Blue White Illustrated

play. The Nittany Lions got their first down, won the game, then won the game that followed against Eastern Michigan. Except for a tough night against UCF, they've been on a roll ever since. Or as close to a roll as they can reasonably expect to get under the circumstances. The most interesting part of O'Brien's comment, however, may not have been his description of the Nittany Lions' sideline operation but his choice of similes. For the past couple of years, the Penn State football team has been written off by a lot of people as college football's Delta House – a band of disreputable outsiders who should have disappeared when Dean Wormer… er Mark Emmert… put them on double-secret probation. Even their pregame pump-up video last season tapped into this theme, whether it was intentional or not. In the video, which was played at Beaver Stadium before every home game, the Lions were literally cast as barbarians at the gate. They wore their hair long and their beards scruffy and jumped around behind a fence with their faces contorted into expressions of almost feral excitement, all set to the chugging lead guitar riff from Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song. It was a new look for the program. " But Penn State went on to win eight games and, as usual, turned out to be one of the Big Ten's better teams. Its performance reawakened hope that the Nittany Lions will continue to win games even in the face of the NCAA sanctions because, well, they're the Nittany Lions. When this year's pump-up video was released in August, it departed radically from the 2012 edition. It featured a montage of clips from throughout the school's long football history and a solemn voice-over that addressed players directly. "You wear the colors that so many have worn before you," the voice intoned. "You're part of the tradition. You're part of the history. You're part of the glory. What you do here will last forever." Full of movie-trailer grandiosity, the production seemed designed to send a very specific message: This program is a powerhouse, not an upstart. Which brings us back to "Animal House," oddly enough. It's a classic movie, especially for those of us who grew up in the 1970s and '80s, but it contains a secret. The secret is this: While it manipulates us into sympathizing with the Deltas, deep down, we are all Omegas. We crave order. We like being part of the establishment. We don't want the medical school cadavers delivW E B ered to the alumni dinner or a truckload of fizzies dumped into the swim meet. If we showed up at our office on Monday morning and found a dead horse awaiting us, we'd be quite upset. At Penn State, there's a lot of affection for the football establishment. That's because, for a long time, the Nittany Lions were on top of it. During the first two decades of Joe Paterno's head SU RV E Y NOW THAT THE NONCONFERENCE SEASON IS COMPLETE, HOW DO YOU THINK THE NITTANY LIONS WILL FARE IN THE BIG TEN? Wins over Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue. Losses at Ohio State and Wisconsin. Split the toss-ups – Michigan and Nebraska – and I see 5-3. BrianS The Big Ten still stinks. UCF would be the second-best team in the league if they played in the Big Ten this year, and we gave them a game. I see us going 6-2, and one of those two losses should be considered an upset. mhentz At Indiana: shootout win. We should be able to run the ball and put up plenty of points on Indiana's defense. The question is, can we contain their up-tempo offense? Michigan: close win. Gardner has talent but is careless with the ball. PSU runs the ball effectively and wins TOP. Ficken wins the game at the end. At Ohio State: big loss. OSU is loaded on both sides of the ball. It won't be pretty. Illinois: shootout loss. I just don't see our defense stopping their passing game. Both teams should score in the 30s. At Minnesota: big win. Minnesota is too one-dimensional on offense. Stop the read-option and Kill's team will fold. Purdue: big win. Hackenberg will continue to grow in OB's offense. By this time, he will be running the team like a seasoned vet. Nebraska: close win. Just a gut feeling that the staff and players have this one circled after last year's close loss. At Wisconsin: big loss: If their running game is humming in front of their home crowd, watch out! Brazillm10 4-4. Beat Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue and Nebraska, lose to Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. Experienced QBs terrify me right now, and it seems like Scheelhaase has been at Illinois for a decade. Taylor Martinez would scare me if I felt he was going to be 100 percent for that game. I think Wisconsin and Ohio State are pretty much guaranteed losses right now. After that, pretty much anything can happen. I think we go 4-2 in the other six. We'll know a lot more after the Indiana game. We still haven't beaten a team with a pulse, in my opinion. mkilvanick Every game with the possible exception of Ohio State is winnable. waltpsuscranton At Indiana: win, but close. Michigan: win. At Ohio State: loss. Illinois: win. At Minnesota: win, but close. Purdue: win. Nebraska: loss, but close. At Wisconsin: loss. Final record: 8-4 freckles3 Wins: Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, Nebraska. Losses: OSU, Wisconsin. OB begrudgingly acknowledges that we can run and does so effectively. hawg Every game is winnable except for OSU. But every game is losable, maybe sans Purdue. I think our chances of beating Michigan, Nebraska or Wisconsin are under 40 percent. I don't mean to hijack the thread, but if the lines were flat, what games would you put money on PSU? For me, only Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois. Indiana I wouldn't bet. Other games, I'd put my money on the other guys. JMLion 8-0. Why not? Do you know any coach who wants to go 5-3? EPC FAN

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