Penn State, as you may have heard, is off to a pretty decent start, offensively.  So decent that we’re currently #4 in the NCAA in points per game, and #8 in yards per game.  We’ve outscored our opponents by a margin of 166-37, and I don’t care if you’re playing Bunker Hill Community College, those numbers are insane.  All this comes in a season in which our second and third string quarterbacks have played almost as much as our starter.  Where our starting running back is averaging 8.1 yards per rush, but is getting less than 13 carries a game.  Where our best defensive player is out for the season, and our second best has been suspended for two games and counting.

The blogosphere has picked up on our accomplishments.  The Big Ten Network’s Brent Yarina lists power rankings on his blog, and he actually had Penn State at #1 in the Big Ten, saying this:

It’s easy to like a team that’s outscored opponents 166-37, but I don’t think those numbers do the Nittany Lions justice. That’s right, PSU has played better than those numbers indicate, if that’s possible.

Pretty glowing praise, right?  Of course, he also said this:

As dominant as Penn State has been, it still hasn’t faced off against a top-tier team. Oregon State is a respectable opponent, no doubt, but it’s far from the most talented team the Nittany Lions will face this season. At that, you can’t complain with any of the results thus far.

Hey, I’ll take it.  But Yarina isn’t the only one raving about the Nittany Lions.  Jeff Sagarin’s ratings place Penn State at #7, ahead of BYU, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Missouri, to name a few.   In last week’s blogpoll, Penn State ranked #12, and that’s sure to be higher this week, after our brutal annihilation of Syracuse.  As others have noted, the blogpoll is probably the best way to measure teams, since we probably watch more college football than any commentator, coach, or journalist.  And we have more than an afternoon to put it together.  So if the blogosphere is willing to give Penn State it’s props, why are the coaches and writers so hesitant?

Penn State ranked #15 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, and just #16 in the AP Poll.  To us, these voters are anonymous, shady figures who can hide behind their typewriters and never have to justify their rankings.  But no more!  I recently stumbled across the website Pollspeak which I would encourage you to all play around with.  You can find every vote by every reporter (unfortunately, the Coaches Poll truly is anonymous), and see where they ranked any team, like maybe Penn State. (thanks, Barker Davis.  What are you watching Scott Wolf?)

I know, it’s only Week 3, and there’s way more season to be played before the poll really matters.  But I’ll go ahead and say what you’re all thinking.  If Penn State goes through the Big Ten unscathed, we might not make the Championship Game.  The Big Ten’s reputation took a huge hit when Ohio State got murdered by USC, and I could easily see a one-loss SEC team making it over an undefeated Big Ten team.  And even if all those SEC teams do beat each other up, USC shouldn’t face any real challenges, and someone’s going to come out of that Big XII schedule with 0 or 1 loss.  If Penn State goes undefeated, we might see a repeat of 1994, and when would that be more applicable than in a season where we’re putting up almost those kind of offensive numbers?  If Penn State loses a game, forget it.  And that’s why we need Evans and Koroma back as soon as possible.  If they’re not available for Illinois, and we lose that game, any major aspirations for the championship are gone.

Seriously, if you’re ranking teams based on how they’ve looked so far, I can only see Oklahoma, Missouri, and USC as being ahead of Penn State.  Maybe East Carolina, but they almost lost to Tulane.  But either way, because of all the preseason rankings and tabulation, you can’t jump a team like Georgia, no matter how underwheleming they’ve been, or Auburn who scored a whopping 3 points against Mississippi State. Penn State has a reason to gripe about their ranking, and here’s to hoping we finally get some respect.

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