College Football Playoff: BCS Finally Adopts New Formula

You might have been bored by it all, unwilling to watch the one college sport that has fallen to its lowest, at a time thousands of fans have turned away from the chaos of a pedestrian and unpopular game for its latest hypocrisy.

In a sport of no structure but intense drama, in a sport of no legitimate playoff system but an unsound formula that defer schools hopes of fulfillment, implementing an eight-team playoff could rid the dysfunction as schools are entirely devoid of merit to rightly so vie for BCS bowl bids. The state of college football is disarray, with an epidemic of sullied computers and formulas mathematically deciding whether a program is worthy of playing on the national stage for a crystal football trophy.

In the creative world of innovation and technology, you can almost feel the BCS manipulating the more popular sport folks have grown attached to and immersed themselves in football, a far more appreciated game in the American culture — the primary sporting of pop culture. The 12-member BCS Presidential Oversight Committee, meeting some time on Tuesday, is likely going to approve a four-team playoff format. This is progress, a step closer toward a much-improved game with very little politics and more of a competitive balance. And so, reportedly, we notice the BCS commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director endorsed a four-team postseason arrangement a week ago.

“We’re very unified,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told ESPN. “There are issues that have yet to be finalized. There’s always devil in the detail, from the model to the selection process, but clearly we’ve made a lot of progress.”

If it goes as plan, under a proposed plan, there will be two national semifinals games and a national championship game. The four teams would be selected by a special committee and would take effect after the 2014 season, once the current BCS deal expires. The semifinals would be played at existing bowl sites and rotate every season, and the championship would be held at a neutral site. A bidding process would determine where the game is played each year.

The BCS is dead. It’s a flawed system that can soon rest peacefully, and every PC involved in college athletics can crash for that matter, as we are eager to welcome a playoff. Now we all wait to find out when a consensus decision could be reached to institute a new system that should satisfy schools, students, alumni, fans and student-athletes across the nation. In a seemingly contrasted move, the sport is aiming for a change, a new direction, ways to mend the game and jettison blemishes that have slightly damaged tradition, honesty and integrity.

It’s too often that schools, such as small programs with no prestige, no television audiences and financial deficits, are snubbed and rarely earn national regards. And so, it’s no real surprise that establishing a potential playoff can resolve the confusion and allow every team a fair advantage, putting aside bigotry and bias, which has weakened the sport after a number of universities have been devoid of top-tier bowl games and victimized by BCS fraud. It’s all happening because, over the years as we all know by now, college football’s broken formula and polls has dictated what schools played in what specific bowl game. This is where the NCAA withstood an outcry and a drumbeat of criticism — especially from programs like Boise State, Utah and TCU. The little guys could finally earn a fair share of respect if the proposed plan is approved no later than Tuesday.

It’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind on his agenda, but President Obama insisted a long time ago there should be a playoff system to determine a legitimate champion. It’s not only going to increasingly modify the brand and target a new audience but a TV deal may be worth $3 billion. The bidding networks are prepared to make a run at a television contract that caters to the four-team playoff system. Right now, Walt Disney holds the rights to every BCS bowl game and the national championship game.

The current deal is $155 million combined from Disney for its ESPN and ABC networks, but with the new playoff system — which includes three games and two semifinals and a championship game — it should demand a TV rights contract greater than the current deal. The value of the football is growing and more games are televised nationally, considering the popularity, especially if the playoff system is approved. And beyond everything, with negotiations beginning in fall, the BCS could extend a relationship with ESPN, a major sports broadcasting company that could pocket $3.2 billion from an expected eight-year deal. If ESPN wants rights, it will have to outbid Comcast, a company owning the largest TV network in the country.

This is a day folks can’t wait to see for themselves, confident a playoff would change the way they view the game. This is a day fans can’t wait to be a part of for themselves, optimistic a four-team seeded playoff would settle the argument by rescinding bowl games, which could come to an end sooner than later. That’s a day college football will change for the better and forever, calling forth a committee to determine a team’s fate. It’s a new era of college football, and a playoff system may arrive in a matter of days, even though the Bowl Chaotic System should have been shot down a long time ago in favor of the long overdue playoffs.

This means there’d be no more outrageous polls, schools getting snubbed, computer standings and automatic qualifications. All of this is history with a playoff system, but it must be ratified before anything else. Just think of all the money that would be generated. Just think of the vast majority of fans, many of whom would keep a close eye on football as the average fan is fueled by a playoff atmosphere from all the excitement and thrills.

