It's now official: Penn State will play the defending national champions in 246 days.

Alabama just held off a late charge from Texas in tonight's BCS national championship game, earning a 37-21 win over the Longhorns in Pasadena. With an estimated 12 starters expected to return -- including Heisman winning running back Mark Ingram -- the Crimson Tide could very well be ranked No. 1 in the nation whent they host Penn State in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 11.

No. ?? PENN STATE (1-0) at No. 1 ALABAMA (1-0)
HOME	DETAILS	AWAY
	Sept. 11, 2010 Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
LINE: 'BAMA by 13? This will be the Nittany Lions' first game against a reigning national champ since nearly upsetting Ohio State at Beaver Stadium on Nov. 1, 2003. Of course both teams have a cupcake to chow down on before then, with Alabama playing San Jose State and Penn State dipping down even lower to play FCS Youngstown State on Sept. 4. The Lions will be led by an extremely green quarterback -- likely Kevin Newsome -- in his first career road start, a fact that should make PSU a heavy underdog. Penn State will have a major overhaul at quarterback and linebacker while also replacing two offensive linemen, the tight end, a cornerback and an All-America defensive tackle. Alabama loses its three top down linemen in the Tide's 3-4 base defense plus two defensive backs, two offensive linemen, the tight end and at least two linebackers -- probably three of four starters, as LB Rolando McClain is a potential first-round pick already. Two players who will be returning, however, are Ingram and wideout Julio Jones, both of whom will likely be the toughest the Lions face all season at their respective positions.

Here's a quick look at what will be one of the marquee non-conference matchups in the country in 2010.

--derek

QUARTERBACK: Greg McElroy is more of a caretaker than anything in the Tide's offense -- in the title game he was trusted to throw the ball just 11 times, completing six passes for 58 yards. If you compared him with Daryll Clark, Penn State would have the edge. But Clark is gone, and McElroy's experience from several big-ticket contests in 2009 will give him an enormous advantage over Kevin Newsome -- or whoever actually lines up at QB for the Lions.

RUNNING BACK: Evan Royster's return will slightly raise PSU's chances in this game, but obviously there's no comparison with Ingram. As a sophomore, the bruiser deservedly won the Heisman, torched Florida in the SEC championship and then rushed for 116 yards and two scores against Texas to win the national title. 'Bama loses Roy Upchurch but returns Trent Richardson for depth. Penn State has a large but fragile stable behind Royster.

RECEIVER: Though Alabama is predominately a run-first team, the Tide could be returning as many as five of their top six wideouts from this season, led by the immensely talented Jones. It will be interesting to see how Derek Moye fares for PSU without an experienced QB to get him the ball. The Lions lose no receivers of consequence, though both squads will need a new tight end -- a bigger loss for PSU, which got an excellent senior season from Andrew Quarless.

O-LINE: The Lions will have four guys with starting experience back in Wisniewski, Eliades, Pannell and Troutman. Where any of them actually line up to start 2010 is anyone's guess right now. My preliminary thought from left to right is Pannell-Troutman-Wisniewski-Eliades, with perhaps one of the big redshirt freshmen -- Shrive, Cadogan, Gress -- taking over at right tackle. Mike Farrell was a second-teamer in 2009. Alabama will be losing left guard Mike Johnson and right tackle Drew Davis.

D-LINE: Probably 'Bama's biggest concern headed into 2010, as replacing a guy like 354-pound Terrence "Mount" Cody at nose tackle won't be easy. Fellow starters Brandon Deaderick and Lorenzo Washington are also on the way out. PSU also loses its best lineman in Jared Odrick and will be looking for a big jump from DE Jack Crawford, who is still learning all of the nuances of the game. Crawford, Ollie Ogbu and part-time starter at DE Eric Latimore will likely by joined by Devon Still on the first team.

