BCS Playoff Idea dead...at least for now

So the BCS meeting that took place in Florida this week has come back with no change in the format, and that means that there will be no playoff to determine the champion for the foreseeable future.

I have mixed feelings about the BCS playoff idea. Part of me thinks it would be great because it would more accurately determine the best team in any given year, however the other part of me loves the BCS controversy, even if some teams to get the shaft.

However, a playoff system isn't the only thing that the BCS needs to consider in terms of changes they need to make to at least stop some of the whining. This whole concept of only two teams per conference being able to play in the BCS is completely outrageous. There have been many instances where the worse team has gone to the BCS in favor of the better team because of this rule; most memorably for me was in 20006 when Notre Dame got the nod to play in the Sugar Bowl over a better Wisconsin team, who was deemed ineligible because Michigan and Ohio State were already representing the Big Ten.

Speaking of Notre Dame, this "ten wins and you're in" model for non-BCS conference teams also needs to be changed. We saw that this year with Hawaii when they got completely dismantled by Georgia.

These are just my thoughts, and I want to hear what you guys think, so post your opinions in the comments below and get a good discussion going. 

Welcome to the party Mark Arcidiacono and Malcolm Willis

Penn State picked up two commits this week in offensive tackle Mark Arcidiacono and safety Malcolm Willis.

Arcidiacono, despite having a 100% unpronounceable name, is 6'5", 285 pounds, and as a junior was named second-team All League.

Not too much is known about either of these guys, but one thing is for certain, Willis has one of the best pictures that I have seen of a recruit:

 PHOTO: Scout.com

This was clearly his Myspace profile picture that he took himself.

That picture is only second to this one, thanks to Brian over at MGoBlog:

 PHOTO: Rivals.com

Oh, and in other news, Michigan and Ohio State continue to kick our ass on the recruiting front. That is all.

Bye Bye Kevin Newsome

Kevin Newsome has just committed to Michigan. Not a huge blow because I would rather have Forcier than Newsome, but it just means that we are putting our eggs in one basket once again. Maybe this will sway Forcier more towards Penn State and take Michigan off the table for him now that Newsome has committed to the Wolverines.

Confirmed: Lee tears right ACL

ESPN:

Lee will have surgery within the next two-four weeks and rehabilitation will take approximately nine months, according to Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Penn State's Director of Athletic Medicine.

"I have a responsibility to the team to help do everything I can this year in what might be a non-conventional way," Lee said in a school news release. "I have to turn this into a positive. It's a bump in the road. I'm excited about the team we have and the kind of season we can have. It's a great opportunity for a young guy."

Well that is what we all thought. I have made peace with this today so this news isn't too much of a shock. He will get the redshirt and we will see him on the field in 2009. Major blow, but the kid has fantastic character and he will be back. Gotta love him.

More bad news

Sean Lee has a possibly serious knee injury.

Standout Penn State linebacker Sean Lee suffered a potentially serious right knee injury Friday that could force him to miss the upcoming season.

"He was blitzing a quarterback, and his knee slid out from under him," Lee's father, Craig, told the Mirror on Friday evening. "We don't know the extent of it at this point."

The severity of the injury won't be known until Saturday morning, both Craig Lee and Penn State spokesman Jeff Nelson said. The Lee family was on its way to State College on Friday evening to visit Sean on campus.

This is absolutely terrible. It could be his ACL which would mean that he would probably miss the entirety of the 2008 season. However, he does have a redshirt available meaning that Lee could come back in 2009 and play, and Penn State is fairly deep at linebacker so we could give some young guys playing time. The worst part of it is the loss of leadership on the field.

We'll know more on Saturday morning (I assume he is going to have an MRI), so I will keep you updated on this situation.

Am I the only one that this worries?

