NCAA FOOTBALL Paterno makes a bold call in Bolden For the first time in PSU history, a true freshman will start a season ALEC ITALIANO True freshman Robert Bolden beat out two experi enced quarterbacks as coach Joe Paterno made the bold move last Wednesday for him to start in the home opener against Youngstown St. This is certainly an uncanny move for the Nittany Lions and a first for Paterno's 45 years as head coach. A season has never been started by a true freshman and this is only the second time in Penn State his tory when a true freshman has started a game. Wally Richard son was the last true freshman to start a game, and that was in 1992 in the pre Big-10 days. "Based on what we have seen to this point, Bolden has a slight edge right now, but we are confident all three quarter backs are ready to go and hope to give them an opportunity to play until we settle on the one that gives us the best chance to win," Paterno said to ESPN. Bolden, a four-star recruit from Orchard Lake, Mich., graduated from St. Mary's Prep. As a senior, he went 72 of Big-10 makes split, separated from the The hig ten conference has begun the first of possibly many shakeups in the highly controversial NCAA football system cur rently in place, and it is creating a lot of excitement throughout the NCAA, especially in University Park, PA. Last Wednesday, conference commissioner Jim Delany revealed a split of the old Big-10 conference between two unnamed divi sions that will be effective at the start of the 2011 NCAA regular football season. Division one (for lack of a better term) will in clude Michigan, Nebraska, lowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern; Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pur due and Indiana in division two. The Big-10 conference did have 11 teams in it before and was forced to add Nebraska to the mix to make the two divisions equal at six apiece. This does ul timately put Nebraska into a tougher division, but it would not be the first time a team would have to face a tough schedule coming into a new con ference. DIVISION ONE Nebraska lowa Michigan State Minnesota Northwestern Back in 93' when Penn State originally joined the Big-I0 it def initely brought the end to many rivalries already in place and put Penn State into a very odd spot being forced to play new teams not previously faced that often. The Nittany lions always were always considered a bit out of place since they joined the conference. Head coach Joe Paterno fought hard to create a Big East conference at the time, but it all fell through as Penn State was forced to join the other powerhouse football schools in the mid-west. Also the natural rivalries Penn State had with eastern teams in I. '' Lau „ i4AoaE l Ak i THe lady lions blanked Medaille in their season opener 9-0 last Thursday 152 passing for 1,013 yards, seven touchdowns and also ran for 535 yards according to ESPN.com. Bolden follows Daryl' Clark who was the starter for the last two seasons before graduating last spring. Clark revolution ized the PSU offense as he led the "spread HD" offense to the record books, but the game plan is to not change the cur rent offense for Bolden. "I don't think the offense will change at all," receiver Derek Moye said to ESPN. "We'll go out there and stick to our game plan." Another freshman quarter back in contention was true freshman Paul Jones, but was given the redshirt for the 2010 season. Sophomores Matt McGloin and Kevin Newsome were the real competition for Bolden, but after a long, grueling pre-sea son in what was one of the most covered quarterback con troversies in Happy Valley his tory, they were shown to the bench as Bolden will take the charge for the Penn State Nit tany Lions this Saturday. Behrend Bottom Line ~~1 True freshman Robert Bolden rushed for over 500 yards atSt. Mary's Prep as a senior. the 'Bos disappeared. The biggest and most obvious rival ship that vanished was that off Pitt and Penn-State, but also big games be tween Maryland, West Virginia and Syracuse were all lost in the mix-up. Now with this new system, the possibility of these rival games coming to light is more of a possibility depending on how the "new" Big-10 decides to handle all the cross-over conference matchups. Many would love to see Pitt and Penn State play again after the rivalry has been dormant for a few years. For all those Michigan and Ohio State fans still reading do not be too disappointed about having one of NCAA footballs truly great rivals being put in separate conferences. The two teams will still play annually, and from the sound of it, the game will be the last one of the season for the two organizations. The possibility of revisiting each other for the championship game a week or two later is also likely