There won’t be much controversy from the BCS. It can’t please everyone one. It shows favoritism toward the SEC Conference — whether it was Alabama or LSU — and fails to acknowledge those worthy of BCS merit. It is deeply in love with Ohio State and Big Ten schools, um, yes, a conference with its own television network. Those are Pac 12 schools left behind. The wavering status of the Bowl Championship Series is anything but well balanced and instead is prejudice. Always biased and never to be trusted, the BCS credibility has withered as fans are hysterical and requesting a playoff system.

That’s not to say the playoff system would be completely fair, but it would be more credible than the BCS nonsense. Controversy will always be — particularly in college sports — where a program can whine and moan about No. 1 and 2 seeding. It’s about time they implement a new system not so disoriented and jaundiced. It’s likely nobody wants to see UConn get hammered by Texas. Logic is, SEC and Big 12 schools would dominate and play for a number of national titles. And Pac 12 and Big 10 schools will have a fair advantage, too.

It’s time for a legitimate winner. Put aside the BCS fraud and play fair.

Liar Liar! Sorry, Don’t Buy the Urban Meyer Hiring

If there’s a man who is hired to take on a new coaching gig, amidst an economic downturn that can’t be trusted as times become more fragile and scarier, Urban Meyer is clearly the man.

Life at Ohio State will never be fabulous or euphoric until Meyer stuns folks with his notorious I-Quit episodes that’d reveal another stunning development. There is something suspiciously odd about the Meyer hiring, a sense of bad vibes spreading throughout the university, enough to give off a foul smell at the Horseshoe.

He always has a flimsy excuse for everything and everyone, simply using health issues as an escape hatch to end the stressful moments when the going gets tough. By now, he’s run out of reasons not to be trusted but have the credentials to seemingly stand as a great football leader, in which his availability attracted schools that were seeking a first-class coach for filling their coaching vacancies. The problem today is, he’s not the perfect coach for the job, primarily selling one of the finest athletic programs in the nation.

The search is over, and it just happens so that Meyer accepts a challenging role, a heavy task for a man who doesn’t handle an array of stress too well. Only months after the university was rocked by a memorabilia-for-tattoo scandal that led to Jim Tressel’s abrupt departure, Meyer is brought in to revitalize Ohio State. He is hired to guide a storied program that demand good standards to quite fittingly portray a purpose, and Meyer is also back to turn Ohio State into a national powerhouse, vowing he intends to accelerate the process of superiority by eradicating poison.

For now at least, he is authentic about his recent hiring, ready to come out of his early retirement to become the head coach at Ohio State. And it was a wonderful if very outlandish comeback for someone who has a nose longer than Pinocchio and obligated to tell a lie and step down, considering his frivolity and deceptiveness in the past, not upfront with any athletic department. It’s only a matter of time before he calls it quits again, but in the meantime, he feels “fantastic” after 11 months away from coaching.

How long will that last, I wonder?

On a count of 1..2…3 “Tell me lies. Tell me sweet little lies.” Sing it all together now… Tell me lies. Tell me sweet little lies.


So, when is he expected to pull another switcheroo, expected to turn his back on a university that trusts in him until he shockingly decides to leave and stun the world? When is he planning to abandon the institution? What is the timetable for his next announcement of early retirement?

The Buckeyes have hired a replacement, an elusive coach who couldn’t tell the truth. Much enigma surrounds Ohio State, and it would be sensible to think that Meyer is spewing lies in Columbus, a wishy-washy personality that has had a frequent pattern of untruthfulness. This is a common trait seen often from Meyer, telling lies and promising a school that he’d desire to take charge and transform a team into a national power, but we can never conceive the mind of a coach if he talks in riddles. It’s impossible for anyone to believe the truth from a person who is laughably a trickster and a liar, not an honest or credible living soul.

“I made this clear to Jeremy Foley (Florida Athletic Director), if I am able to go coach, I want to coach at one place, the University of Florida. It would be a travesty, it would be ridiculous to all of a sudden come back and get the feeling back, get the health back, feel good again and then all of a sudden go throw some other colors on my shirt and go coach? I don’t want to do that. I have too much love for this University and these players and for what we’ve built.”

