Nittany Lions season after season, and the Hawkeye's are ready to play spoiler again. The Hawkeye's play inspired, hard fought football under the lights and are nearly impossible to beat in home night games. Iowa has had Penn State's number in the series for the past decade, Kirk Ferentz (Iowa Head Coach) always seemed to game plan perfectly against Penn State. Both teams are entering the game playing their best football of the season. Penn State is coming off a much needed bye week so they should be healthy and well rested. Iowa is coming in off a huge win in overtime against Michigan State and should be excited and ready to play under the lights in Iowa City.

Prediction: Iowa has had Penn State's number in the past, but this is a new era at Penn State. Bill O'Brien is not Joe Paterno, the Lions will be ready to play against Iowa. With an injury to Iowa's star tailback Mark Weisman, Iowa will need to focus on the pass game to win against Penn State.There's no doubt Mark Weisman is Iowa's top offensive weapon, and for much of the past four games, he has been the Hawkeyes' only threat. The Air Force transfer has recorded four consecutive 100-yard rushing performance and a total of 623 yards and eight touchdowns during the span. But Weisman's status for Saturday night's showdown against Penn State is very much in doubt because of an ankle sprain he suffered last week at Michigan State. The pass game hasn't exactly been a strength for Iowa either,so the Penn State defense definitely has the edge with the Weisman injury. The Iowa defense is the best defense Penn State has faced thus far, so expect a low scoring hard fought game. The first team to 20 points will win this game. I see the Penn State run game being almost non-existent against Iowa,so they too will need good quarterback play to win the game. But that's where Penn State has the edge, Quarterback Matt McGloin has been playing exceptional football all year long, while Iowa's James Vandenberg has struggled all season long.

Matt McGloin connects for two touchdown passes, one to Allen Robinson, and Zwinak adds another close yardage rushing score as Penn State takes the win.
Penn State-21
Iowa-17

Big Ten Power Rankings Week 7

Penn State comes in at # 3 on ESPN.COM's Big Ten Power Rankings to enter week 7
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/61000/big-ten-power-rankings-week-7-3

Northwestern Re-Cap

Penn State found itself down 11 points late in the third quarter, but found a way to claw back and win led by Quarterback Matt McGloin 39-28. McGloin stayed poised and composed in key fourth quarter drives that kept the momentum in Penn State's favor. Late in the fourth quarter he eventually put up the game winning touchdown on a 5-yard TD run. McGloin finished the game 35-of-51 for 282 yards and two touchdown passes, the 35 completitions being a career high.
All things considered this season is turning out better than expected for Penn State. After a dissapointing 0-2 start the Nittany Lions have rattled off 4 straight wins under coach Bill O'Brein, who now has himself in the talk for Big Ten Coach of the Year, and even National Coach of the Year. Penn State is playing like one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State whom they meet in a couple weeks for a showdown Beaver Stadium.

What To Watch In The Big Ten: Week 6

Below is a like to ESPN.Com's "what to watch for in the Big Ten: Week 6": Penn State's feature in the article is:  Whiteout in Happy Valley: Sparked by their team's three-game win streak, Penn State students are planning a whiteout at Beaver Stadium for Saturday's game against Northwestern. The Lions aim for their first home win against a ranked opponent since the 2008 season, and several players called the contest a must-win. Senior quarterback Matt McGloin has owned Northwestern in his career (417 pass yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs in two games), and McGloin is a much better quarterback in Bill O'Brien's offense. After an ominous start, Penn State can enter an off week with a ton of momentum with a victory.
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/60722/what-to-watch-in-the-big-ten-week-6-4

Northwestern Prediction

Throughout the years Northwestern has been able to put some extreme points on the board. But when playing Northwestern, so has Penn State. Northwestern travels to Happy Valley for homecoming weekend to try and win for only the third time ever there in school history. The Wildcats are boasting a 5-0 record and a number 24 ranking this week, just in time to take on a red hot Penn State team.  Matt McGloin has torched Northwestern while quarterbacking a bad offense the past couple of years, and though the Wildcats are better defensively, so is McGloin. I see the Penn State passing offense being the difference in this one. Northwestern has been moderately defensive against the run this season, while Penn State hasn't put up much of a run game. The air will be the main way to move the ball this weekend for Penn State.
Prediction: Penn State senior Matt McGloin connects for two touchdown passes, both to Allen Robinson while the Penn State power backs add two short yardage rushing TD's. Sam Ficken also gets on the board with a late feild goal. Northwestern quarterbacks Trevor Siemian and Kain Colter keep Northwestern in this one, but McGloin leads the way in the fourth quarter with a game sealing touchdown drive.
Final Score:
Penn State-31
Northwestern- 24

ESPN.COM Big Ten Power Rankings

Below is a link to ESPN.Com's Big Ten Power Rankings for Week 6: They Currently Have Penn State Sitting at #6
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/60433/big-ten-power-rankings-week-6-5

Illinois Re-Cap

Penn State continued to roll Saturday with its third consecutive win, taking control early and cruising to a 35-7 win at Memorial Stadium in Illinois. Led by senior linebacker Michael Mauti and quarterback Matt McGloin, the Lions continued to execute well on both sides of the ball. Penn State is playing like the hottest team in the division, and a team nobody wants to face right now. The Lions should be 4-1, and really have played just one bad half all season (the second half against Ohio). Coach Bill O'Brien is doing a fantastic job.Illinois didn't put up much of a fight. They made a brief rally in the third to come within a couple scores but could never really make it a game, even on their home field. Matt McGloin threw for 211 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores to lead the Penn State offense Saturday. The offensive line also looked dominant, opening up huge holes for the multiple Penn State backs to run through. Sophomore running back Zach Zwinak added 101 yards and two touchdowns for Penn State, alongside Bill Belton's 65 yards.
Penn State needs to keep the ball rolling this week as they face a now ranked Northwestern team.