LINEBACKER: Heavy losses on both sides. Navorro Bowman has already announced his early departure from Penn State, and Alabama's McClain can't be far behind him now that the Tide's season is over. Penn State also loses captain Sean Lee, while the Tide bid goodbye to Cory Reamer and Eryk Anders. Both programs, however, do an excellent job of recruiting NFL-caliber linebackers and have guys who can step in for 2010. A healthy Michael Mauti is a no-brainer for the Lions, with Nate Stupar and Bani Gbadyu as relatively experienced fill-ins. Don't count out explosive underclassmen like Gerald Hodges and newly arrived freshman Khairi Fortt.

SECONDARY: Javier Arenas was one of the country's most dangerous covermen and will be a big loss for the Tide, who also lose starting FS Justin Woodall and some experienced depth at corner. Penn State goes without A.J. Wallace, who salvaged his career in the second half of 2009 and Knowledge Timmons, though the latter never made much of an impact. There's little doubt, however, that Alabama has recruited better athletes here, as PSU's returning safeties -- Astorino and Sukay -- are merely average. D'Anton Lynn is progressing, but the other corner job is up for grabs, with 5-foot-8 Stephon Morris perhaps graduating from the nickel package.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Big-time overhaul for the Tide here, as clutch kicker Leigh Tiffin leaves, as does punter P.J. Fitzgerald, who doubled as the holder. And of course, Arenas won't be around to return kicks and punts. Still, with Nick Saban's recruiting hauls, 'Bama shouldn't have to look far for an explosive replacement. Penn State did a terrible job all-around here in 2009, so we'll see if a lesson was learned in picking the right personnel for 2010. There's a very talented freshman class coming in for the Lions, and Joe Paterno may not be as conservative with the redshirts this year, even if its only to bolster return and coverage units that were pathetic this past year.

The 2009 season has officially come to an end now with Joe Paterno's final season-ending sitdown with the beat guys. There will be decisions by Navorro Bowman and Evan Royster in the next two weeks, and then national signing day in Feburary, spring practice starting toward the end of March and the Blue-White Game in April to start up the merry-go-round again for 2010.

Not as much newsworthy bits from Paterno this year as opposed to after last season's Rose Bowl, in which he admitted he would have probably retired rather than spend another season coaching from the press box.

But his hip replacement surgery was a complete success, and Paterno's Nittany Lions have now just polished off a second straight 11-win season -- a year devoid of controversy about health, his contract, his team's image, his team's discipline problems.

And so the 83-year-old coach might as well have been 43 today as he discussed the season, or late Friday afternoon as he sat proudly between his two captains at the postgame dais.

News items? There weren't too many. This was more like one of Joe's fabled storytelling sessions. Probably at the top of the list was an unsurprising tidbit that the QB position is now wide open.

So wide open that Paterno said he'll consider moving Brett Brackett back to quarterback. Brackett was recruited as a quarterback in the Class of 2006 but faded out of the spotlight when Penn State landed Pat Devlin near the end of that same recruiting season. He's been at wide receiver for essentially his entire college career, but has made little to no impact there. With the Lions in need of three new starting wideouts this year, Brackett not only failed to win one of the spots, he actually fell down the depth chart as the year went along, losing snaps to guys like true freshman Curtis Drake.

Paterno also mentioned Drake in this conversation, as the rookie played QB in high school, nearly leading West Catholic to a PIAA 2A title last year. Can't imagine Drake moving away from receiver, but I could definitely see Brackett going back to quarterback just to have an older guy work as depth with a group of sophomores and freshmen.

As I started typing this, one of those high school all-star All-America games was on TV. Believe this one was the UnderArmor sponsored game. And Penn State has just lost a recruit from its impressive class. Staten Island defensive end Dominique Easley, who had verbally committed to the Lions during the season, just put on a Florida hat. So open up one more scholarship (perhaps) for this year's class. Signing day is in little over a month.

--derek

Well, the rain has slowed down, but the damage has been done.