I have too much love for this University? Are you kidding me? The only love he has is for a six-year contract worth $4 million a year, along with another $2.4 million total in retention payments, according to the school, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. He’s not just an immoral quitter, but also a traitor after resigning at the University of Florida, not once but twice, and then leaving for supposedly the sake of his health.

The funniest thing is that Meyer feels this is the best job in America and that the fans are the best in America. Please, don’t tell me you buy into his untruthful words, just because he was willing to accept the Ohio State coaching job, one with many headaches and much stress. In the coming days, we’ll hear that he’s mentally fatigued and burnt out from coaching, particularly when times turn rough, if you already know Meyer. Of course, if he doesn’t build a product at Ohio State and abolish the mediocrity as disappointing as it has been in Columbus, he’ll prefer to relieve himself of his duties and step down from the challenge.

But what is perplexing about this, by Meyer deciding to take over at Ohio State, is that he came back just 10 months after he said he was leaving Florida to spend more time with his family and care for his obscure health issues. It’s almost a cliché that he was a man of family values, one in which he vowed to devote his time to family obligations with his wife, Shelley, and his three kids. This is not what we wanted right now, a so-called family man who is ailing with illnesses -- taking on another coaching gig and then suddenly renege in the end unable to handle the stress and headaches if the program struggles from futility.

So there was Meyer, in his black suit and red tie, announced as the new head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program at a press conference Monday afternoon, as cameramen snapped photos and reporters pontificated the hiring. It’s hard to understand the variations of his mind, whether he’s committed to the profession of coaching, and whether he has the sense of pride or self-respect for a football program. The spinning wheel is forever circling inside Meyer’s mind and, this time, the wheel stopped in Ohio State’s direction. Before his arrival, he turned around Utah with his hard-driven style and spread-option that cultivated the Utes.

Long ago, he was part of the Utes ripening into national contention, capturing a BCS victory in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and developing quarterback Alex Smith, who became a No. 1 draft pick of the NFL Draft. As one of the most decorated coaches in college sports — despite his flip-flopping – Meyer spent six years at Florida, winning two BCS titles. The specifics of his retirement gave him time to spend with his family and attend his daughter’s volleyball games. During his days spent at Florida, he couldn’t balance the schedule and the coaching task at the university, which may have led to his departure.

But then again, it’s so vague that we really don’t know what to believe. Just when we thought he was tired of coaching, although we should have known that his un-retiring ideas were likely, he’s not working as an ESPN analyst but as a college football coach. We wanted to believe he was a devoted 47-year-old husband and father of three, but he is more than just a family man of college football coaches. He is, however, a liar and hard to believe.

You can’t trust him, if your life depended on it. But in every way, that is, he accepted a demanding assignment, now the coach on one of the nation’s most storied programs, one that has won seven national championships and seven Rose Bowls while producing seven Heisman Trophy winners. It’s on him to turn around a premier program bothered by the well-publicized infractions, but he won’t be the curer if he lies and calls another emotional press conference, reducing to tears during the announcement.

At his news conference Monday afternoon, he said, “Health-wise, I feel great. Our objective is to make the state of Ohio proud.”

He said that at Florida. We shouldn’t know what to believe.

As he grew up in Ashtabula — a town about 200 miles from Columbus — rooting for the Buckeyes and attending college at Cincinnati and beginning his coaching career at Ohio State as a graduate assistant under Earle Bruce, he said that he would have only accepted this job. It’s a rarity that coaches leave positions for family and then take on another coaching job months later, but on the bright side of things, he’s at home.

“It’s a great opportunity to come back to my home state,” he said.

I can’t tell whether he’s lying.

Guess it’s needless to say that he is 104-23, including his 22 record in two seasons at Utah in 2003 and 2004 in 10 seasons as a head coach. He is, without question, one of the best coaches in football, but he is just misleading and enigmatic. It will take savvy recruiting and rebuilding if Meyer is aiming to add national titles. As for the stunning retiring and lies every so many months, citing health issues and that he is devoted to spend more time with his family, this is a hiring that remains in limbo, a hiring that can’t be trusted and a hiring of wariness. Meanwhile, Meyer, who has lost an abundance of credibility and prestige for his bad decorum, is the wrong man to try to repair a program’s image.

