The Streak

I try, I really do, not to talk too much about Penn State in this space. Besides, I know some of you don't care one bit about Penn State.

But this week, I have no choice. I have to write about Penn State. Because this week, Penn State plays Michigan.

And Your Editor is already bracing for defeat.

I can't say I honestly believe Michigan has been better than Penn State in each of these teams' last eight meetings. At least three times, Penn State had the better team (1999, 2002 and 2005). But of course, none of that mattered: Michigan beat us anyway.

In fact, they've beaten us eight straight times.

No team in the entire history of Penn State football has owned the Nittany Lions like Michigan has. Yes, Bear Bryant and Alabama gave Joe Paterno a hard time in the 70s and 80s--there was that heartbreaker at the Sugar Bowl in '79, of course, and 'Bama even beat the Nittany Lions in '82, when Penn State went on to win the national championships.

But Alabama never beat Penn State, as Michigan has, eight straight times.

Eight straight times.

The odds of eight straight wins in any series happening--at least when you’re talking about two schools that would both be considered long-time powerhouses--are not good. Not good at all.

So how has Michigan pulled it off? Well, first, they've fielded some pretty damn good football teams. There was the 1997 national championship team, which boasted maybe the best Big Ten defense ever. The 1999 team had a guy named Tom Brady playing quarterback. Even last year's squad, despite a season-ending collapse, had Top 5 talent.

But Michigan's streak can't be entirely given over to talent. No, the Wolverines have also gotten a few fortunate breaks. And some help from the officials.

In 1999, the refs swallowed their whistles late in the game, when Michigan offensive lineman began blocking Courtney Brown by yanking on his facemask. In the 2002 game, a Tony Johnson reception inside the 20 that would have set up a game-winning field goal was ruled a non-catch--even though replays showed Johnson had both feet inbounds (the blown call was a major factor in the Big Ten's adoption of instant replay)--and Michigan went on to win in overtime. And, most heartbreakingly, in 2005, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr somehow convinced the referees to put two seconds back on the clock on his team's last desperate drive. Those two seconds came in handy, giving Michigan one last play. On that play, Chad Henne hit Mario Manningham on a post and the Wolverines handed the 2005 Lions their only loss of the season.

Not that I'm bitter.

And to be clear, I am certainly not blaming the streak solely on the refs. Plenty of blame has to go, as well, to the Nittany Lions. In many of these games, the Nits just haven't played well. They haven't been coached well. They've played scared.

Which is, now, what concerns me most.

Eight straight losses will do a number on your ego. And I can't help but believe that the Wolverines are now firmly implanted in the Nits' heads. There is a mental aspect to the Penn State-Michigan series that simply cannot be overstated.

Basically, what I am saying is this: I am not really sure if Penn State believes they can beat Michigan.

And that's a dangerous place to be.

Especially if, this week, you're a Penn State fan--and, like me, you're staring straight down the barrel of loss No. 9.

Out And About: News And Notes You May Have Missed

• I dug up this story this week and had to share, folks: LSU, as you may know, has a semi-famous mascot named Mike. He's the live tiger that the flagship university of the state of Louisiana parades around Death Valley prior to each home game. Sadly, Mike V died in the past year, and was recently replaced by the appropriately named Mike VI. LSU fans have been anxiously awaiting the debut of Mike VI, but according to reports out of Baton Rouge this week, they're going to have to wait a little while longer. Why, you ask? Well, here's why: Turns out that Mike VI grew up in Big Ten country (northern Indiana, to be exact) and when he was transported to southern Louisiana, he didn't exactly, well, adjust well. Explained LSU spokesman Ginger Guttner (who, with a name like that, we can only assume is super-hot): "He's panting more than Mike V did." What a quote. This horrible situation has left LSU officials in a tough spot. But despite the frantic cries of those die-hard Bayou Tigers fans, LSU is taking a hard stand, and have decreed that Mike VI will not make his Death Valley debut until the autumn brings more Midwestern-like temperatures. Explained the presumably super-hot Ginger Guttner: "A day game would just be too hot right now." What a quote.

• If you Midwesterners don't understand why the SEC is better (or, at least, meaner) than the Biig Ten, I offer you this as yet another example: This week, Georgia coach Mark Richt closed practice, in preparation for his team's game against Alabama, because he thought 'Bama coach Nick "I Lie At Every Opportunity" Saban would be spying on them. Now, take a moment to digest that. Richt closed practice to a rival team because he thought they were spying on them. More importantly, this event occurred and nobody outside of Athens and Tuscaloosa seemed to care. Meanwhile, in the NFL (snore ... snore ... snore) the same thing happens and, because the team involved in the "cheating" (whaaaaa) is located in JCSPN's beloved Boston (Lord knows JCSPN doesn't give a rat's ass about any city not named Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or, of course, South Bend), it's the end of the freaking world, and we are all asked to consider the massive implications of the event, complete with a trip to our local priest, rabbi or yogi. What does this tell you, folks? Well, I'll tell you: First, college football coaches are better than pro coaches, because even when they know their rivals are cheating, they don't cry like little whiny babies (Hi, Eric Mangini) about it. Instead, they take counter-measures and move on like big boys; second, it means that folks in the SEC really want to win. Public relations and rules be damned. Asked to explain his school's decision to close practice, an unnamed Georgia official said only the following: "We've been skunked in the past. We know it because of the way some teams have reacted to our [offensive] plays in a few games. We're trying to make sure it doesn't happen again." To which the ever-lying Saban said: "We were never accused of that, that I'm aware of, and we never did it."

