Blue & White Roundtable: the Golden Flash-in-the-pan Edition

So it's just Kent State you say, no big deal you say? Well the Blue & White Roundtable takes no one for granted. This week Penn State welcomes the Silver Foxes Golden Flashes of Kent State. All the information about what a Golden Flash is and much more than you ever wanted to know about the University can be found here. Did you know Carl Monday was a famous Alumnus? If you read Linebacker-U you would. This week's B&W Roundtable was brought to you by the fine fellas over at Joe Pa's Doghouse which we assume was pretty crowded this summer. Onward!

We just went toe-to-toe with the #1 team in the country and were defeated rather decisively. It is clear that Alabama's program is operating on a higher level than Penn State's. What does our program need to do to reach the elite level of Alabama, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State…?

Florida? Have you watched them this season? Right now Penn State is fielding one of their youngest teams in a while and it showed in an early game against a seasoned offense that pushed PSU around. If not for all the turnovers the offense would have walked away with a nice game but that's a big if. I guess my official answer to the question at hand is that I don't think they are that far off, they just need some experience. Playing three BCS teams on the road this year will season the underclassmen for next season. This team will be a top-10 team in the not-too-distant future.

When I was in T-Town, several seemingly knowledgeable Bama fans said that "the $EC had Texas in the bag until the Pac Ten offer and subsequent 'bending over' of the Big XII." (Shakes head, rolls eyes) What misconception would you love to erase from Penn State fans' heads so that we don't sound so misinformed when Tide fans visit us next year?

Oh that's an easy one: iced tea. In Pennsylvania iced tea is made with 5 different types of alcohol, in Alabama it's made with 5 different types of sugar. Learn the difference Lions fans, you don't want to offend our guests from the south.

What does Penn State need to do in the next 2 games for you to feel that they're ready to take on Iowa in the Big Ten opener? Feel free to include roster shake-ups that you would like to see.

I'll answer this in a two parter. Penn State has to, and I think they will, work on the running game the next two games. They have to establish that they can block and that Royster hasn't lost a step. If they can't do that against the Kent State and Temple defenses then they certainly won't do anything against Big Ten defenses. If they can't get good rushing yards against Kent State then it's time for part II of my answer: bring in Silas Redd. Out of all the backs Redd has impressed me the most and if the guys ahead of him can't get it done it's time to bring in the freshman. I know Joe says he doesn't know all the playbook and yada yada yada, but that's just excuses, if he's running the best get him in the game.

Alabama was a tremendous road trip against a blue blood program with a fanbase as ravenous as ours. It was a marquee game in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, our future schedules are devoid of such a matchup. Put on your AD hat and pick 3 teams you'd have Penn State play home-and-away to fill out the decade. Now take off that hat before you raise parking prices!!!

I'll assume supreme power comes with that AD hat, and by "supreme power" I mean I can choose without worrying about economics. Given that caveat I'll pick Florida, Texas, and UCLA. First off, they would all be fun games to watch, that goes without saying. More importantly though, they would give us exposure in three very fertile recruiting grounds: Florida, Texas, and Cali. I chose UCLA over USC because I've already seen them play several times before and with the NCAA coming down hard on them (and the weird coaching decision) this team is on its way down.

Rapid Fire:

Turnovers? Penn State - 2, Kent State – 0 (we have yet to cause a turnover what makes me think it will start now?)

How many non-BCS schools from Ohio will we play before Kent State shows up on the schedule again? 3

Summarize our current recruiting "efforts" in 5 words or less. Fruitless (how 'bout one word?)

Football isn't 100% of our lives. What's the 1 tv show you can't wait to watch this fall? 24 – oh wait they canceled it… FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU. Alright I'll say a tie between House and the Big Bang Theory.