To state the obvious, Meyer is a LIAR!! And here it is, he is a two-faced liar, accepting a job where much is expected of him. If he underachieves, there’s no doubt that he’ll be one of the most scrutinized coaches of collegiate athletics. It’s good to assume, I suppose, that life is just as tough in the Big Ten Conference. Meyer, on the other hand, moved from a tougher conference to a lighter one, but still it doesn’t become any easier for him, particularly if he doesn’t manage the effects of stress. At anytime now, he could step down and leave the university emotionally again after misleading the athletic program the entire time. At this time, he feels he can balance a healthy life and a tense job that comes with much pressure.

“I had a health scare a couple of years ago that made me sit back, reflect,” Meyer said. “I didn’t feel right. But I feel fantastic now.”

Let’s see how long he’ll feel fantastic. I’m not convinced, and neither should you.

“If not for the coaching position at Ohio State, I would not have coached this year,” said Meyer, a native of Ohio.

Sorry, not buying into this inanity, after he clearly stated that he wouldn’t coach anywhere else but Florida. He broke his promises, deceived an entire university, lied to their faces, and now everyone in Gainesville should be hoodwinked and betrayed by Meyer’s BS words. This season alone interim coach Luke Fickell, who took over when Jim Tressel stepped down for breaking NCAA rules of infamous violations, carried the Buckeyes to a 6-6 season and helped them qualify for a bowl game. There is nobody that we’ve heard of more incredulous than Meyer.

He lies so much, that he can’t even tell a straight one. The guy running the program right now, which is Fickell, who will stay as an assistant to Meyer, is more trustworthy than his new boss. It wasn’t necessary for Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith to hire Meyer when there were other candidates available. However, he had a conversation with Meyer about the coaching job by phone on Nov. 20 and then they met face-to-face three days later.

Not too long ago, he responded to reports saying that he had “not been offered any job nor is there a deal in place.”

It was too good to be true. Whatever happened to the time he went to the hospital after a game for heart problems? Not to say it was, but that may have been a lie, too

What is true about Meyer is that he’s a liar. And to this day, he hasn’t learned to tell the truth openly and publicly.

Mortals Deprives Purdue When Robbie Hummel Isn't Around

Suddenly, there’s a sinking feeling that the Purdue Boilermakers are incapable of reaching the big dance.

When a team loses its second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder to injuries, the notion of facing elimination magnifies immensity. The stress level also ascends in realizing an acute run to the Final Four might be settled before the shuffle of championship week heats up.


With March Madness looming, Purdue pushes the panic button. And bearing the circumstance of losing intangible elements is hard adapting to. Nowadays, the Boilermakers fear for their lives, feeling helpless and scourged without their talented forward, Robbie Hummel.

The mental state of the damaging news takes away from potentially capping a No. 1 seed; for much of the season, Purdue was destined to win a Big 10 title. What a season it has been, until the mind-boggling news diagnosed that Hummel suffered a season-ending knee injury when he went down in a win against Minnesota. It’s too bad for a program leading the Big 10 with the most wins, as it all may fade to revoke a tough-driven team of reaching a pinnacle of success and appearing in front of its home crowd at Indianapolis.

It’s nearly impossible for the versatile forward to walk the streets of Indiana without receiving praise or recognition, and he is constantly hampered on campus following sterling wins. He made a strong presence, flourishing into a top scorer, a primary team player to keep the pieces together.

On the positive side, at Mackey Arena on Sunday, he stood on his own power and walked around without crutches. However, if he suits up and attempts to play on an ailing knee, possible setbacks may contribute to vital damage in the torn cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Either way, that is, missing the remainder of the season is logical in this context in which he’s ineffective and limited. There’s a motionless mood swirling in a community; aspirations have diminished without their instrumental and inspirational maestro. He’s the athlete idol at Purdue, the likable jock on campus, and the ultimate player of the Big 10.

But now, he’s battered by a heartbreaking injury, presumably costing the Boilermakers an ultimate seeding. Without him, I’ll rank Purdue as an average team lasting until the Sweet 16, based on the role players' effectiveness and mentality.

Meanwhile, in playing their interstate rivals on Wednesday night, there were indications of positive things to occur in the upcoming weeks. This was an appearance of a momentum lift, a starting point for a team that needs to come alive and advance without their best player.

Projected to last in the tourney, it’s hard to imagine Purdue representing themselves as a March Madness pest. The absence of Hummel jeopardizes any ideal conversions to finally clinch a Final Four berth or win a national title in its home state, where the feverish basketball maniacs were inclined to observe the coolest and sweetest home victory in what takes place in a neutral site.

