Hostetler, Devlin, and Bolden?

Jeff Hostetler was going to be the quarterback of the future.  The kid from Hillsopple had a rocket arm, great vision, and was clearly going places.  He started two games for Penn State in 1980, showing some promise.  Like every young quarterback in Penn State, he was heralded as the greatest to come through the program, a potential savior, and a savvy, skilled gun slinger.  Unfortunately, Hostetler happened to be only two months younger than another quarterback, Todd Blackledge.  We know the story, Blackledge won the job, won the hearts of Penn State fans, helped win the National Championship, and eventually hosted his own version of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives during half-time of the second best college football game of the week.  Blackledge had something that Hostetler didn't, a greater ability to manage the game, and eventually this ability led him to become a first round pick.

Hostetler, however was a rather skilled quarterback in his own right.  He lost the starting job to Blackledge during that 1980 season, transferred to West Virginia, sat a season (as NCAA rules dictate) behind Oliver Luck (who in turn sired another great Quarterback named Andrew), and eventually became the leader of a highly skilled West Virginia team, amassing an 18-6 record as a two-year starter there, and playing in classic games against Boomer Esiason, then at Maryland, and Florida State.  In 1998, he was inducted into the West Virginia Hall of Fame. 

Hostetler's career in the NFL was markedly different from Blackledge's.  He was a third round pick in 1984, but didn't start a game until 1988.  For the second time in his life he played the back-up to a skilled, game-managing signal caller, until getting his chance following a Phil Simms' broken foot in 1990.  That year, Hostetler led the Giants through the playoffs to a Super Bowl victory, taking over the starting job the following year, and eventually winding up on the Raiders, making the Pro Bowl in 1994.  In his NFL career, Hostetler through for more than 16,000 career yards, while Blackledge through for just over 5,000.  Proving, as it turns out, there is life after losing your job to a fellow Penn State quarterback with seemingly inferior skills.

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Pat Devlin was going to be the quarterback of the future.  The highly touted, highly recruited kid from Downingtown East High School on the far eastern side of the state was tall, fast enough to maneuver around the pocket (and outside of it), and could throw the ball a country mile.  He, like all young, highly recruited quarterbacks, was going to return the program to greatness.  He had a winning attitude, was going to be a skilled quarterback in the NFL, and seemed to be cut from the Joe Flacco mold, which includes any quarterback taller than 6'2, with some bulk, who can move and throw the ball around a bit.  Unfortunately, Pat Devlin showed up in Happy Valley right around the same time that a kid named Daryll Clark decided to figure out how to lead a team.  Clark could move, he could throw the ball, he could lead a team, and he had that decided air of confidence that 21-year old men need if they are going to lead eleven of their peers out of the huddle. 

We know the story from here, Clark won the starting job in the 2008 season, leaving Devlin to lick his sore wounds, became one of the most storied quarterbacks in Penn State history (just wait until time makes you realize just how good that guy was), leading Penn State to the Rose Bowl during the 2008 season, and another 11-2 record during the 2009 season.  The NCAA's decision to grant Clark an additionaly year of eligibility during the 2009 season, led Devlin to seek out a new school, eventually winding up at Delaware like the man from whose mold he seemed cut.  He chose Delaware so he would not have to sit out a year, and over the next two years would throw for over 4,000 yards, raising his potential NFL stock to that of a projected third round (and possibly higher) pick.  Meanwhile, the man who took his job starting for the Lions, went undrafted and now plays for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL.  Proving, once again, that there is life after losing your job to a fellow Penn State quarterback with seemingly inferior skills.



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But there's a second story here, and it's the one that prevents Penn State from ever being a so-called "cradle of quarterbacks."  You see, Penn State has always preferred confident game-managers to quarterbacks with those prototypical quarterbacking skills.  Generally, this has turned out to be the right decision.  Blackledge led the team to a National Championship, Clark led them to a Big Ten Championship, and a 22-4 record.  Penn State won a National Championship with John Schaffer in 1986.  (Yes!  That John Schaffer of well-known Goldman Sachs fame!)  For as much as we mock the "moxie", it turns out that throughout the years, the "moxie" has been the deciding factor when Penn State has had two quarterbacks to choose between.

