Penn State pushes its way into title picture

Sep 29, 2008 - 10:36 PM By Jim Ralabate PA SportsTicker College Football Editor

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One by one, they fell from the ranks of the unbeaten.

First it was USC, dubbed by many as the most talented Trojans team in the Pete Carroll era. Next up was Florida, a preseason candidate to at least contend in - if not win - the SEC.

Then came Wisconsin, a trendy pick to unseat Ohio State for Big Ten supremacy. And in a stunning finale, the final powerhouse to fall was Georgia, the preseason top-ranked team in the country.

It sure was a wacky weekend in college football, as four of the top eight teams in the USA Today coaches' poll were upset in a span of 48 hours. In the aftermath, the college football world has turned to Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU and Missouri as prohibitive favorites to reach the national title game.

Don't look now, but an old dog and a bunch of young cats have a legitimate shot at also contending for a BCS championship.

That's right, folks - Joe Paterno and Penn State are back in the national spotlight.

After rolling to blowout wins in their first four games, the Nittany Lions were on full display in front of a national audience Saturday night, and they more than delivered with a rousing 38-24 victory over then-No. 21 Illinois.

It was the latest impressive win for the Nittany Lions, who improved to 5-0 in Paterno's 43rd season in Happy Valley. And after the bevy of upsets this past weekend, Penn State suddenly finds itself ranked sixth in both polls after quietly lurking in the middle of the rankings throughout the first month of the season.

"I really like this squad," the 81-year-old Paterno said Saturday. "I think they listen and they understand what it will be like, and that it will not be easy. I think we are making good progress. I don't want to go overboard, but we are getting close to being a really good football team."

Close? If this start to the season does not impress him, what exactly constitutes a good football team in Paterno's estimation?

Maybe JoePa hasn't been watching some of the other so-called powerhouses around the country. Maybe he didn't see USC get manhandled by Oregon State, which lost by 31 to Penn State earlier this year.

Maybe he didn't see Tim Tebow and Florida choke at home against mighty Mississippi. Maybe he didn't catch a glimpse of the Badgers coughing up a 19-point halftime lead to Michigan. He obviously didn't see Georgia get outclassed by Alabama, since that game coincided with the Penn State-Illinois clash.

Perhaps Paterno also is referring to the last time his Nittany Lions started 5-0. In 2005, Penn State won its first seven games before a controversial 27-25 loss at Michigan derailed its national title hopes.

But even Paterno, who has seen and done it all, admits that there is something special about his team this year.

"They are a good bunch of kids to coach," he said. "They seem to have a good feeling for each other. I can clown around with them and have some fun with them and they don't go overboard."

Fans in State College likely are going overboard with enthusiasm after watching the suddenly high-powered Nittany Lions outscore their opposition, 249-64, over their first five games this season.

Led by multi-talented quarterback Daryll Clark and speedy sophomore running back Evan Royster, Penn State has the eighth-best rushing attack in the country.

Throw in wide receivers Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Derrick Williams, and the Nittany Lions just might have the most balanced offense east of Coumbia, Missouri (apologies to SEC supporters).

"Penn State is known for its defense, and now we're on top with the offense, too," said Williams, who became the first player in the Paterno era to score a rushing, receiving and return touchdown in the same game Saturday. "Now it's just a balanced team, so we should be great either way."

Penn State's greatness certainly will be put to the test over the next month. After visiting Purdue this coming Saturday, the Nittany Lions have pivotal road games at Wisconsin and Ohio State sandwiched around a home date with Michigan.

Those two road games could define Penn State's season; the Badgers have never lost a home game under Bret Bielema and the one-loss Buckeyes still have national title aspirations of their own.

But if they can come out of this four-game gauntlet unscathed, the Nittany Lions would have to be considered a favorite to secure a berth in the BCS championship game. Their final three games are as follows: at Iowa, home for Indiana, home for Michigan State.

"We definitely can do it with the team we have," Williams said. "But Joe always tells us to take it one day at a time, one game at a time."

