By James Grap
Sports Columnist
jpgso26@psu.edu
After the Nittany Lions'
spectacular season and near
spotless 10-1 record there are
two things I know for sure. First,
Penn State will be attending a
major BCS bowl game. Second,
thousands of Penn State fans
will follow. The Penn State
Alumni Association has had
information about available
bowl packages posted on their
website for some time now. The
interest in the bowl packages
has been unprecedented. To
date, there have been over
7,000 requests for information
on the bowl packages. I wonder
how many of those requests
come from Commonwealth
campuses like our very own
Penn State Harrisburg. I am
afraid it is not nearly enough.
If there is one thing that really
bothers me at Penn State
Harrisburg it's the lack of support
for Penn State. It is disgusting
the lack of pride people have
in their own college. I realize
we are not in Happy Valley but
we are still a very big part of
the Penn State family. Don't
tell me that we are not really
Penn State. Penn State has 19
Commonwealth campuses that
comprise approximately 37% of
Penn State's total enrollment.
The football team still represents
us every time they take the field.
I walk down the halls of Penn
State Harrisburg and the shirts
people have on are offensive.
I've seen people sporting USC
shirts, I've seen people in Florida
State shirts walking down the
halls, and worst of all, I've
seen people wearing incredibly
repulsive Michigan shirts on our
campus. I've even had to endure
ignorant Notre Dame fans.
I am tired of defending my
college to my classmates. How
can you attend one college
and support another, much
less one of its rivals? It seems
ridiculous to consider buying
stock in one company and then
buying the products of one of its
competitors. That is exactly what
you are doing when you attend
Penn State but support another
college team. You are buying
your education at Penn State.
Your diploma will say Penn
State. It is ludicrous to then turn
around and support another
college.
The football team is playing
for you. They support you every
time they take the field. You
don't have to go to the bowl
game or attend all the games,
just support your team when
they play for you. The university
stands to make millions of
dollars because of the great
success of the football team.
These are millions of dollars
that will go into the university,
essentially to you. If you don't
like the football team, that's
fine, the rest of us will keep
our money, but get out of our
college. So as the bowl season
approaches give the Nittany
Lions what they deserve;
support and respect. Say it with
me now, "We Are . . . PENN
STATE!!"
Orange bowl battle of the coaches
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI - When their teams last
met, Bobby Bowden asked Joe
Paterno how much longer he
planned to stay in coaching.
Sixteen years later, the legends
may have that conversation
again.
Florida State (8-4) and Penn
State (10-1) will meet in the
Orange Bowl at Miami on Jan. 3,
a game that'll mark a showdown
between major college football's
two winningest coaches. It's the
sixth Bowl Championship Series
appearance in eight years for
the Seminoles, the first-ever for
Paterno's third-ranked Nittany
Lions.
And neither septuagenarian _
Paterno turns 79 later this month,
Bowden is 76 _ wishes to play
a starring role in the pregame
hype.
"I think we just ought to forget
about the Bobby Bowden-Joe
Paterno relationship," Paterno
said. "I think we ought to be
looking atiwo good football teams
that are going to go down there
and have a chance to knock each
other's brains out."
Penn State shared the Big 10
championship with Ohio State,
but earned the league's automatic
BCS spot by beating the
Buckeyesaerliqr this season. The
. ' ales itreitwlowest-ranked
team in the BCS, finishing 22nd
in the final standings and getting
into the mix only by upsetting
Virginia Tech on Saturday for the
Atlantic Coast Conference title.
Still, game officials said they're
thrilled to have a Bowden-Paterno
matchup.
"We are extremely proud to
have two of the best here. ...
Two marquee coaches in the
game, one and two respectively,"
Orange Bowl CEO Keith Tribble
said.
Bowden has 359 wins, six
more than Paterno _ and both
steered their teams to surprising
comeback stories in 2005.
Breaking
By Matt Miller
Sports Columnist
mgmsooo@psu.edu
Who the hell is Danny Wuerfell?
Is Ron Dayne still alive? Is Gino
Torretta a player or a Mexican
dish? Maybe you know who these
players are, and maybe you
don't. At one point in time they
were the best at what they did,
and that was football. They are
all also winners of the Heisman
Trophy. The Heisman Trophy is
an honor awarded to the most
outstanding college football
player every year. Each season
these individuals leave us in awe
of with their amazing abilities,
and star studded stats. But what
is incredibly misleading is the
expectation for these players to
prevail as professionals in their
careers.
In the last ten years the award
was presented, there have only
been four (that's counting Ricky
Williams) successful Heisman
Trophy winners. And by success,
I mean they have had decent
NFL careers. Of course, they can
GO \GTO3CSBOVVLGAVT
Florida Seminoles' coach Bobby Bowden and PSU Lions' coach Joe
Paterno look forward to a well played showdown at this year's Orange Bowl.
haven't won a bowl game since
the 1999 season. But only a last
second touchdown by Michigan
kept Penn State from finishing
be successful
peewee football
coaches or lawn
chair salesmen,
but that has
nothing to do
with the Heisman
Trophy. And
of these four
players only
three still play
(still counting
Williams). So
what is the
deal? Why are
there so many
Heisman busts?
The answer lies
in the description
of the award.
The Heisman
Trophy is
awarded
to the most
OUTSTANDING
college football player every year.
Being the most outstanding and
being the best are two different
things when it comes to college
football. Sure Ron Dayne was
the most outstanding player in
this regular season with a perfect
record.
Bowden says he couldn't be
happier that his longtime friend
has the Nittany Lions back
the Heisman Curse
The Heisman may not always be awarded to an NFL ready player.
1999, he rushed for 1,834 yards,
with a 6.1 average. He scored
19 rushing touchdowns, and
broke the all-time college rushing
mark set by Ricky Williams, with
6,925 yards. But it was the player
The Capital Times, December 9, 2005
Photos courtesy of Google Images
bad year. You
can have a bad series of years.
You can have a bad cycle, but
that's not the end because you
can come back."
Photo courtesy of Google Images
the NFL takes
great intelligence and physical
ability. Often these Heisman
winners have the physical tools
but lack the intelligence to play at
a higher level. It is also possible
that these players are a "product
my feeling that
nobody's going
to win forever.
You can have a
who finished
seventh in the
voting that
year that had
the greatest
impact in the
NFL, Alabama
running
back, Shauh
Alexander.
What spells
success in
college football
does not
always hold
true in the NFL.
Which is why
often times
quarterbacks
who post huge
numbers in
college often
times fail in the
NFL. To play in
staff," Paterno said. "Bobby
Bowden is a great coach. They're
going to bring a lot of people.
We're going to be playing down
in Florida, which is almost like an
away game and a home game for
Florida State. You know, we've
got our hands full."
of the system," meaning they only
succeed when placed into the
correct type of offense. Danny
Wuerfell threw for thousands of
yards and a ton of touchdowns
at the University of Florida. He
flourished under Steve Spurrier's
"Fun and Gun" pass happy
system at Florida. After being
selected to the New Orleans
Saints in 1997, he never played
good football again.
So does this year hold another
huge Heisman bust? This years
front-runners include USC
tailback Reggie Bush, Texas
quarterback Vince Young, and
USC quarterback Matt Leinart.
Both Young and Leinart have
the physical abilities to play the
quarterback position in the NFL.
It is only a matter if they can
adapt and grasp the intricacies
of NFL play. As for Reggie Bush,
well let's just say he maybe the
best college running back in the
last ten years, think the next
coming of Marshall Faulk. All of
this predicting is such an inexact
science, so I guess only time will
tell.