Some gameday notes and observations while suggesting Penn State needs Ohio State to get rusty during the Buckeyes' open date:
Read the headlines about college football today, and it's abundantly clear that no one will ever coach at the high Division I-A level until they're 83.
Or 84.
Or 85.
First there was the tragedy in which a Notre Dame student videotaping practice was killed because 50-mile per hour winds blew over the tower from which he was filming.
For crying out loud, he was filming practice (as Allen Iverson would say). The Irish, keep in mind, were preparing for Tulsa. You can be sure the Four Horsemen did not play Tulsa.
Then you read that a Georgia assistant coach Todd Grantham - four times - gave Florida's placekicker the choke sign moments before a game-winning field goal attempt that Chas Henry made. Good for Henry.
In the Big Ten, you've seen two mini-confrontations after games at midfield in which the losing coach wouldn't let go of the winner's hand because he felt the score was rolled up - and in each case, it was.
Does not this behavior, first by Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly and now Grantham, underscore how much pressure head coaches and their staffs must feel to win these days?
What's the point of practicing in 50-mile winds? And TV replays show Georgia coach Mark Richt in the same frame when his volatile aide was making a fool out of himself and tainting the Dawgs' reputation for sportsmanship.
These high-profile college coaches are paid top dollar to not only draw up game-winning plays but to set good examples and to make the appropriate decisions - whether it's calling off practice in the name of safety or moving indoors or disciplining an overzealous assistant coach for unbecoming conduct (which Richt did not, at least publicly).
The disagreement between Wisconsin's Bret Bielema and former Minnesota coach Tim Brewster occurred because Bielema sanctioned a 2-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter with a 25-point lead. Even if there was previous bad blood between them, Bielema was wrong - especially considering speculation had already begun that Brewster was on the hot seat.
Purdue coach Danny Hope clutched and appeared to follow Illinois' Ron Zook after a late touchdown pass last week in the Boilermakers' 44-10 loss.
It makes you further appreciate Joe Paterno's decision to take a knee at the Michigan 2 last week when there was clearly time to get another snap off.Nitpicking ...
* Here's this corner's view on Penn State quarterback decision: 1) It was curious that immediately after last week's game, quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno said Rob Bolden would start. Joe Paterno has made no such declaration. 2) Matt McGloin's performance against Michigan - throwing, running, decisions, touch, line of scrimmage management - was the best the position has played this year, but because so much has been invested in Bolden, a true freshman who was playing well when he was injured, the guess is that Bolden will start. That's fine, but the staff must have a quick hook if it's needed. 3) Doubting this is the week we'll see a few snaps for Kevin Newsome in the wildcat.
* Based strictly on facilities and tradition, Northwestern should never beat Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan or Wisconsin. That's why Northwestern needs great coaches, and it's had them in the likes of Gary Barnett, Randy Walker and now Pat Fitzgerald.
In a Big Ten Network roundtable earlier this week, both of the experts on the panel picked the Wildcats to beat PSU (and that doesn't even include Cory Giger.)
* Is today the day the Nittany Lions' defense actually stands up? It's forced one fumble all season.
* I can't imagine that either Villanova or TCU, two of the schools rumored to be under consideration for Big East football expansion, are particularly enthralling to the likes of Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia.
Rudel can be reached at 946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.