Here's a much blurrier photo of the current situation:

It's most apparent set against the blue of the PSU end zone, but it's like this throughout the surface as both teams go through their stretches. We're half an hour out from kickoff right now, and the stadium is still slowly filling up. The press box is on the LSU half of the stadium, so we're hearing all the boos when Penn State took the field.

In this weather, the LSU fans are going to stand out much better on TV because of the yellow ponchos that most are wearing.

Just had a chat with a Penn State official. Asked about the state of the field and just got a solemn shake of the head.

The rain is coming down harder now and you can see water starting to pool up in the end zones. The real problem is that there's a significant difference between the little patches of sod they had t put down after Tuesday's game and the stuff that was still down. The traction on some of the new patches will be like running on wet glass.

As I write this, the rain is getting still worse, and the field is now taking on a ton of water all over.

Happy new year, friends. The rain is coming down in Orlando, and all I can think of is one of the worst football games in recent history. That would be Dolphins at Steelers in 2007, a Monday night game after Thanksgiving.

That would be the infamous 3-0 game played in a slop that allegedly was once grass. The issue at Heinz Field that night was that the Steelers were forced to put down new sod over that weekend because the stadium had hosted four WPIAL championship games that Friday on top of a season full of Steelers and Pitt games.

And then the rains came. It poured for an entire day, and the new sod had little to no time to take root. The water, naturally, did not drain, and you end up with punts sticking into the muck like lawn darts.

Yeah, I don't think today's game will look quite like that. But there are obviously significant concerns over the grass here at Citrus Bowl Stadium, which has hosted six classifications of high school football championships and was just a wreck on Tuesday night for the Champs Sports Bowl.

In that game, Miami's Graig Cooper tore up his knee in fairly sickening fashion, as his right leg simply gave out on a kick return with no contact but the slippery, torn-up turf.

The new sod had about 10-12 days to take root following the high school games down here, so drainage may not be a major issue. But this stuff they have down now is a patchwork mess.

Aside from the worry about injuries, one imagines all of thos actually favors Penn State. A slow track definitely favors the Nittany Lions, and if the weather turns this one into a ground game -- well, LSU is down to its fourth-string tailback.

More as we get closer to kickoff.

--derek

The game is finally almost here after Joe Paterno and Les Miles had their pregame press conferences this morning out at LSU's team hotel inside the grounds at Seaworld.

Penn State actually seems to be the more relaxed team right now, and if the Nittany Lions were going to beat LSU -- a more talented team top-to-bottom -- now would certainly be the time. The Tigers are breaking in two brand new assistant coaches since their last game. They're down to their fourth-string tailback. Their quarterback, while promising, is only a 19-year-old sophomore, and doesn't have an acumen as an elite passer, an NFL-ready passer, like a Mark Sanchez, who shredded the Lions a year ago on New Year's Day.

On the flip side, LSU still fits the profile of Penn State's two losses this season. While the Tigers may not have the sheer power on the D-line as the Buckeyes, and to a lesser extent, the Hawkeyes, they still can give Penn State's patchwork O-line problems. And of course, Penn State's notorious problems on special teams could come into play.

Here's a closer look.

--derek

 QUARTERBACK

Daryll Clark has already cemented himself as the most statistically impressive signal caller in Penn State history. Heading into his final collegiate game, he holds most every career and single-season passing record – this after being something of a recruiting afterthought who was forced to head to prep school for a year before arriving on campus. In his two years as a starter, the Nittany Lions are 21-4, though a win against LSU would be the biggest notch in his belt. The Tigers’ Jordan Jefferson came on late last season as a true freshman to give LSU some much needed stability. He still has plenty to learn but has done an excellent job of protecting the ball, throwing just six interceptions. EDGE: PSU

