Ten victories, a top-10 coaches' poll ranking and serious candidacy for the BCS all sound like credentials for a team that should have a target on its back.
Instead, Penn State is talking like it has a lot to prove when it takes to the field against LSU in the Capital One Bowl.
"We haven't beaten a ranked team this year. I think that's something that's kind of in the back of your mind," Derek Moye said during Penn State's Capital One Bowl media day on Friday. "I guess kind of you don't want to be ranked in the top 25 without beating anybody else that's in the top 25. You got to beat the best to be the best."
While Penn State won't play in the BCS, most players seemed to suggest there wasn't too much disappointment in not getting selected because of the opportunity at hand. Once it became official that the destination would be in Orlando against LSU, safety Drew Astorino said there was no rebounding to be made from possible displeasure.
Linebacker Navorro Bowman summed up the BCS situation as "the cards didn't fall our way" but said the Nittany Lions have a chance to make a statement for both the program and the Big Ten on New Year's Day. And even if there was some disappointment, it didn't last too long for players like Daryll Clark.
"Obviously, I was hoping we would get into the BCS, and it came down to a possibility of the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl," Clark said. "Then when the teams came I was like, 'OK, we're not going to make it so who are we going to play now?' There were a lot of tossups with a couple of teams, then we found out we were playing LSU, a big-time SEC team, so we were excited about it because we definitely wanted to play a tough football team, no matter where it was."
Regarding Penn State's zero wins against ranked foes, head coach Joe Paterno turned it around by saying 10 overall wins is hard to get, no matter the opponents. Instead, he said there may be too much humble pie involved with his players because he believes his team did a good job this season.
On the flip side, LSU hasn't notched a win against a currently ranked opponent either, but it has beaten Georgia, Auburn and Arkansas in conference play. Despite one more loss than the Lions, the Tigers come in one spot ahead of Penn State in the BCS thanks to a No. 9 computer ranking average, which is nine spots higher than Penn State.
A good reason for the huge difference in numbers is the strength of the SEC, which is again considered the top conference in the country. Moye said all the attention the SEC receives can be annoying, but added it's deserved because the league proves itself every year.
Such hasn't been the case with the Big Ten, which went 1-6 in bowl games last season including Penn State's loss to USC in the Rose Bowl. This season, with both the Big Ten and SEC putting two teams in the BCS -- the only conferences to do so -- the Capital One Bowl is a matchup of the No. 3 teams in the leagues and is one of just two Big Ten vs. SEC bowl games this season. The other is Northwestern against Auburn in the Outback Bowl.
"We want to go down there and represent Penn State and our program and show the country and LSU that we can play with the best," Bowman said. "The Big Ten is a conference that's going to be able to play the SEC or any other conference that's out there."