He tore his ACL when the Boilermakers shined as the best Big 10 school, perhaps the most dangerous school entering the tourney. This is a huge letdown for Purdue; it was their year to dance and hoist the title.

Face it, Purdue isn’t as fierce, destructive, or dynamic, but an early ouster. Reality is, the Boilermakers may not even qualify for a No. 1 seed or cruise to the Final Four. There has been misfortune dooming them in recent memory. Last year, Hummel was sidelined and limited when he fractured his vertebrae.

Déjà vu, anyone!

Even if you’re not a Purdue fan, you have to feel sorry for Hummel. He takes much pride in the game, but never really had a chance of translating his swagger in the NCAA tourney. During the regular season he plays brilliantly, but suddenly goes down with a heartbreaking injury near the end of the season and is forced to miss contributing in the biggest and most-watched basketball tournament.


He hasn’t had a chance of flourishing at a time when it counts. It’s just too bad no one will see a healthy Hummel in March, the month fans fill out elusive brackets and put up with a bracket buster literally in the first round of a mesmerizing postseason.

As far-fetched as winning is at the moment, head coach Matt Painter is very optimistic...but is he really? His team was shell-shocked after Hummel blew out his knee and allowed Minnesota to take a 30-9 run, but held off to win 59-58 on the road. Having to rally from a nine-point deficit, Keaton Grant fired a game-winning shot as Purdue managed to escape a monstrous letdown.

Ordinarily, when a team relies on one player to bail them out of critical situations and expects him to produce the thrilling shot in crunch time, an injury reduces capacity and thwarts glamorous promise.

The real issue now is the Boilermakers must survive without their best player, after averaging 15.8 points and 7.2 boards per game. Wipe away all his stats, and Purdue isn’t nearly perceived as a Final Four school. Wipe away Hummel’s contributions, and Purdue loses multiple games in conference play. The NCAA committee is among those looking to drag down the program, doubting it has nothing to offer unless the players turn it up a notch.

The first name worth mentioning is Chris Kramer, who must dominate in the absence of Hummel, as well as Grant, a streaky shooter who finds rhythm. The true freshman Kelsey Barlow also may provide minutes, an oversized guard, fittingly built to start in the power forward position.

For now, it’s a wait-and-see process. For now, it’s a huge adjustment for a team used to their star player. It was a probable journey, but now the Boilermakers burn in dismay. There are, believe it or not, other teams in good position to dance.

Minus the impact of Hummel, Purdue isn’t one of them.

Penn State Now Victims of BCS Fraud, But Fear Iowa

For a moment, Penn State won’t climb atop erratic polls, sorely hysterical after suffering mockery against an inferior team which isn’t powerless or startled facing arguably the powerful Big Ten school in the nation. Each week ultimate ramifications are serious for attaining BCS reverence when a fraudulent system can jeopardize title opportunities.

On a rainy night, in Happy Valley, it happened to be Whiteout night when a feverish Penn State crowd was spirited, wearing white ponchos, energized about avenging the stunning loss a year ago. Earning publicly immediately following last season’s letdown, a Penn State-Iowa rematch was highly-regarded and must-see TV hijacking Saturday night prime-time.

In the aftermath of a bitter taste, anticipating to redeem any melancholy and putting smiles back on fans was crestfallen still with reminders of the nightmarish shock, which stained the Nittany Lions title fortunes. The devastating failure earned them a meeting in the Rose Bowl game for a traditional Pac-10 vs. Big Ten showdown, where they were beaten by the fierce USC Trojans.

Turns out a 24-23 upset a year ago in Iowa City came back, likely inhibiting chances of possessing a gleaming crystal ball after been victimized, not only by Iowa, but the BCS. All it takes is one huge mental lapse to costly blow indications of dominating the conference.

Now with Michigan starting to establish into ultimately a valuable and successful program that has excelled under guru and practice addict Rich Rodriguez, the Nittany Lions might have it tough reaching a climax.

And with Jim Tressel and Ohio State managing to salvage lopsided victories after a demoralizing defeat to USC, it remains impenetrable on if they could recover from another season of anguish.

Saturday night wasn’t a typical victory party, but resemblance and continuous heartbreaks of last season. For the second consecutive season, Iowa seized gratifications and managed to overpower the Nittany Lions in hostile settings.

Late in the fourth quarter, the rabid crowd’s loudest minimized as they suddenly were distraught and hopeless. Early on, the fiery crowd was long past last year’s failures, and was ready for a delightful turnaround releasing all illusions.