As long as the Nittany Lions heed the advice of their old coach, is it that far-fetched to think that Penn State could own a 12-0 record when Big Ten play closes on November 22? If that scenario were to unfold, Penn State would almost be a lock for the BCS title game as an unbeaten Big Ten team.

While Paterno has attempted to temper his team's optimism, his players clearly understand that they have an opportunity to claim Penn State's first championship since 1986.

"We're not going to get complacent at all," linebacker Navorro Bowman said. "We're still in the running for the Big Ten - that's our main goal. Ultimately we want the national championship."

"We are focused on that, but I'm trying to be humble," Williams added. "We think every day about a national championship, and if we're not thinking about it then we shouldn't be playing this game."

THE BAD, THE WORSE AND THE UGLY: Every college football season is filled with constant debate over who the best team in the country is.

But I would like to open discussions on another topic - who is the downright worst team in America?

First off, let's eliminate teams from non-BCS conferences. After all, these "mid-majors" essentially have no chance to compete for the national title, so they shouldn't be eligible for this prize either.

Therefore, after careful studying, I have narrowed it down to the following four schools as finalists for the worst team in the country: Washington, Virginia, Washington State and Syracuse.

Let's start with Washington (0-4), the only BCS conference team without a win this season. To be fair, three of those losses have come to ranked teams - Oregon, BYU and Oklahoma. So despite their ugly home loss to Stanford this past week, the Huskies are not the worst team.

Virginia (1-3) definitely opened some eyes after dropping a 31-3 decision to Duke, a school that had not won a conference game since 2004. The Cavaliers have lost to their three FBS opponents by a combined margin of 128-20, and they barely escaped with a 16-0 win against FCS Richmond.

But the Cavs don't hold a candle to Washington State (1-4), which has allowed a whopping 213 points in its four losses. The Cougars just dropped a 63-14 decision to an Oregon team using a third-string quarterback. It was the second time that they have yielded at least 60 points in a single game. Washington State does have one win under its belt, a 48-9 rout of powerful Portland State.

That leaves Syracuse (1-4), which has a 14-point home loss to Akron as the highlight of its early season. Like the Cavaliers and Cougars, the Orange have a win against an FCS opponent on their resume - a 30-21 home victory over Northeastern.

While all of the aforementioned teams are quite bad, the early award goes to Syracuse - only slightly over Washington State. But there is still plenty of football to be played, and plenty of games to be lost.

WEEKLY WEIS WATCH: For the first time in almost two years, Notre Dame's offense looked like a balanced and well-oiled machine in Saturday's 35-21 victory over Purdue.

The Fighting Irish rushed for 201 yards, including a career-high 134 from Armando Allen, on 40 carries. That commitment to the running game allowed sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen to enjoy the most productive day of his young career.

Clausen passed for a career-high 275 yards and three touchdowns as Notre Dame erupted for 21 third-quarter points to put away the contest.

After the game, several Notre Dame players cited a personal challenge issued by Charlie Weis as the reason for the breakthrough third quarter.

Perhaps Weis is finally starting to connect with his young team, which collected a season-high 476 yards of total offense. Only time will tell, but the Fighting Irish certainly do have a favorable schedule the rest of the way.

EXTRA POINTS: Congratulations to North Carolina WR Brandon Tate, Rice QB Chase Clement and Rice WR Jarrett Dillard, who all re-wrote the NCAA record book this past weekend. Tate broke the NCAA record for all-time combined kick return yardage during Saturday's 28-24 victory over Miami. He passed Deltha O'Neal's mark of 3,455 yards with a 29-yard kickoff return with 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter. ... Clement and Dillard established an NCAA record for touchdowns between a quarterback-wide receiver duo during Rice's 77-20 rout of North Texas. Clement found Dillard for three scoring passes, giving them 41 TD hookups in their careers. The previous record of 38 was held by Louisiana Tech's duo of Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards.

Question or comment? E-mail james.ralabate@pa-sportsticker.com.