Linkbacker U thumbs through week 1 punditry

Ok, 1-0 is great, but 2-0 will take a bit more work...

It's Labor Day. So you're probably not even reading this right now. That's why I won't get into any kind of depth or analysis. Here are some tidbits from the weekend past, and for the week ahead, including tonight's big one in our nation's capital.

ESPN Gameday coming to Tuscaloosa - GoPSUSports.com :: We already kinda knew this.

Linkbacker U has no room for a Pitt Stop

Cross-State Clash Not in the Fold

Wow I can't wait for rivalry week. I am so excited for Penn State to battle Michigan State for the prestigious Land Grant Trophy! There can't be a bigger rivalry in all of sports than Penn State and Michigan State football.

Obviously, beyond the tally in the win column, I could give two you know whats about this "rivalry" nor can anyone else really. The current generation of Penn Staters hardly even know that the Land Grant Trophy exists. Every Penn Stater and their grandma, especially the Pennsylvania natives, are foaming at the mouth to see Pittsburgh on the schedule.

Sorry to break it to you, but the likely nine game conference schedule means it is not going to happen, says Jerry Depaula of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

"That is one of the challenges I am struggling with as we contemplate going to nine conference games," Curley said. "That reduces your ability to move around the country to make these games happen."

Now I understand the desire by most Penn Staters to stick it to Pitt, but as Jersey native, its the Rutgers series in 2013/2014 that I'm really looking forward to....if it's not a conference game by then.

Prom or Practice? Is Enrolling Early Worth It?

Thinking back to my fondest memories of high school, my second semester of senior easily tops the list. I was already accepted into Penn State and had no responsibilities besides enjoying my final days of high school as much as possible before I left for the valley.

But we've been seeing more and more that players are sacrificing that final semester to enroll in college in the spring. Paul Jones and Dakota Royer enrolled early, and it hasn't quite worked out for them

But was enrolling early really worth it? Surely it was a tough decision for all of the early enrollees who just want to see playing time, but many of the Lions are finding out that their teammates who didn't enroll early are having just as much preseason success.

Though Joe Paterno has been adamant about not particularly liking the early enrollment trend all across college football, only time will tell if the rest of this year's early enrollees will feel the same way.

Great job by the Collegian's Footblog. Obviously enrolling early works much better for some players than others, but it seems that the freshman Bolden, who starts his first non-summer class today, may end up getting the nod to start.

Tate Forced to Not be a Cocky Tool Anymore

I think Tate Forcier missed the memo last year that he actually didn't end up winning the Heisman Trophy. That was Sam Bradford. And he doesn't make Chuck Norris or Jack Bauer poop his pants, that's Tim Tebow.

Now, he may have to accept that he's not even going to be the starting quarterback at Michigan. And that, has finally scared him humble.

Forcier did his best to stay quiet Sunday during media day, until he asked for and received permission from Rodriguez to talk to reporters. After posing for pictures with Robinson and Gardner, the returning starter said he didn't know what his chances were to keep his job when he was peppered with the first of many questions.

"It's way too soon to tell," Forcier said. "Coach Rod keeps it as open as possible and I don't think he's close to a decision."

The three QBs each had a chance to impress the coaches Saturday during a scrimmage at the Big House, but Rodriguez wasn't saying much about the competition less than 24 hours later.

"It's a race that is not going to be settled in the next couple of days," Rodriguez said.

You'd think playing for Michigan would have been enough to make him lose his ego...

A Freshman QB? I'm not the Only Skeptic

Robert Bolden has been the sexy pick to start at quarterback in recent weeks. Is this warranted? Who knows. Hardly anyone has actually seen these practices, so no one knows for sure. But I've been saying for a while that if there was ever a year to start a young quarterback Pat Devlin was the guy. I tend to think it will go with Newsome or McGloin, and Neil Rudel of the Altoona Mirror agrees.

As a starter, the development of Bolden could be severely impeded by a whipping at Alabama, which could then set the quarterback position back even further. If Bolden is viewed as the best player down the road, it's doubly important for him to be standing by mid-October.

One thing possibly working in favor of a freshman starting could be the fact that JoePa has deferred more decisions to his assistants the last few years, and especially lately, and he's given particular leeway to his son Jay, the team's quarterbacks coach and or "co-offensive coordinator" as the BTN called him.

JayPa might be more eager to roll the dice than his dad.

Except that they're still his dad's dice.

Personally, I expect the staff to ultimately go with whichever one has the best chance of making it as an NFL fullback/ special teamer. I'm still banking on Newsome.

Adam Highberger Puts off Dental School, Transfers to DII School to Ball

He was one of the four players to leave the program last year, and was easily the least talked about. The walk-on Adam Higbherger said he wasn't going to use his last year of eligibility in order to attend dental school. He will, but not so fast my friend. Highberger announced that he is instead transferring to the Division II Quincy to use his last year of eligibility.

``I will never look back in my life when I'm 40, when I'm 45 and say, `Man, I wish I would've used that extra year of eligibility.' ... I know I'm going to leave it all on the floor.''