At the beginning of the 2005 season, Michael Robinson had the "moxie" while Anthony Morelli possessed the more traditional skills.  It turns out that State likely made the right decision that year.  As it is, Penn State is consistently looking for the re-birth of a Kerry Collins, and has no desire to find a Dan Marino, a Peyton Manning, or a Vinny Testaverde.  Penn State is looking for a quarterback who possesses not only those prototypical skills, but also the confidence, "moxie" and game-managing skills that ultimately lead to wins.  The greatest offense in the history of Penn State football (and arguably NCAA football) was led not by a quarterback with shockingly remarkable skills, but by a quarterback with great skills and undeniable "moxie," because "moxie" is the only thing that can lead a comeback when you're down 21-0 at Illinois.

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Rob Bolden was going to be the quarterback of the future.  The highly recruited kid out of Detroit had all of those traditional skills that made a great quarterback; mobility, a strong-arm, and vision to see the field.  Unfortunately, Rob Bolden came to Penn State right around the same time Matt McGloin decided to add a little bit of talent (if only the smallest amount) to his highly touted leadership skills.  We don't know the story from here, unfortunately, but there are two potential endings.  Rob Bolden will either become a fiend in the film room and weight room, start showing some academic prowess, and begin leading the back up team with his own brand of quiet leadership.  Or he will decide to lick his wounds, refuse to put forth the extra effort and set himself back a year.  Bolden will either learn from this year's ostensible failure (if you can in fact call losing the starting job during a true freshmen year a failure), grow up and gain real confidence, and not cocky arrogance, gaining the starting job by October at the latest.  Or, he will decide to transfer, and become a great quarterback on another team.

Either way, Rob Bolden will be successful.  He can prove, once again, that there is life after losing your job to a fellow Penn State quarterback with seemingly inferior skills.  The question is, will he do it here?  Or will he do it somewhere else?  If he winds up learning his lessons, gaining that moxie and game managing skills, and using the remarkable talent he already has, we're in for the most exciting few years I can remember.  If he doesn't, I still say we're in for some exciting years (look at Blackledge and Clark!), but they won't be nearly as great as if he stays.

But hey, what do I know?

Happy New Year

Well, this certainly is a heck of a time to be a Penn State fan.

I had been visiting with family for the holidays all day on the 2nd, and hadn't really been paying attention to my PSU news sites or Twitter feeds. I ended the day at the movies, and couldn't understand why my phone wouldn't stop vibrating throughout the entire movie. After the movie, the first thing I did was listen to my voicemail, where the first message I heard was from a good friend who sounded a little emotional. He told me that “the sky is falling in Nittany Nation” and asked me to call him to try to cheer him up.

Happy New Year, Penn State fans.

For those who have no idea what I'm referring to, Rob Bolden, according to his father, will definitely be transferring from Penn State to a school that is not in the state of Michigan. JoePa is now publicly stumping for Tom Bradley to get the just-now-vacated-for-a-second-time Pitt Head Coaching job. These are not small things.

Now as the presumptuously self-appointed “voice of perspective and reason” on this blog, I'd like to offer some general thoughts on what's going on in the PSU fanbase right now before I give my thoughts on what this all means. First, a quote from Black Shoe Diaries' post-Outback Bowl article that I think is especially prescient:

I just love my Lions. I don't go overly critical when they play poorly. I just go silent, which is what a lot of other people should try once in a while. Change is coming. Good days are ahead. Of this I am sure. We just have to wait for them.

I'm not looking forward to the next seven months. I just have a feeling things are going to be ugly around this program. A lot of people are going to be upset when a week or two go by and Joe Paterno hasn't retired. A lot of people are going to be pissed off if McGloin is allowed within a hundred yards of the huddle in the Blue-White Game. It's not going to be pretty...

But here we are. Consider yourself officially in the offseason. As they say here in Texas, hunker down and ride it out.

Beyond that, my advice is the same it was after the Illinois loss. Relax and remind yourself that there are more important things than college football. (Really, there are.) Stay away from Penn State message boards (especially at Fight On State). For the love of Pete, stay away from editorials written by Bob Flounders, David Jones, or Corey Giger. All of the above revel in anything that could possibly make JoePa look bad, and they're in full glory mode right now. They're going to blow up every shred of a story that crosses their desk and convince you that right now, the program is worse off than it was after the 2000 loss to Toledo and things are doomed to only get worse unless and until Joe – the sole cause of anything and everything bad that happens at PSU – leaves (after which, of course, everything will be perfect).