It’s been a rough season for the Tigers’ backs, as few of them have been able to remain healthy. Leading rusher Charles Scott won't be available for the game after missing the last three contests with a broken collarbone. Other casualties this season have been Keiland Williams (ankle) and Richard Murphy (knee), both of whom have long-term injuries. It’ll likely be Stevan Ridley carrying the load. This could be the final Penn State game for junior Evan Royster, who could be headed to the NFL this spring. A big performance against a tough, talented defense would greatly boost his stock, especially after injury knocked him out of the Rose Bowl last season. EDGE: PSU
 

Simply put, there wasn’t a marquee receiver in the Big Ten this year. The closest thing was Minnesota’s Eric Decker, who missed the last quarter of the season with an injury. LSU’s Brandon LaFell, a sure-fire NFLer, will be the biggest challenge the Lions have faced all season. He’s joined by 6-foot-5 target Terrance Toliver, who starts opposite him. Penn State is much more spread out, as eight different players scored a receiving touchdown compared to five for the Tigers. LaFell has 10 of his team’s 18 TD catches. Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless will need to continue his strong play to open up a stingy defense. EDGE: LSU 

The most maligned unit on the season for Penn State, the O-line will likely make or break the Lions in this contest. Only three players – Dennis Landolt, Stefen Wisniewski and Lou Eliades have held down their positions for the entire season. Converted tackle DeOn’tae Pannell could start again at left guard, with Ako Poti still at right tackle. If the line plays as poorly as it did against Iowa or Ohio State, the Lions won’t have much of a chance in this one. LSU is anchored by big left tackle Ciron Black, another potential first-round draft pick. The starting center goes by the name of T-Bob Hebert, the son of former NFL quarterback Bobby Hebert. EDGE: LSU

Jared Odrick has received well-deserved accolades this offseason, earning a spot on multiple All-America teams and even picking up one of the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year awards. All season long, coaches have gameplanned specifically to counter the senior defensive tackle, and this game should be no different. His linemates have been solid this season, if unspectacular, as this unit is missing that one high-end pass rusher that Aaron Maybin or Maurice Evans could have been had one of them returned. Likewise, LSU is missing a true gamechanger up front after having Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey selected in the top five of the draft in back-to-back years. Despite not starting all season, DT Drake Nevis leads the team in tackles for loss (10.0) while Rahim Alem is tops in sacks (4.5). EDGE: PSU
 

The Tigers had a very productive season from their linebackers, as starters Kelvin Sheppard (103 tackles), Perry Riley (92) and Harry Coleman (77) finished 1-2-3 on the team in tackles. Backup Jacob Cutrera was fourth with 74. Only Sheppard missed a start this season – a luxury that Penn State didn’t have as standouts Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman were both hampered by injury throughout the year. The good news for the Lions is that both will be at full strength for the bowl game, and both looked strong in the regular season finale against Michigan State. EDGE: PSU 

For the most part, Penn State’s four new starters handled themselves well this season – as well as could be expected. The Lions got a boost from senior A.J. Wallace finally taking command of a starting spot midway through the year, including an impressive performance against Minnesota’s Eric Decker. Wallace, rated as one of the nation’s top athletes coming out of high school four years ago, will need to be at the top of his game against LSU’s Brandon LaFell. Last year’s starters fell on their faces in the Rose Bowl. This season’s group won’t have to face Mark Sanchez. The Tigers have forced 13 interceptions led by safety Chad Jones’ three. EDGE: LSU 

An Achilles heel all season long, Penn State’s special teams should be sweating just watching 5-foot-5 return specialist Trindon Holliday. Though he has just one touchdown on a return this season, it’s easy to see Holliday swinging a close game in LSU’s favor. Holliday is second in the nation in punt returns (17.7 ypr). Penn State’s longest meaningful punt return this year was 11 yards by Drew Astorino. He fumbled at the end of the play. The Lions are also on very shaky ground with kicker Collin Wagner, who was a pedestrian 11-for-18 on field goals this season. LSU’s Josh Jasper went 16-for-19, missing a chip shot and a pair of 50-yarders. EDGE: LSU