But all of us failed to realize the Hawkeyes weren’t intimidated or awful. Rather now, the Hawkeyes matches well against No. 5 Penn State and was more physical and masterful defensively. Sure, they had the game marked on the calendar, prepared for a dramatic rematch sustaining noticeably. Throbbing and suffocating Joe Paterno’s gifted kids definitely wasn’t a fluke.

However, overlooking the Hawkeyes is an understatement. For beating up JoePa and company, credit the exceptional defensive unit. Clearly, Iowa’s defenders delivered the brutal contact and pressure to counteract with a high-powered offense.

For much of the night, it was sloppy, slick and damp as the Lions were bruised and pushed at home. Not much was allowed from a patient and fierce defense, hindering Penn State's capabilities for advancing the ball with top-notch agility and well-designed offensive schemes.

Advantages came whenever the Hawkeyes forced turnovers. In the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions saw good fortune and retribution endeavor vanish. Suddenly, things broke down offensively as they were denied and allowed fewer yards and less rushes in the final quarter.

Playing in the elements is tough, which they were very clumsy and committed three turnovers that the Hawkeyes converted into 16 points and saddened the crowd as the final results displayed a 21-10 victory on the scoreboard.

Given respect to Iowa is the proper suggestion. They’ve automatically attained credibility and enough regard, with a statement win that came on the road and against a ranked opponent. There’s not much to ask when pulling off a miracle to beat Northern Iowa, or even stopping Penn State’s dynamic quarterback Daryll Clark.

Aren’t those good enough victories to get recognition?

Kirk Ferentz had Iowa fundamentally prepared to stun fans wearing white. In a decent tenured, Ferentz is the most underrated coach in the Big Ten. A few years ago, he could’ve taken on a new challenge on the next level, if he had accepted offers to coach in the NFL. But he rebuffed interest when Houston tried bringing in his inspirational impact.

Paterno, 81, has coached the Nittany Lions for decades, guiding successful classes to bowl games and triumph. His sanity is coaching, which is why he still doesn’t mind taken blows to the leg and sitting above in the press box if necessary.

But the more Paterno ages, the more it becomes stressful. He couldn’t care less and has made it clear that he won’t retire until his body refuses to endure road trips or standing on the sideline calling plays and inspiring players. Maybe if the Nittany Lions suffers another meltdown on offense he’ll retire, though it doesn’t seem rational when he’s deeply committed.

Meanwhile, on this particular night, Paterno witnessed a clumsy letdown. That’s enough to force an elderly coach to depart on a strong note. He watched Iowa execute defensively, harassing a high-powered offense as if they were a substandard offensive unit that belonged on a JV high school team.

He watched Iowa’s defensive ends Adrian Clayborn and Broderick Binns powerfully rush a speedy Clark, who was sacked multiple times. As tough as Binns is, he was a factor to the Hawkeyes second straight year of bragging rights. He smothered and rushed right tackle DeOn’tae Pannell, enough to force a safety and change dynamics of the game.

But most of all, he might have spoiled Penn State title privileges. After inheriting nearly 147 yards of offense on the first two possessions, the Nittany Lions never remained stabled, dropping minus-six yards for the rest of the half. The offensive line is inexperience, with flaws that could actually hurt down the stretch.

Silly errors gradually changed the complexion when Clark tossed an interception on their possession, allowing the Hawkeyes to return the ball 38 yards. Then, Iowa’s tailback Adam Robinson capitalized on a 13-yard rushing touchdown, which summarized another disappointing night where fans were out on a bone-chilling night anticipating revenge.

Now JoePa and company are victimized. From here, the Nittany Lions hopeful season is determined by a computer system. In other words, I assumed they had to finish out the season unbeaten.

But sure, with a slate of upsets across the nation today, in likelihood, anything is possible. You never know exactly. The Nittany Lions could climb back into the top five rankings. Of course, losing to an unranked Iowa won’t be easy regaining control of a ranking within the top five.

Before, it only took a victory as they controlled the leverage. But now, the computers have the leverage, which means BCS debacles are back rattling our brains and making us fuss. Fans stood and sadly wiped myriads of smiles off the faces in Happy Valley.

Instead of Penn State vs. opponent, it’s Penn State vs. BCS.

Truthfully, Iowa is the scariest Big Ten team of them all.