With the Capital One Bowl looming, the Penn State football team began
preparation for the big game last week. On Friday, Penn State held its bowl
media day.
In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll go inside bowl
media day and take a look at the the Penn State basketball programs. Let’s start
with bowl media day.
After his players addressed the media at Penn State
Capital One Bowl Media Day, it was coach Joe Paterno’s turn.
He was in a
relatively chipper mood as he spoke with the media in the auditorium at the
Lasch Building.
Coach Joe Paterno met with the media on Friday.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
A look at some of the highlights from the
afternoon:
The Matchup: Paterno said that he hasn’t had a chance to look
at much film of 9-3 LSU. After the bowl matchups were announced on Dec. 6,
Paterno said that he spent much of the week traveling.
“(On Thursday) we
went down to Orlando and got back just in time for me to go to a practice
session we had,” he said. “So I have not looked at a tape. So I’ll get to it
next week and we won’t practice.”
Bobby Talk: There were a plethora of
questions asked about Bobby Bowden, who will coach the Seminoles for the final
time in the Gator Bowl. Paterno said that he spoke with Bowden shortly before he
stepped down.
He was sorry to see his colleague go.
“Bobby has
done a fantastic job for Florida State. What happened there, I don’t have all
the ins and the outs,” Paterno said. “I think it’s disappointing to see a
colleague that you respect and admire and appreciate the job he’s done to be in
the middle of all this turmoil.”
The Seminoles finished the regular
season at 6-6. At the conclusion of the season, the Florida State brass forced
Bowden into retirement.
Paterno said that he hated to see it end that
way.
“He’s a great guy, he really is. If he wanted out, fine. If they
forced him out, I wouldn’t be happy about that. But I don’t know all the ins and
outs,” Paterno said.
Matter of Respect: While many of his players said
that they feel that a win over LSU is a must if the Nittany Lions are going to
get respect on a national level, Paterno disagreed.
“I don’t look at it
that way. We are playing a really fine team with a great tradition with a great
fan base,” Paterno said. “It’s going to be an exciting game. And I think the
kids are … a little bit too much humble pie. I think they did a good
job.”
The Nittany Lions are 10-2 but have not beaten a ranked team all
season.
“They won 10 games … 10 games, it’s tough to win these days. I
don’t care who you play or when you play them,” Paterno said.
LSU enters
the game with a 9-3 mark. Its losses are to Ole Miss, Florida and
Alabama.
More Time For Newsome: Paterno was asked if Kevin Newsome will
get more time in the next couple of weeks since he will be taking over for
Daryll Clark at quarterback in 2010.
Newsome has gotten little playing
time in 2009 and Paterno said that he doesn’t see that changing at the Capital
One Bowl.
“We are going to try to win the game. I’m not interested in
this,” Paterno said. “Because we had some extra practice time up here, we have
been able to give him and the other kid behind him (Matt McGloin) a few more
reps.”
At the 2007 Alamo Bowl, the Lions had several plays designed for
Daryll Clark.
Don’t expect to see that in Orlando.
“That’s a
different situation. Clark had been here three years. This is Newsome’s first
year. He’s a true freshman even though he came in January,” Paterno
said.
Bad BCS: Paterno was asked again about the BCS. And once again, he
said that he doesn’t like the system — something he’s said many, many times
before.
“How can I change my opinion when I don’t like it to start with?
You’re not talking to a BCS guy. I think it’s for the birds,” Paterno said
matter-of-factly.
Injury Report: According to Paterno, the Nittany Lions
will head to Orlando in relatively good health. Wide receiver Chaz Powell missed
the regular season finale with a right shoulder injury but should be ready to
play in the bowl game.
“I can’t tell you the future,” Paterno said.
“Right now, he is practicing.”
Happy Birthday: Paterno will celebrate his
83rd birthday while the Nittany Lions are in Orlando.
Will he be doing
anything to celebrate the big day?
“I don’t know,” Paterno said. “I’ll
probably be at church praying that I make it another year.”
Coquese Washington is 10-27 in conference play during her three seasons at
PSU.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
State of
State
Where do the Penn State basketball programs stand this season? Well, if
you’ve been paying attention, they’re both right about where we expected them to
be.
First, there’s the men. After stumbling in Charleston, S.C., the
Nittany Lions have bounced back nicely. They’ve lost a couple of close games (at
Temple, vs. Virginia Tech) but it’s still early.
The good is, well, uh,
Talor Battle. This team will go as far as Battle takes them. The bad news is
that no one has stepped up to replace Jamelle Cornley, who was lost to
graduation. If no one fills that void, it could be a long season once the Lions
get into Big Ten play.
On the women’s side, things are not looking up.
Coquese Washington’s squad lost its Big Ten opener at Minnesota. Her squads are
now 10-27 in conference play in her three seasons at PSU. That’s not just bad,
that’s awful.
The good news for the Lady Lions is that they were able to
spring an upset over No. 15 Pittsburgh on Saturday. The bad news is that was
their first big upset since Washington’s first season with the Lady
Lions.
If things don’t improve, one has to question the direction of
Washington’s squad.
Chris Morelli is the award-winning editor of Blue
White Illustrated, a weekly publication devoted to Penn State athletics. He is
also a regular on “Sports Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and
State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com. This column
does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of BWI’s writers or
publisher.