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Could it be?  An undefeated Penn State not getting a shot at the national championship?  It can happen.

Penn State could need a Texas AND Alabama lost to solidify a spot in the national championship.  And don’t rule out a 1 loss team like Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, or Oklahoma jumping over PSU into #2.

Penn State made a huge jump in the BCS this week by knocking off Ohio State.  You might be thinking…huh because they didn’t move up in the BCS ?  They did jump from 7 to 3 in the computer rankings.  The computer rankings that factor in many things, including strength of schedule, can’t be overlooked because it makes up 1/3 of the BCS.

Oklahoma is currently #4.  I can’t see Texas falling below #3 if they lose in the last few weeks since they beat Oklahoma and its not out of the question for a 1 loss Texas who wins the Big 12 championship to sneak back to #2…..or even #1.

Alabama still has to play at LSU and will play the winner of Georgia \ Florida in the SEC championship.  Not easy.  If Alabama wins out they clearly deserve a shot to play in the National Championship.

The winner of Georgia \ Florida should also be in the national championship mix in the end.

I don’t think USC will be in the picture since they lost to an Oregon State team that Penn State dominated.

Texas Tech has a long road ahead of them and probably won’t be in the picture in the end even if they knock off Texas this week.

Conclusion:  Alabama has a longer road and is more likely to lose than Texas.  Even if Texas loses a game, its not likely that they will drop below an Oklahoma team that they beat and they can easily work their way back to the national championship with a Big 12 championship win.  Best case for Penn State right now is an Alabama loss to LSU on November 8th.   

What does going to a Penn State football game mean to you?  For some it’s just another football game.  They’ll admit it’s a fun time, great crowd, good food, but what else does it mean.  Do you wait through sports like hockey, baseball, basketball, golf, arena football just hoping to get the thrill you get when you walk into Beaver Stadium for the first time after a long off season?  I do.  I can’t believe a new season is upon us in less than a week.  Unfortunately, I’ll be watching this one from the comfort of my home in clear HD, but someone else has my tickets and we’ll be enjoying the season opener in Happy Valley.  Yes, some say the game is better watched at home.  Those are the people who don’t know what it’s like to watch a game in Beaver Stadium.  Coastal Carolina may not be Michigan or Ohio State, but its a Penn State Game!  In 2005, I went to the Ohio State game after a couple years of watching the games on TV and occasionally going to a game that I could get tickets for (usually not the great ones).  A friend of my brother’s offered the tickets to us for face value!  They were close enough to the field that I thought DWill was pointing to me after he smoked AJ Hawk for a TD! He was pointing to me and 110,000 others. That game was one of the best I’ve ever watched and I got the chance to be there thanks to a generous PSU fan.  I got my season tickets the next year and faithfully went to every game.  The 2006 season wasn’t what the 2005 season was, but I was thankful to go to every game, as were my brothers, who benefited from me having season tickets.  Last year I found myself not appreciating the games as much and took for granted what it meant to have season tickets.  I couldn’t believe myself sometimes thinking about how long the weekends were getting and almost glad for an away game to break up the weekly trek to Happy Valley.  I should have to forfeit my tickets!  I’m still ashamed I felt that way especially when other die hard fans would give anything for the chance to see PSU, much like myself in 2005.  This year I won’t be going to every game and I’ll be giving up my tickets so others can enjoy a couple home games.  I have a few extra tickets for some games I’m going to this year and I’m been trying to find some friends to go along with me.  I think I need to find some new friends…I’m smiling when I say that.  Who would think that offering tickets to people for face value would be so tough.  I’ve heard, I’m saving money, It’s too much money to go to a game and stay in a hotel…I’ll agree it’s not cheap for lodging, BUT IT”S A PENN STATE GAME…spoil yourself!  What about, well I’m busy that weekend do you have others?  MAKE YOURSELF UNBUSY…it’s PENN STATE! I give props to my girlfriends little sister, who has never been to a game before…She doesn’t even know who is playing, but she’s dying to go and didn’t think too much of the cost to go to a game.  She’s going to have a great time and I think she’ll appreciate what it means to go to her first home game.

I guess the point of my rant is that having season tickets is a priviledge not many have.  Don’t take it for granted if you have them and if someone offers you a ticket to a game, don’t think, just take it and figure out how to get out of your plans later.  Someone in the Nittany Nation is dying for Penn State tickets that you might be passing up.     This season is going to be a great one…grab any tickets you can and get inside Beaver Stadium…it will change the way you look at Penn State and College Football forever.

A couple days ago five players were selected as the 2008 captains for Penn State. Josh Gaines and Anthony Scirotto were selected as the defensive captains. Derrick Williams and A.Q. Shipley were selected as the offensive captains. Also, Sean Lee was selected as an honorary captain due to the knee injury he suffered in spring practice.

This annoucement means one thing for sure, the 2008 season will be here before we know it. The Blue White game has come and gone and soon we’ll be allocating entire weekends to football. I can’t wait!

This season should be an interesting season. We have to wait to see how the QB situation will work out, but either Darryl Clark or Pat Devlin will be a nice change at QB. Wide receiver is stacked once again and the wideouts should be key to the success of the offense. Thankfully the O line is experienced this year, which should lead to a good run game and pass protection should be better.  If Darryl Clark is behind center, he’ll give the offense another option if things break down. 

I hope this season we can overcome the off field issues we had last year and get back to playing football.  I think the selected captains will provide plenty of leadership this year.  If some of the guys step out of line, I think we have some more vocal guys that will put them in their place. 

Overall a fine group of captains.