FanNation - The Republic of Sport

I just wanted (felt compelled, actually) to comment on an extensive Message Board thread ("PSU (BCS #3) Favored by a Full Seven Points Over Mighty Iowa (BCS 51")).  Now, I have to admit I'm lazy and didn't actually read all 216(!) replies to the original comment (by Gator4life), so I'm not even sure what all the arguing's about- or even if these messag-ers were arguing-  but still I wanted to weigh in with a few of my own personal thoughts on the subject.

I first broke this ball game down early Saturday afternoon, and I saw a gift, a gift of seven and a half points, bestowed upon the 5-4 Iowa Hawkeyes before they even took the field on Saturday evening.  Now I don't know or care about the (obviously) meaningingless numbers being thrown around in this discussion (BCS #3 versus BCS 51, Sagarin this or that, "7th best team in the Big Ten," etc...).  Those numbers never entered my mind, nor should they have.

No, what I saw was a Penn State team that was 9-0, but one that was guaranteed to lose before the year was up, if not now then by all means in a few weeks when Javon Ringer & Co. come to Happy Valley for a playdate.  I mean, that much was in the cards, and I think deep down we all knew it.  These Nittany's are a helluva team, but... they ain't gonna be playin' in the big One this year. 

Now call me crazy, but I looked at this game as about an even matchup.  On one side, you had a team that was, in fact, 9-0 and #3 etc, and of course were riding in on the swagger and momentum that certainly must accompany that knowledge. And on the other side you had the Hawkeyes, and forget that they're 5 and 4, because that's off the board at home. In the Big Ten.  On a late Saturday afternoon in November, when all that matters is defending your home field and knocking off the undefeateds. 

And so I saw a close matchup between two similar teams.  Penn State kicked off the 2008 campaign with a hearty thrashing of the hated Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (what a storied rivalry these two powerhouses share), while the Hawks knocked off Div 1AA perennial giant-killer U. of Maine (that's in Orono, y'know...).  And okay, after that they each took their own path, Penn State winning 'em all, and Iowa dropping four.   But they both walloped the early-and-often exposed pretenders from Madison; likewise, they both took the hapless '08 Wolverines to the woodshed out behind the Big House.  So PSU found a way to win 'em all coming into Iowa City- I'm happy for them, but I also knew Iowa would keep things close (certainly closer than 7 and a half, thank you very much...).

I don't know if any of this makes sense. All I know is it worked for me, and I'm here to tell you that if, as Gator4life put it in his original post, The Nits had been giving "20 +" points, I'd have gleefully rolled my 401(k)- what's left of it, anyway-  into the Hawkeye's hedge fund down at Kinnick Stadium National Bank.  I understand that Penn State was the number three team in the country, but come on, I think we all knew this wasn't like Texas Tech coming to call at Kansas or Kansas State.  This was a good match up, and, for me, a nice little Saturday surprise.