The Daily OrangeEASY DOES IT: Penn State has drawn criticism for its seeemingly soft non-conference schedule
By Andrew Meola
Posted: 9/10/09, 2:26 AM EST Section: Sports
Joe Paterno remembers a time when his Penn State Nittany Lions would take the field against the Syracuse Orangemen and epic battles would ensue.
He remembers Lenny Moore, one of his tailbacks, carrying the ball for more than 100 yards, while Jim Brown did the same for the opponent. He remembers running back Floyd Little burning the Penn State defense for three touchdowns and waving to him on the sideline as he breezed past him.
What was once a titanic matchup between two college football goliaths has been reduced to an afterthought on the Nittany Lions' schedule, a schedule some have criticized for its lack of non-conference strength. In the last few seasons, Penn State has scheduled vastly inferior non-conference opponents, putting it on the fast track to the national title game.
At least in theory that's how it would work. Last season, Paterno's team bulldozed its non-conference opponents en route to a 9-0 start, but eventually suffered its first loss - a 24-23 nail-biter to Big Ten foe Iowa - in the 10th week of the season. The loss put Penn State's national title contention in serious jeopardy.
But Paterno said he doesn't concern himself with the criticism his team receives because of its non-conference schedule.
"I don't even think about it," Paterno said on the weekly Big Ten coaches' teleconference Tuesday. "I don't think anybody knows who's tough or not tough. Syracuse looks like a pretty darn good football team to me. When we scheduled Syracuse, at that time, they were at the top of the pack."
Paterno was referring to the 2001 season, when Syracuse finished with a 10-3 record, including a victory over Kansas State in the Insight.com Bowl. The two longtime rivals scheduled a home-and-home series in June 2002, culminating Saturday at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa. (noon, Big Ten Network). In the first game of the home-and-home, the Nittany Lions beat the Orange, 55-13, last season at the Carrier Dome.
The misery of the Syracuse football program over the past four years does not need further documentation, but it provides more ammunition to those who say that the Nittany Lions pad their schedule to avoid non-conference losses. Penn State has feasted on non-conference opponents since 2004, going 16-1 over the last five seasons, with the only loss coming against Notre Dame in 2006.
He remembers Lenny Moore, one of his tailbacks, carrying the ball for more than 100 yards, while Jim Brown did the same for the opponent. He remembers running back Floyd Little burning the Penn State defense for three touchdowns and waving to him on the sideline as he breezed past him.
What was once a titanic matchup between two college football goliaths has been reduced to an afterthought on the Nittany Lions' schedule, a schedule some have criticized for its lack of non-conference strength. In the last few seasons, Penn State has scheduled vastly inferior non-conference opponents, putting it on the fast track to the national title game.
At least in theory that's how it would work. Last season, Paterno's team bulldozed its non-conference opponents en route to a 9-0 start, but eventually suffered its first loss - a 24-23 nail-biter to Big Ten foe Iowa - in the 10th week of the season. The loss put Penn State's national title contention in serious jeopardy.
But Paterno said he doesn't concern himself with the criticism his team receives because of its non-conference schedule.
"I don't even think about it," Paterno said on the weekly Big Ten coaches' teleconference Tuesday. "I don't think anybody knows who's tough or not tough. Syracuse looks like a pretty darn good football team to me. When we scheduled Syracuse, at that time, they were at the top of the pack."
Paterno was referring to the 2001 season, when Syracuse finished with a 10-3 record, including a victory over Kansas State in the Insight.com Bowl. The two longtime rivals scheduled a home-and-home series in June 2002, culminating Saturday at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa. (noon, Big Ten Network). In the first game of the home-and-home, the Nittany Lions beat the Orange, 55-13, last season at the Carrier Dome.
The misery of the Syracuse football program over the past four years does not need further documentation, but it provides more ammunition to those who say that the Nittany Lions pad their schedule to avoid non-conference losses. Penn State has feasted on non-conference opponents since 2004, going 16-1 over the last five seasons, with the only loss coming against Notre Dame in 2006.
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