Certainly this is nothing against Les Miles and his excellent postseason record, a dominating 4-0 in his four bowl games at LSU, in which the Tigers have won by an average of four touchdowns, which includes a national championship at the end of the 2007 season. Both LSU and Penn State have superior track records when it comes to bowl game preparation. The Tigers, however, have had an unusual stretch in the past month where they lost two coaches, including influential assistant Larry Porter, who was Miles' assistant head coach. Also posing a bit of a distraction is the uncertain status of defensive coordinator John Chavis, who could possibly be jumping to SEC rival Georgia in the weeks after the game. Penn State, meanwhile, maintains the absurd longevity of its staff, giving them the Lions the edge here. But, much like last year's Rose Bowl, this one will come down to the players, not the coaches.  EDGE: PSU
 

PREDICTION: LSU 20, PENN STATE 10

(Author's note: This piece was written on Tuesday but was posted on Wednesday due to technical difficulties.)

Greetings from sunny Orlando, where it was (only!) in the 50s here today. Oh, just a slight step up from having to scrape half-an-inch of ice off of my windshield yesterday just to drive to lunch.

Penn State has been down here for about 10 days already, staying in Daytona Beach last week before coming on over to Orlando this week ahead of Friday's New Year's showdown against LSU in the Capital One Bowl.

The in-depth Cap One stuff here on The Blog will start tomorrow when the official media availability gets underway for both teams. Up to this point, it's been mostly photo-ops -- trips to the dozen theme parks in the area, a bowl-sponsored shopping spree at Best Buy, etc.

So for now, it's time for the last Around the Big Ten of the season as we take a quick look at the bowl schedule, in which the league will try to recover from last season's embarrassing 1-6 showing in the postseason.

Hope one and all had an enjoyable holiday.

--derek

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL No. 15 MIAMI (9-3) vs. No. 25 WISCONSIN (9-3) 8 p.m., today, ESPN Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
HOME	BOWL	AWAY
QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST LINE: UM by 4. The Orlando undercard is more intriguing than in many years past. Canes QB Jacory Harris and Wiscy RB John Clay will be the headliners, but defense will have to carry the day for one of these teams. The Badgers are a bit underrated in that respect, especially with DE O'Brien Schofield leading the way. Wisconsin's resume is nearly identical to Penn State's, playing solid football for almost the entire season, but clearly a step behind the cream of the crop. The Hurricanes should be a bit better prepared for this one, and the program seems ready to return to prominence under Randy Shannon. Canes by 7.

INSIGHT BOWL MINNESOTA (6-6) vs. IOWA STATE (6-6) 6 p.m., Thursday, NFL Network Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.
HOME	BOWL	AWAY
QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST LINE: UM by 3. Easily the least enticing matchup of the Big Ten bowl stable, it's just too hard to favor the Gophers, even against a similarly bland squad as the Cyclones. UM's Tim Brewster sought to make his offense more balanced by moving away from a spread attack and keeping QB Adam Weber chained to the pocket. In the first year of this transition, however, the offense has suffered. Things have gotten better since back-to-back embarrassments against Penn State and Ohio State in October, but their numbers are still basically identical to Iowa State's -- pushing close to 300 points allowed on the year. A key turnover for a score will lead to a four-point win for ISU.