When bad news hits the internet fan base, it ceases to be bad news and becomes a portent of the program's utter destruction. If you listen to the head coaches (at least I'm assuming that what's they are, given their clearly unassailable knowledge of college football) that frequent the Fight On State message boards, the program has been “on the brink of a total meltdown” at least three or four times in the last two years. And yet we're all still here in one piece.

Now, this really could be the beginning of the end in the sense that the departure of Bolden and Bradley is the straw that breaks the camel's back and results in Joe leaving, after which a total restructuring of the program is all but inevitable (ironically, I would think this would be good news to Fight On State, Flounders, Jones, & Giger – that's exactly what they want). But I don't know that, and unless you're Tim Curley, Graham Spanier, or Joe Paterno, you haven't the faintest clue either, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're right in the middle of this story right now, and things could change very quickly and very drastically (Shawney Kersey anyone?). Don't hit the panic button quite yet.

Without further ado...

My Take On Bolden
As a Team Bolden diehard, I'm obviously not happy with the news. I wish Bolden was staying. I think it was all but guaranteed that Bolden would win a fair and open QB competition this spring and emerge as the starter next season – even the most ardent McGloin supporters have always admitted that “Bolden is the future.” That said, I'm loathe to blame Bolden or the coaches. I can't and won't disagree with anything that Bolden's father said in his statement because I agree 100%. On the other hand, I can also understand those who support the coaches in this situation. To quote again from Black Shoe Diaries:

Maybe Joe Paterno should have played Robert Bolden for a series or two in the third quarter. Maybe not. I don't know. He was obviously struggling, but then McGloin got all the snaps in practice this week and in a sense I can see going with the horse that got you here. It's because of McGloin that Penn State was even playing today. So I can understand letting the kid finish it out.

While I take exception to the implication that McGloin's play was necessary to get Penn State to a bowl game, the truth is that McGloin's play did get Penn State to a bowl game. I'll repeat what I've always said regarding the coaches – they know the whole story and we don't, so I'm not going to sit in judgment of people who do this professionally when I don't even have all the facts.

I don't think that the day after an emotional loss is the time to make a major decision like this, but at the same time, it's Bolden's life and he has to do what he thinks is best for him. As Bolden's father said, “I completely appreciate the opportunity [Penn State] gave him. At the end of the day, they have to do what they think is best for their program. But just the same, not just Rob but everyone has to do what's best for them. We feel right now Penn State is not what's best for Rob.” I think that's really the story here. Penn State coaches did what they thought was best at the time, and Rob Bolden is doing what he thinks is best now. I hope Rob changes his mind. If not, I hope he goes somewhere outside the Big Ten, and wish him all the best.

If Bolden leaves, I don't believe the program is doomed to offensive ineptitude until we get another blue chip recruit. We still have a blue chip recruit with four years of eligibility – Paul Jones. Jones was the star of last spring's Blue-White Game, he received a lot of praise from Joe yesterday, and I wouldn't at all mind having him under center to start the 2011 season. McGloin is bound to improve during the offseason, and with Bolden leaving, Kevin Newsome may even decide to stick around. Penn State still has a ton of young talent on offense and while it hurts to lose a kid as great as Bolden, it's also not enough to kill Penn State's hopes for success.

My Take On Bradley
Joe's comments to the press about Bradley yesterday confirm what had been rumored for a long time – that PSU Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley would like to be the head coach at Pitt. While it puts a bad taste in my mouth to think that anyone associated with Penn State would want anything to do with Pitt, I have to admit that it makes a lot of sense for Bradley. Bradley already has a house in the area, he recruits extremely well there, and it's becoming increasingly apparent that Joe's successor will most likely not come from within. Pitt is a big name school with a storied history that's been mediocre for a very long time, so Bradley can bring improvement and make a name for himself right away. Apparently Joe is content to let Bradley go too. While Bradley has taken a lot of well-deserved praise for putting together some top notch defenses, a lot of that praise also belongs to Larry Johnson Sr. (Defensive Line Coach) and Ron Vanderlinden (Linebackers' Coach). The specific defensive position that Bradley is responsible for (Secondary) is often the weakest part of Penn State's defense. I have no doubt that if Bradley leaves, LJ Sr. or Vanderlinden can step in as the Defensive Coordinator and Penn State's defense will do just fine.

