Week 10 Big Ten Predictions...

[buckeyefan78]

Michigan 31 Ball State 0
Wisconsin 15 Penn State 12
Indiana 28 Minnesota 17
Iowa 30 Northwestern 28
Ohio State 38 Illinois 6
Michigan State 21 Purdue 20

[Alex]

Michigan 41 Ball State 7
Penn State 14 Wisconsin 10
Indiana 25 Minnesota 15
Iowa 24 Northwestern 20
Ohio State 42 Illinois 21
Michigan State 17 Purdue 12

[Alex]

Wisconsin still isn't the third best team in the country. Definitely in the Big Ten though.

Joe Paterno needs to take a good look in the mirror and ask himself if this is how he wants his program remembered. Because I'll say this, even I'm old enough to remember when Penn State won games like this. This is Penn State football on defense. This is far from Penn State football on offense. The offense may have never been great outside of '82, '94, etc. but they at least put the team in a position to win. This one doesn't do that.

This is going to be one of those bittersweet "good" seasons. 8-4/9-4/8-5 and an Outback Bowl bid but unless PSU beats a quality SEC team in the bowl game, the best win will have been Purdue. Ick.

[buckeyefan78]

I was in Ann Arbor yesterday (always wise to study the enemy) so didn't see the game. I did get to see the highlights on this morning on the Paterno Show...or whatever your post-game thing is called. I've avoided it recently but your boy Morelli is just plain bad Alex. You are right though: that's the type of game PSU is used to winning and actually wants to play in. I'd give the credit to Wisconsin though. The Winnebago had a helluva day lookin' at the stat sheet.

I went 3-3 and you went 2-4. Another Ick.

[Alex]

It's not all Morelli's fault. Yeah, he's not as good as expected but how is he supposed to do anything when defenses are constantly bearing down on him because the offensive line couldn't stop a line of turtles? It wouldn't hurt if the receivers wouldn't drop easy catches. Or if the offensive coaches could come up with plays to put him in a position to succeed. Penn State threw the ball over the middle ONCE yesterday. And on that one play Quarless went for 30+ yards. Someone please explain this one to me.

Wisconsin shouldn't feel too good about this win. Any team with a half decent defense has shut down Penn State this season.

Temple will get pasted. I'd fear MSU more if it wasn't senior night and potentially a night game. Penn State's beaten the teams that they were supposed to beat this season. I expect that to continue through the regular season. Hopefully the offense decides to go with the defense to Tampa.

[buckeyefan78]

Yeah...I haven't heard too many in the media go after the receivers but they've disappointed as well. I had Williams and Manningham as my preseason All-Big Ten receivers if you recall. Morelli really hasn't improved as much as anyone would like though. They don't throw over the middle cuz they don't like what they see in practice during the week...that's just the way it goes as far as what gets called in from the sidelines. Same reason why Henne only threw over the middle a few times...and was picked once on a horrible misread against Ball State. Hopefully the next two easy games get Morelli ready for the bowl...and next season. I wouldn't doubt a QB controversy with the Clark kid come next spring...but I'm bias with Clark being from my hometown.

[Alex]

I wouldn't doubt a Clark-Morelli controversy similiar to the Mills-Robinson "controversy" going into 2003. I doubt Joe is going to sit a senior that has waited his turn.

I would love nothing more than for the coaches to just cut Morelli loose and open up the entire playbook against Temple. It's friggin' Temple. Penn State won this one the moment it was put on the schedule. But I doubt it happens. Morelli looks decent, the red zone offense continues to flounder and Tony Hunt pounds it out on the ground as PSU rolls to a disappointing 30+ point victory.

I really hope the staff realizes their failures with Morelli and makes things easier for Pat Devlin. They at least got redshirting him right. Now hopefully next season the staff gets Devlin some meaningful playing time, not just mop-up-hand-the-ball-off crap Morelli had as a freshman and sophomore.

I think this offense is going to be good next season. Very rarely have senior quarterbacks done poorly under Paterno, especially when there is a lot of experience around them. The only example I can think of is Zack Mills but considering he had a handful of terrible receivers as a senior, it's no wonder he was so bad.