Afternoon Kickoff 6/18
Note: This is part of a new daily series. Every weekday between about noon and 1, check the Footblog for the daily "Afternoon Kickoff" for updates from Penn State football and the national scene, opinions, links, etc.
As terrible -- or, occasionally, exciting -- as the games are, Division I-A teams scheduling I-AA opponents has become commonplace. When the NCAA extended the college football season to 12 games, everyone thought we might get some more interesting non-conference matchups.
Instead, we've been treated to even more instances of big schools paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to the little guys to come to their stadiums and act like the Washington Generals. And with the giant paychecks, the I-AA schools are more than happy to go as far as forfeiting a conference game to get that cash. Pretty absurd, isn't it?
Comparatively speaking, Penn State used to be OK with scheduling. You're always going to have your Akrons and Temples on the schedule, but PSU typically shied away from the I-AA cupcakes.
Then came Youngstown State in 2006 -- who at least is a respectable opponent that has a history of success at that level. Then came Coastal Carolina in 2008, a 66-10 shellacking of a Chanticleer squad that's only been in existence for a few years and saw its offensive linemen become revolving doors for Aaron Maybin and co.
This year, it's Eastern llinois coming to town in the heart of the BIg Ten schedule Oct. 10. The Panthers boasted the No. 95 offense in the FCS last year and the No. 75 defense and are sure to provide and excellent bye week between the Illinois and Minnesota games.
Youngstown State will return to Happy Valley next year, and in 2011, it's been revealed that the powerhouse Indiana State Sycamores will receive a $450,000 payday to make the trek east.
You may know Indiana State for this. But I'm guessing Larry Bird will not be suiting up for the football team in a couple years. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing that could make the game interesting.
The Sycamores managed to finish 0-12 last season, losing to the aforementioned Eastern Illinois 38-3. In fact, Indiana State played against every directional Illinois school, and it lost to N-E-S-W Illinois by a combined score of 202-13.
Oh, in case you were wondering, they also went 0-11 in 2007, 1-10 in 2006 and 0-11 in 2005. Penn State scheduling has officially hit a new low.
But, as the Terre Haute Tribune Star's headline says, "Large paydays coming ISU football's way." The same holds true for Penn State, as 100,000+ will show up at Beaver Stadium and the game is sure to at least appear on the Big Ten Network.
At least Alabama is on the home schedule that season to make the non-conference season interesting. Unless of course the Crimson Tide postpone the series again because of NCAA troubles.
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Quick hits:
-To continue the Florida State updates from the past few days, university president T.K. Wetherell is officially retiring. He'll retire whenever a successor is found, giving him a bit more time to do his job and possibly get sued a bit more.
-The ACC title game is moving to primetime at Raymond James Stadium, airing at 8 p.m. Dec. 5 on ESPN. Maybe the late start will give fans some more time to get there.
-Rivals.com is counting down the top 100 players in college football through a photo slideshow. They're on No. 78 right now. Penn Staters Evan Royster (No. 81) and Sean Lee (No. 99) have appeared so far. I have a feeling Lee will moving up these lists quickly when/if he proves he's completely healthy on the field.
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Link/Video of the Day:
Not the greatest quality, but remember LaVar Arrington's leap over the Illinois line in 1998? I don't. I happened to be at that game but turned my head when it happened.
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