and it will be held on a neutral field, which has never been done before. That is all that is set in stone right now until the sporting world receives more information from the desk of Mr. Delany. It is likely that more teams could be added to these two ghost divi sions right now which calls out a lot of Independent schools right now and possibly even a re-shuffling of the Big East division if need be further down the road. ALEC ITALIANO sports editor As for the financial aspect of the situation, it is favorable for just about every team involved because of the rivalries that were either re-instated or preserved. Also, this does lay the groundwork for a possible playoff system in seasons to come if commissioners around the nation follow suit and the right amount of money can still be made. In the end, it is money that makes these decisions. ^3F , :,«.1- - ... i.:l.'+~NkV. L _.:..r-ern - . R`.:6~l.'uTGr'l~Ytl".A+ Y Al%lNa'.:.'tM'f#Kk'~: "T i9~.~ '. GOLF The team starts off their sea son in Bradford Saturday against Pitt-Bradford 41(011 P pOth FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 Penn State pack in 2011 DIVISION TWO Ohio State Penn State Wisconsin Illinois Indiana WOMEN'S AND MEN'S SOCCER The Herb Lauffer invitational kicks off this weekend at the Behrend fields. Women's games are at 10 AM and 12 PM and Men's games are at 2 PM and 4 PM both Saturday and Sunday WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL Queens of aces call up young guns Team calls on their under- classmen to pick up the slack of lost personel KAELA BISHOP senior reporter Just last season, Behrend's women volleyball team reached the AMCC Championship match. The team was able to take third place in the ECAC bid and an overall of 22-11. Though the team lost five starters, there is still a ton of talent to work with. The younger players have shown their abilities during practices. "I'm impressed with the sig nificant progress being made from the rest of our sopho mores: Marry Sperry, Carly Higham, Alyssa Pears, Lexy Weissinger, and Jessica Woods," said head coach Phil Pisano. "They're all been fo cused on playing a larger role for us and competing hard each day, while also being very wel coming to our new members." Pisano is entering his seventh year as head coach. Under Pisano, the Lions have had a record of 50-5. Pisano has been named AMCC Coach of the Year in 2005, 2006, and 2008. Danielle Woods is entering this season as the only senior on the team. Named the 2009 Team MVP, led the team with 454 digs and tied for second with 42 aces. Woods is cur rently ranked ninth on the pro gram's all-time list with 1,216 career digs and 144 aces. Pisano said, "She's pushed herself to be more vocal in practices. She's able to play at a consistently high level and forces others to match her work ethic to keep up." Leadership will also come from the team's only junior, Stefanie Kelley. "I am very excited to see this season begin because we have a strong athletic freshmen class who are helping us to compete at a higher level in practice," said Kelley. "Since our younger players came in with a solid volleyball background, we've been working on enhancing their skills to become the best athletes they can be." In the 2009 season alone, Kel ley collected 319 digs, 73 kills, 20 aces and six blocks. "She's also taken on a large role as a leader." Pisano said, "Stefanie is very versatile, un derstands the game quite well, and shares that knowledge with her teammates." Another player to watch for is Mary Sperry. Sperry, is a sophomore, but has the most experience of her class. Sperry was named All-AMCC honor able mention and Team Rookie of the Year in 2009. "Mary Sperry is our most ex perienced sophomore and has also stepped up to help push her teammates," said Pisano. "She plays with a high level of energy and holds herself to a high standard; both of which are traits we want the whole team to emulate." The team, however has not been discouraged from the lack "I'm impressed with the signifi cant progress being made from the rest of our sophomores... They've all been focused on play ing a larger role for u 5..." Phil Pisano Head coach of experience. Talent, athleti cism, and motivation are only a few a factors driving this team to another successful season. Pisano said, "I absolutely be lieve we have a team that can capture a conference champi onship this fall. There will be some bumps along the way, but we're going to be a much differ ent and much better team in November." PSBLions.com Sophomore Mary Sperry (left) chats with her team mates before a serve Sperry was named rookie of the year as a freshman last season and will be looked to- wards to show leadership to the young
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