He was obviously not the most talented player on last year's team, but his effort was never questioned. Let's hope he's able to stay healthy for his new school and make a positive impact.

Linkbacker U finds bikini-clad rumors more credible... how odd

I'm sorry, what were you saying? Rumors are great. Rumors are even better when they're about Michigan QB Tate Forcier supposedly requesting a transfer. But you wanna know what rumors are the best? The ones started by...

Late last night, Melanie Collins tweeted this:

Very reliable source telling me Tate Forcier requested a transfer from #Michigan this AM. NOT yet confirmed, will update as I know more.

It was taken down shortly after, but the inevitable explosion of tweets and cries of "wait, Melanie Collins? OHHH, THAT MELANIE COLLINS..." had already been raging at full force. Of course, some cooler heads prevailed, mainly Brian at MGoBlog:

Not to disparage smoking hot bikini models or anything, but I'd probably take Mike Rothstein's word over hers. Then again she has done some sideline work for the Big Ten Network—the entire reason this is credible enough to bother with—and Rothstein is not banging out strenuous denials and this is Michigan post-Bo so it's probably true and all she left out its that he's hiring someone to bash Denard's knee in, Tonya Harding style.

The rumor is apparently not true, or just not true enough where Tate is actually going to transfer. Oh well, at least you got to see a hot girl in a bikini this morning.

Oh, those nutty Mormons! BYU is jumping ship from the Mountain West conference, to pursue a path as an... wait for it... independent? Really? Hmm. Well, it's true.

"The Cougars will leave the MWC, go independent in football and rejoin the Western Athletic Conference in all non-football sports beginning in the fall of 2011, the Salt Lake Tribune learned Wednesday."

The funny thing is that's not the most interesting thing to come out of this news from last night. TCU's head coach Garry Patterson had some words of advice about BYU's decision to go indy in football. Frankly, I couldn't agree more, as I'm sure anyone who's watched Notre Dame for the last 20 years:

"If you're BYU, you better be careful what you wish for," Patterson said. "It's not my job to worry about what Utah does, what BYU does, but I can tell you this: If you think being an independent is an easier way to get to a national championship, you're kidding yourself."

May I interest you in some Google? Oh, you've never tried it? It's wonderful... Fanhouse isn't bad. They're better than many others, but seriously?

"Penn State has won 11 games in each of the past two seasons, and in three of the past five. In those years, however, the Nittany Lions had a returning starter at quarterback, which they won't in 2010."

Wow, I had no idea Daryll Clark was the incumbent starter going into 2008. Bet you he didn't even know that! You all know this, but let me clear it all up.

In 2006, Clark, playing in seven games, went 14-of-27 for 116 yards and gained 48 yards on the ground, with three touchdowns. He averaged 3.2 yards on his 15 carries. The following 2007 season, playing in eight games, Clark went six-of-nine passing for 31 yards and gained 78 yards on 12 carries, with two rushing touchdowns.

No starts. None. Barely a full game's worth of passes during his entire career before 2008.

But what about 2005? Michael Robinson sure started a few games before then, right? Yes, but I definitely would not have considered him a "returning starter" going into that season.

In 2002, Robinson shifted around the offensive set from quarterback to running back, slot back and split end to utilize his talents. Robinson was Penn State's second leading rusher with 263 yards, six touchdowns on 50 carries; caught nine passes for 44 yards. In 2003, Robinson started eight games—three at quarterback and five at tailback, completing 62-of-138 passes for 892 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions and finished second on the team with 396 yards, three scores on 107 carries. In 2004, Robinson again started eight games, was second on the team with 33 receptions for 485 yards (14.7 avg) and three touchdowns; completed 14-of-39 passes for 170 yards, a touchdown and five INTs; third on the squad with 172 yards on 49 carries.

Prior to 2005, Michael Robinson started more games at running back than he did at quarterback.

So, no, Penn State did not have a returning starting quarterback in 2005 or 2008, two of the 11-win seasons Fanhouse points to when analyzing the situation going into 2010.

And you know where I got all that information? The Googles. It's pretty cool. Fanhouse should check it out sometime.

A Penn State "AT" Indiana preview... John at Crimson Quarry takes an early peek at the Hoosiers' matchup at FedEx Field against the Nittany Lions. It's an interesting take on the "neutral" site idea Indiana agreed to:

"Of course, I'm not arguing that IU was likely to beat Penn State if the game were played in Bloomington. Still, while IU is 0-13 against Penn State, three of Penn State's last four trips to Indiana (three games in Bloomington and a 2000 game in Indianapolis, a legitimate home-neutral game) were decided in the last minute. Only one of the games in Happy Valley, the 38-31 Penn State win in 1993, was close enough for IU to have had a shot at the end. Ultimately, to make progress as a program, IU is going to have to beat one of the big three. It's not likely in any given year, but selling games off like this makes it even less likely."

NFL and Penn State... Just a heads up, we were thinking of doing a weekly post during the NFL regular season highlighting each week's games that will feature Penn State alums. What do you think? I know I love watching our guys play on Sundays, too. This way, you will have the full, easy-to-read list for each week.

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