We got absolutely dominated in the 2008 recruiting class by Michigan and Ohio State, there is no way to put a good spin on that. But, unfortunately it is starting again for the 2009 recruiting class. (Keep in mind all this data comes from Scout.com)

Ohio State Commits

Position	National Rank	National Rating	Name (State)	Commit Date
S	17	3 stars	Jamie Wood (OH)	2/24/2008
WR	18	4 stars	Chris Fields (OH)	2/19/2008
CB	6	4 stars	C.J. Barnett (OH)	2/10/2008
OT	20	3 stars	Jack Mewhort (OH)	12/29/2007
FB	Not Ranked	1 star	Adam Homan (OH)	12/29/2007
DT	3	5 stars	Johnny Simon (OH)	12/26/2007
MLB	7	4 stars	Storm Klein (OH)	10/14/2007
MLB	3	4 stars	Jordan Whiting (KY)	9/1/2007

 

It's only the beginning of April and that is already a very impressive list. The standout from that list has to be Johnny Simon, who coincidentally is currently attending Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio, the same high school that Brandon Beachum attended.

I don't see how we can start beating Ohio State on the football field if we cannot beat them in recruiting.

Michigan Commits

Position	National Rank	National Rating	Name (State)	Date Commited
S	NR	1 star	Isaiah Bell (OH)	3/31/2008
RB	NR	1 star	Teric Jones (MI)	3/29/2008
CB	12	4 stars	J.T. Turner (OH)	3/28/2008
DT	4	5 stars	William Campbell (MI)	6/21/2007

 

Not as impressive a list as the one Ohio State has, but still not shabby for this early in the process. I think you will find that Michigan fans aren't worried given the amount of talent the Wolverines were able to pull in last year on NLOID.

Penn State Commit

Position	National Rank	National Rating	Name (State)	Date Commited
C	Not Ranked	1 star	Ty Howle (NC)	3/23/2008

 

Oh...oh my goodness. I know, I know, early April, but look at how far behind the 8-ball we are on this class compared to the other Big Ten powerhouses. 1 commit, and not a very impressive one at that. That is just unbelievably bad.

If Penn State is going to regain any respect in the Big Ten and once again contend for a national title, this has to get better. NLOID 2009 is just 10 months away, and the Nittany Lions already have some serious work to do.

Once you pop, you can't stop

Turns out that is not only true for Pringles potato chips, but also true for Penn State basketball player Stanley Pringle, who has been charged with masturbating in the library. The reasons that this is worrying are two fold:

1. It's so unbelievably bizarre. Come on Stanley, can you not keep it in your pants until you get home? You had to whip it out right there in the library, next to some girl!? And apparently that wasn't the first time that you did it either:

A similar incident occurred on March 21 on the second-floor landing of McElwain Hall's main stairwell between 8 and 8:15 p.m, when police said a man entered the building behind the woman and followed her to the stairwell landing where he began to masturbate. A similar description of the man was given in both incidents, police said. No charges have been filed for the McElwain Hall incident.

Oh Stanley, oh my dear Stanley.

The second reason that this is worrying is that the legal troubles for Penn State athletics continue, and now they are spreading to other sports. Sure, having a ton of problems with the football team was bad enough, but now that it is involving basketball players as well is a bit more than I can handle.

Hopefully the players will be able to behave themselves in the future, and Stanley, might I suggest the bathroom for doing...that...in the future. Not the library bathroom, not your friend's bathroom, your own bathroom! Jeez!

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In football related news, I have gotten extremely excited about Penn State football prospect Tavon Austin. He's not the biggest guy on the field at 5'9.5" and 170 pounds, but he is quick and can juke some guys as well. For some reason I'm not able to embed highlights from his junior year on here, but you can check them on Youtube here.

Not only were the highlights the reason that I have become interested in him, its what he's been saying about Penn State. We've already given him an offer, and he says that Penn State is in his top two:

With more offers than he can count right now it should be a heated battle to land this outstanding prospect. In this interview with Scout.com's Dave Berk, Austin names Penn State and West Virginia as his leaders.

Unfortunately you do have to be a Scout.com subscriber to see that interview, but you don't have to be a subscriber to see that article.

However, it is very early, and Tavon has said that he doesn't want to commit until January of '09, so just because Penn State and WVU are his top two right now, it doesn't mean that this will be the case come time for his commitment. Also, he has been compared to WVU running back Noel Divine, which could be a reason why he might be favoring WVU at this time.

Only time will tell on this one, and I will be keeping a close watch on him as the recruiting process moves along.