Tough luck, RU

If Schiano manages to keep even half the talented kids in-state, they'll be a top-10 program annually.

As MCEchan said, they don't have the talent depth, but there are plenty of really good kids who come from Jersey. Provided Al Golden doesn't get too much of a foothold in suburban Philly/eastern Pennsylvania, that area's also ripe for the picking since Penn State has been slacking there somewhat. Only major gets there in recent years for PSU have been Dan Connor and Pat Devlin.

 

He wouldn't be the first one to do something like that, and he wouldn't be the last.

 

I concur. They should play a seven minute, thirty-second extra period. The team that kicked off last to start a half should receive the ball in the OT period.

I was at the Ole Miss-Arkansas game in 2001 that went five OTs. The OT periods as played in that game lasted nearly as long as regulation did. Cheerleaders quit cheering after the second overtime. They just sat on the sidelines. Fans quit cheering by the fourth overtime. It was exhausting and it blew my deadline. All I had the next morning was the final and an 8" recap.

That overtime caused me to work Sunday, most of the day, to get our game package set for Monday's sports. It was the biggest Monday sports at that small daily ever. And I had the obligatory column on how OT sucks in college football.

 

I meant to add in my above post that those decrying the NCAA and BCS alliance should also decry the overtime format. It's much more damaging to the sport than is the lack of a playoff.

Even if there were a playoff system in D1, people would still be bitching about how its unfair. And somewhere, somebody would be responsible for determining which teams are in the playoff each year. I think a playoff would give us Michigan, USC, Ohio State, Florida, Texas, LSU and Oklahoma every year, plus a few wildcard-type teams that would be seeded against the No. 1s and No. 2s in the nation.

People would be bitching.

 

I've covered a five OT and a six OT game, and the fans (at two different stadiums) were really loud the entire time.

 

In defense of my alma mater ... Maryland, after going to the Orange Bowl, did win the Peach Bowl and the Gator Bowl the next two years, winning 10 games all three of those years. But the point is taken.

 

Friedgen won with many of Vanderlinden's players and a few juco kids tossed in. He seems to have had middling success with his own recruits.

Schiano is winning with his OWN players. Players HE recruited. He has built the thing from bottom up. He took his lumps early on, and he easily could've been canned after last year had they not gotten to a bowl game. He didn't take the quick, easy way out by raiding the jucos, a la Bill Snyder. That's why I don't think he'll be as quick to leave as people like suburbia think.

What great jobs are out there right now? Miami is a mess, with substandard facilities and some internal issues. Alabama, well, that's been covered in the Shula thread. The only jobs I see opening up this year that Schiano even would consider are Penn State if Paterno decides to hang it up and USC were Pete Carroll to be stupid enough to go for Round 3 in the NFL with the Cardinals.

 

OK, now that everyone knows Rutgers is a legit program and it won't be sneaking up on anyone, will they get to a BCS bowl next year, presuming they get a similar performance next year?

 

If Schiano stays, they upgrade the schedule (which did drag them down), and the players learn how to handle success, then yes, it's possible. The only major loss on offense that I know of is Leonard; Rice and Teel both return, and I don't think they'll lose that much on defense either.

But Louisville and West Virginia aren't going anywhere, so winning the Big East, will be daunting. And the league's strength is such that an at-large BCS bid is still going to be very unlikely.

And all of this is dependant on Schiano actually staying, which I'll believe when the press conference is held.

 

Armchair, while PSU would benefit greatly from Schiano's connections in the Northeast, I don't think he's got a legit shot. Tom Bradley should be the guy. He's a great recruiter and shown his chops since Sandusky retired. His defenses generally have been stout. Paterno's making the choice, and I think they're staying inside the family tree for that one, when it happens.

If PSU were to go outside the program, Schiano and Randy Edsall (Pennsylvania native) could be high up on that list.

 

Rip Engel laid a foundation for Penn State, JoePa built it.