OUTBACK BOWL NORTHWESTERN (8-4) vs. AUBURN (7-5) 11 a.m., Friday, ESPN Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
HOME	BOWL	AWAY
QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST LINE: AU by 8. NU gets a well-deserved bump up in the bowl pecking order after being on the wrong end of that sort of thing for years. Fortunately for the Wildcats, Tampa was getting a bit sick of hosting Wisconsin, so they reached down and went with Northwestern instead. The Cats face Auburn, which is still in a transition led by new coach Gene Chizik -- an unpopular choice in Dixie, to say the least -- the guy was actually booed when he stepped off the plane outside of Auburn to head to his introductory press conference. Ouch. Still, the Tigers improved this season and most certainly have more talent than the Wildcats. Northwestern and Mike Kafka will manage to keep this one close before another fourth quarter stumble makes this one looks more comfortable for the Tigers, who will win by 11.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL No. 13 PENN STATE (10-2) vs. No. 12 LSU (9-3) 1 p.m., Friday, ABC Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
HOME	BOWL	AWAY
LINE: PSU by 3. Full breakdown tomorrow, as usual. The biggest concern for Penn State? Special teams, without a doubt. There's a lot going in the Lions' favor here, especially as LSU is down to its fourth-string tailback and has had to replace two coaches since the end of the regular season, while the defensive coordinator is rumored to be jumping ship to Georgia for next year. LSU's Jordan Jefferson is a QB that Penn State can handle and is more in line with the type of talent they've seen in the Big Ten -- in other words, this one won't get out of hand in the second quarter like last year's Rose Bowl. All it takes is one poor kick to Trindon Holliday, however, and the entire game can change.

ROSE BOWL No. 8 OHIO STATE (10-2) vs. No. 7 OREGON (10-2) 4:30 p.m., Friday, ABC Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
HOME	BOWL	AWAY
QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST LINE: OU by 4. Imagine if Terrelle Pryor had gone to run Oregon's offense, which was one of his alleged four final schools. Or basically, anywhere but Ohio State, which has done a poor job of utilizing all of his talents in his first two years in Columbus. But where Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes can be lacking in creativity, they excel just about everywhere else. OSU has the defense to contain Chip Kelly's offense, and barring a barrage of turnovers from that mercurial quarterback, Ohio State has a very good chance in this one. OSU has proven that it can hang with anyone in the country, and this one will be no different. Buckeyes by a touchdown.

ALAMO BOWL MICHIGAN STATE (6-6) vs. TEXAS TECH (8-4) 9 p.m., Saturday, ESPN Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
HOME	BOWL	AWAY
QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST LINE: TTU by 8.5. Well. Michigan State has certainly caught a bit of a break in the past few days, as you've no doubt read by now. Basically everything was stacked against Sparty going into this game, including the suspensions and dismissals of several players involved in a bizarre brawl earlier in the fall. And then, in a matter of less than 48 hours, Tech coach Mike Leach was fired by the university after allegedly mistreating a player with a concussion who happened to be the son of ESPN talking head Craig James. Very strange situation. The Red Raiders are going to be in turmoil because of this -- and yet... they should still win going away. It's still the same offense, and Leach's Air Raid is just the worst possible matchup for Michigan State, which gave up more passing TDs than anyone else in the country in the regular season. Sparty is a bit healthier now, but they'll struggle to keep this one close. Tech by 20.

ORANGE BOWL No. 10 IOWA (10-2) vs. No. 9 GEORGIA TECH (11-2) 9 p.m., Saturday, ESPN Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
HOME	BOWL	AWAY
QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST LINE: GT by 4. This should be an entertaining contest, actually, unless you're one of those Penn State fans who is apparently protesting the Orange's decision to go with Iowa over the Lions by boycotting the game entirely. Their loss. Tech's triple option offense came together surprisingly quickly under Paul Johnson, who turned Navy's offense into a national force. You know what's coming, but it's executed so well that it's hard to stop. Iowa, however, should be in a good position to hold down Jonathan Dwyer and company thanks to an outstanding front seven that features intelligent and disruptive linebackers. Hawkeyes by 10.

 

About the Author

Derek joined The Times Leader sports staff in May 2006 and is the Penn State football beat writer. A 2006 Penn State graduate in journalism, he has been covering the program for various outlets since 2003, including working as a writer and an editor for four years at The Daily Collegian.

Derek also writes a regular blog for timesleader.com.

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