The bigger issue is recruiting. Bradley has been responsible for the vast majority of players that Penn State has recruited from Western PA, including some very big names like Stefen Wisniewski, Sean Lee, and Paul Posluszny. Losing his recruiting ability hurts enough, but if he takes that same ability to a school that's even closer to where a lot of these players live and has success there, it could devastate PSU's recruiting efforts in the region. This is a very big concern. If Bradley does leave, in addition to finding a new coach for the Secondary, Penn State needs to find someone who can recruit and recruit well – if not in Western PA, then in a new and possibly more fertile area like Florida, Texas, or California. That's not going to be easy, but I believe it will be necessary to Penn State's continued success as long as the current staff is in charge of the program.

My Take On Joe
I have no doubt that there are already 20+ rumors swirling regarding exactly what happened among Joe, McGloin, and Bolden. I'm not going to address any of them. Rumors are rumors. I'm not interested in rumors – I'm interested in what we know. And what we know is really only a few things – what happened during the season, what Joe said, and what Bolden's father said.

I've already discussed what happened during the season so you know where I stand on that. I've also already said that I pretty much agree with the sentiments of Bolden's father. I don't think that Joe's post-game comments where he refused to be too hard on McGloin mean much of anything either way. Joe stuck up for his player, as any good coach should and would. (At least he didn't say, “I'm a man. I'm 84!”) After the Outback Bowl, I find it doubtful that Joe was still stuck on McGloin, and Bolden has to know that as well. To reiterate, I think the coaches did what they thought was best at the time, and Bolden's doing what he thinks is best now.

The real question is what this may or may not mean for the future. I don't give a whiff of credibility to the infamous email, and prior to yesterday's events, I was all but certain that Joe would be returning next year. The rumors of Joe's retirement mean nothing – every year since and including 1982 has been Joe's last year according to “inside sources” and anonymous “experts.” Nothing was new or different about the rumors this year; however, these recent events are not good news for Joe or anyone who wants him to stay at Penn State.

Joe still wants and intends to come back if his health allows him to. Of that I have no doubt. The only people who can potentially stop him are Graham Spanier and Tim Curley, and the people that they're primarily concerned with pleasing are the big-money boosters – people like Terry Pegula who donated $88 million to jump-start Penn State's Division 1 hockey program. It's no secret that most of these boosters are loyal to Joe to a fault – that's part of the reason why Joe has been able to stay around as long as he has. The question is, does their loyalty to Joe have a limit, and could they be reaching it? I honestly have no idea. But I have to speculate that a lot of them will not like losing Bolden or seeing Bradley go to Pitt and may blame Joe for it. I think things may be approaching a tipping point. I don't think we're there yet, but if current trends continue, we may get there sooner than I originally thought. No matter what, I am not expecting a public, ugly, protracted Bowden-like battle. I think (and hope) our boosters, administration, and Joe are classier than that. But we are certainly living in interesting, interesting times. Stay tuned...

In Which I Sidestep The Elephant In The Room

So I'm back. I've had a long list of posts stewing in my head that I've wanted to write for a while, but sadly, real life and responsibilities intervened. I have absolutely no interest in discussing... whatever the heck that was that occurred from roughly 1pm to 5pm yesterday. This is Ali's blog, so I'll let him have the fun of dissecting that. I'm just an occasional interloper here, so I can (and will) write about whatever the heck I want.

Chug the blue & white stuff long enough, and eventually this will be the only Outback Bowl you remember.

So This Is My Outback Bowl Paragraph.
D'Anton Lynn is a beast. Wisniewski deserves all the praise he was getting from the announcers. I'll miss all of the seniors (especially Royster, Wiz, and Brackett) and wish them all the best in their future endeavors. And that's all I have to say about that.

Over the next couple days I hope to put up three posts on topics that have been on my mind since November. This is the first of those. The next post will be a miscellaneous smorgasbord of updates, and finally, look for my take on Joe and the future in a forthcoming post. This will be something of a counterpoint to two of Ali's more recent posts.

And now, on with the show.

QB Controversiality (Didn't we already go through this crap back in August?)

Answer. Leader. Disappointment?