• We now turn to the latest news out of South Bend, where The Myth of Charlie Weis is rapidly disintegrating. As you may have heard, the Irish quarterback who was named the team's starter for the season--a kid named Demetrius Jones--recently left South Bend for the University of Northern Illinois. Or, at least, he tried to. Jones' move comes--according to him, at least--after a series of events in which The Genius Manufactured By ESPN blatantly lied to Jones' face. Jones claims that Weis told him prior to the season that he was "the guy" for Notre Dame. Which was all well and good, of course, until, after Jones and the Irish laid an egg against Georgia Tech, Weis told the media that, really, true freshman Jimmy Clausen was the best quarterback on the team, and would have been the starter all along if not for an off-season injury. This didn't sit well with Jones, who felt lied to. So he jumped ship and left school. Though you can quibble with Jones' actions (which were, obviously, rather sophomoric), it does not excuse the actions of Notre Dame afterward. Which were the following: When Jones left and announced his intentions to play for UNI, Notre Dame quickly pounced and announced that they would not release Jones from his scholarship. This incredibly petty move by a university with roughly $80 billion in the bank means that Jones--a city kid from Chicago--will have to spring for his $14,000 tuition next year at UNI. Hey, thanks Notre Dame. That's really classy. Explained Jones: "When I heard Jimmy was the No. 1 all the way through spring and that the only thing that was keeping him out of the lineup was his surgery, well, that's not what I was led to believe going into the summer. I thought I was getting a chance because coach Weis believed in me. Then I didn't know what to believe anymore."

Quick Hits: Straight And To The Point

• I know I've said this many times this season already, folks, but I implore you: Please, please listen to the ESPN College Football Insider Podcast, each Thursday, with Ivan Maisel (a remarkable writer) and Beano Cook (the greatest sporting commentator ever). I promise you, you will learn something.

• I am no fan of Charlie Weis. I believe he's overrated. Arrogant. A self-promoter. But you know what? I commend The Overrated, Arrogant, Self-Promoting Man for his actions last weekend when, in the wake of his team's embarrassing loss to Michigan, Weis held a full-length, full-contact practice in South Bend on Sunday. Asked to explain why, Weis said: "Either you're going to whip them or they're going to whip you." That, folks, is just badass.

• Quotable: Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr, on the 2007 Nittany Lions: "Penn State has had great teams down through the years, and this is an outstanding football team in every phase of the game. It's truly one of the best Penn State defensive teams that I've seen."

• Quotable: Harrisburg Patriot-News columnist and longtime Penn State watcher David Jones, on how Penn State should attack Michigan this week--and, hopefully, end that streak: "I think if Joe Paterno simply coached a big road game for once like what he is -- the most job-secure man in Pennsylvania -- quarterback Anthony Morelli would be the least of Penn State's problems. ... Just once, I'd like to see PSU fling it around from the get-go. Gun it downfield between the hashes and down the seams on first down. And if that fails, do it again on second down. And if a pass gets picked off, keep doing it until it works." Folks, I tell you this--Jones knows of what he speaks.

• Who's the best quarterback in the Big Ten? Says Your Editor: It's Indiana's Kellen Lewis. And here's why: He's completing 60 percent of his passes. He's thrown for nine touchdowns. And he's rushed for 317 yards and three more touchdowns. Most remarkably, he's only 170 pounds. Said Hoosiers running backs coach Gerald Brown: "When you have a quarterback that is as dangerous as Kellen Lewis is, it just makes every aspect of your offense that much better. Kellen is the kind of player that keeps defensive coaches up late at night trying to find a way to stop him."

• Texas has not generally been thought of as a dirty program. But maybe it's time for that image to change. Last week, tailback James Henry was arrested on felony counts of obstruction and tampering. He is the sixth Texas player arrested since June. Clearly distraught Texas coach Mack Brown issued this statement in reaction: "I've got to go back and look at everything I'm doing. Twenty-three years as a head coach, I've dealt with more in six months than I have in 23 years."

• When Penn State senior tailback Rodney Kinlaw arrived on campus in Happy Valley five years back, he was considered a big-time talent--unfortunately, nobody seemed to care. Stuck on the depth chart behind former Nittany Lions tailback Tony Hunt and current starter/local hero Austin Scott, Kinlaw (cousin of Nittany Lion legend Courtney Brown) hasn't had many opportunities in his Penn State career. Though he made his name as a big-time kick returner (he averaged more than 29 yards per return in 2005 before suffering a knee injury in 2006), Kinlaw saw almost no time at the tailback spot--until now. Last week, Kinlaw spelled Scott and rushed for 129 yards in 23 carries, and figures to get plenty of time this week against Michigan. Asked this week about his long wait for playing time, the classy, quiet Kinlaw said: “I stayed patient. I just kept believing in God. I knew everything would work out. That’s what faith is all about -- things you can’t see.”