Do The JoePa's stand a Chance against USC
A faithful Nudge reader, Patty two under par, e-mailed The Nudge two weeks ago and asked whether his beloved JoePa's stand a chance playing in The Rose Bowl against the Mighty Men of Troy. My answer to him was that unless Pete Carroll's boys get a rare case of Spanish Flu, the JoePa's don't stand a chance. Then I watched that horrible USC-UCLA game and my opinion totally changed.
USC went 9 for 18 on third downs, turned the ball over twice and didn't score in the last 27 minutes of the game. The team looked flat out flat, and this was in a rivalry game
The Nudge has been totally impressed with the JoePa's this year and if it wasn't for that fourth quarter against Iowa, everyone and their mother would be talking about how much the JoePa's deserve to be in the National Championship game. Now, this team is an afterthought and a 10 point dog in The Rose Bowl. The under/over is way low in this game at 45. I guess the odds-makers are expecting a heated defensive battle.
Look, don't sleep on the JoePa's in this game. I know by playing in Pasadena that this is a de-facto home game for the Trojans, but Penn State travels. There are going to be a heck of a lot of the Nittany Nation in attendance.
This game is going to come down to the pass defense. USC is number 1 in the nation, but Penn St. is right behind them at number 12. USC has the number 5 ranked rush D, but Penn has the number 8th ranked D in that category.
The game is going to come down to whether or not Daryl Clark can distribute the ball to his receivers: Deon Butler 713 yards, Jordan Norwood 605 yards and Super #1 recruit Derrick Williams 451 yards receiving 226 yards rushing.
So what's The Nudge's pick with the ten point spread in this game......we'll just have to wait and see.
I'll leave you off with Czech Nudgette of the week, Denise Milani, enjoy