So yesterday's game necessarily puts this topic in a different light than when I intended to write about it back in November. I have a feeling more people will be a little more sympathetic to my viewpoint now; however, as someone who has been on “Team Bolden” throughout the course of the season, it's interesting to watch how short the collective memory of the PSU fan base is, and how quickly they can turn on their own. After the Youngstown State game, Bolden was “the chosen one” - the young golden boy who was going to lead the Nittany Lions to a better-than-originally-expected year. Fast forward to October after losses to Alabama and Iowa, and the romance phase was now over – PSU was going to have the year pretty much everyone expected. After the embarrassing loss to Illinois where Bolden made one good play and had a painful pick six, “Bolden sucks” became the mantra. Of course, this only intensified when McGloin had success against Minnesota and then devastated Michigan's excuse for a defense. Suddenly, PSU had a new savior. While I was thinking, “Man, look at how awful Michigan's defense is,” most PSU fans were thinking, “Man, Matt McGloin is the answer!” Bolden coughing up the ball early against Northwestern, followed by Matt McGloin leading a valiant come-from-behind effort seemed to confirm where everyone's head was at. Then, after the Ohio State game and a couple pick sixes (complete with comparisons to The-QB-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named), McGloin's romance phase was over. The loss to Michigan State left some doubtful about how good McGloin really was. And now with yesterday's bowl results, Matt McGloin is being ripped to shreds by “experts” all over the interwebs as the worst failure in the history of the program.

I'm not going to bash McGloin. I'm not going to verbally attack a 21 year old kid because he doesn't play football as well as I'd like him to. I'm also not going to say the coaches made the wrong call. My original disclaimer I made however many articles ago about the coaches forgetting more about football than I'd ever know still stands. Moreover, the coaches see things in practice that none of us know anything about. Heck, I'll even side with the coaches that starting McGloin against Ohio State was the right thing to do – he was playing hot, and you don't bench a hot QB. That said, I'm willing to question the coaching staff on one specific decision.

Prodigy. Failure. Future?

Let's go back to the Northwestern game. The previous game, PSU's backup quarterback had done everything he was asked to do against a woefully inadequate Michigan defense. Despite questioning from the media, both the backup QB and the QB coach insist that “it's Rob Bolden's job.” Then, later that week, JoePa changes things. It's announced that there will be a competition. Bolden, whose status as the starter was never officially in doubt from the first game of the season through this week, wins the competition during the week of practice. Bolden is to start. Bolden starts the game. Bolden has two decent drives where he cumulatively completes 3 of 4 passes for 43 yards and rushes for 7 yards. Both drives start around PSU's 20 and get down to Northwestern's 30 yard line but don't end in points. The second drive ends with Bolden getting sacked and turning over the ball. McGloin comes in on PSU's next two drives. McGloin completes 3 of 9 passes for 39 yards and no rushing. Both drives start around PSU's 20 and neither drive crosses midfield. McGloin stays in after that and wins the game. My question is – why?

Why were the coaches so quick to bench Bolden after his second drive? Yes, that drive ended in a turnover, but whose fault was that – Bolden's or the offensive line's? McGloin loyalists will say that Bolden should have picked up on the blitz and gotten the ball off quicker. That may be true. But was the mistake really so severe that it warranted pulling the starter – who had ostensibly proved that very week in practice that he deserved to be the starter – and benching him the entire rest of the game no matter how his backup performed? If McGloin had been treated the same as Bolden, McGloin never would have gotten that third drive to redeem himself, Newsome would have been put in, and who knows where PSU would be now. What might Bolden have done with a third drive? We'll never know. But my personal opinion is that Bolden could have performed at least as well against the competition that McGloin faced if given the same chance. Again, I'm loathe to pretend I know more than the coaches about football because I don't. But that's one decision I just don't understand.

Having teams is fun and all, but let's not stoop to this. Please?

For now, I'm squarely in the “Team Bolden” camp right where I've always been. I would imagine after yesterday's game, a sizable chunk of former McGloin cheerleaders are now with me. Welcome to the fold. That said, my real hope is that now we'll have a real and open competition between all the QBs that will drive all of them to grow and develop. Bolden certainly has room to improve. I'd like to see Bolden win the competition just because of the investment that's already been made in developing him and giving him experience against good defenses (and I also think that right now, in terms of raw skill set, he's the best QB on the roster), but if the competition drives Jones or McGloin (For those unaware, Newsome is reportedly leaving the program. All the best to him.) to excel beyond the other two then so be it. Ultimately I'm "Team Penn State," and that's an attitude I hope we can all maintain during what looks to be a rocky and divisive offseason.

Until next time, we are!

Gator Chomp

The year has come and gone, there are still plenty of rumors with life, and Penn State has one last game to play. With all the speculation about JoePa's health, his retirement, Urban's retirement, Penn State's next coach, and assistants jumping ship (yes this sentence was meant to be as excessive as all the statements listed above), it seems as if everyone has forgotten about the Outback Bowl. This was supposed to be a match up of two storied programs seeking redemption for sub-par seasons; however, it has turned into one of the finest media circuses out there.

Let's just try and focus on tomorrow's game.

On the Offensive:
Penn State has struggled all season long to find an identity on offense, playing a game of Jekyll and Hide all season long. It seems like every time this team has established some sort of rhythm on offense, some one has taken a wrench and jammed up the gears. It has been the worst up and down roller coaster that I have had to experience watching because it is so promising, but I keep forgetting that that is all it is. Potential, waiting to be fulfilled over the next couple of seasons.

With that being said, I would expect Penn State to struggle a little bit on offense against this Florida defense. Whether or not Janorris Jenkins is sitting out, the Gator's boast two other defensive backs that are bound to be early round picks in this year's upcoming NFL Draft, in Ahmad Black and Will Hill. This is one of the best ball hawking defenses in the country folks, so I wouldn't be expecting Penn State to stick with its game-plan of setting up the run with the pass in this game. If they do, they better think of some more routes to run then wheels, flats, screens, and skinny posts. If they do not, then Penn State will be in for a long afternoon. The best match-up for Penn State is their O-line against Florida's D-line. They could expose the inexperience along the line, and get to UF's very raw linebackers. If they do not capitalize on this match-up, then look forward to shaking your head to the tune of at least two picks by mid-third quarter and a very frustrating contest in all.

Don't get me wrong, Penn State will be able to move the ball against this defense, but will they be able to capitalize on their opportunities?

On the Defensive:
Even though we've played one SEC team already this year, and faced many teams that run the spread, this will be the toughest test for Penn State's defense. For common college football fans (Big Ten fans that don't watch any SEC games) the consistent belief is that Florida's offense is rather inept this year, and this poses a great match-up for Penn State's defense. The fact remains that there is no truth to that statement whatsoever; yes, Florida's offense had their fare share of struggles, but they are very far from inept. They are just two plays away from being 9-3 rather than 7-5 on the year, so stop rationalizing and convincing yourselves that this team is far worse than it actually is.

Florida poses at least five running threats on the offensive side of the ball, two in QBs Trey Burton and Jordan Reed, the other three in Demps, Rainey, and Moody. These guys do not need a lot of room to run the ball, and are blazing fast. I don't mean 4.4 fast either, both these guys have been clocked at sub 4.3 times in the forty and one of them is the current NCAA champ in the 100 meter sprint with a time of 9.96. This isn't the argument of SEC speed versus Big Ten, this is the argument that this team has a consistent pace all game long.  This is going to be the key to the game for Florida, running out of the spread, and exposing match-ups working for the outside-in trying to create lanes for all these guys.

Penn State will have to play strict assignment football if they have any chance of stopping this attack, and they are very capable of doing it as well. The defensive line has to stay healthy throughout the game and prevent themselves from getting too far up field (which creates running lanes for UF's ball carriers). The key for our defense to have success is to play contain rather than to push the issue of creating pressure around the QB. Florida's offense is designed to thrive under constant pressure because their philosophy is simple: Let the defense play their way out of the picture, find the soft spot underneath, and put the ball in the hands of their play-makers in space. Lucky for us, Penn State's defense does a great job of keeping everything in front with our safe play philosophy; however, we have to tackle in open space and work together.

Florida will be able to move the ball at will as long as they execute well and refrain from taking too many shots down the field. Earlier in the year, they lost their identity and tried to do too much with Brantley's arm, if they can refrain themselves from getting overzealous, they will have a lot of success.



Final Prediction:
Florida 34 -- 24 Penn State

Shocking Prediction: Regardless of all the quieting of the rumors, I'm going to stick with my guns and say that Joe Paterno does in fact retire shortly after the end of the season. The only factor remains is National Signing Day, will he wait until Penn State has wrapped up this year's recruiting, or will he leave shortly after the Outback Bowl.