No. 7 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

Paterno, Lions look to build on 40 wins in 4 seasons

How long can he keep this ball rolling?

JoePa, entering his 44th season at Penn State, had his team atop the Big Ten and just two points away from a trip to Miami and the BCS National Championship game in 2008. This coming three years after the 11-1 Big Ten championship season, where a late defensive stand against Michigan would have had the Lions in contention for a title. Now, the 82-year-old has his team poised for another run, all while continuing to increase his all-time winning margin over coaching rival Bobby Bowden.

The Lions latest resurgence shows the versatility of Paterno as a head coach. After rising as high as No. 2 in 1999, Paterno's team fell off the charts. From end of the '99 season (when the Lions closed a 9-0 start with a 1-3 finish) until the start of 2005, PSU was 26-36 under JoePa, with the lone bright spot the 9-4 Capital One Bowl season led by Larry Johnson. Further, during that span, the Lions were under .500 in conference play; not exactly living up to the standards Paterno had created. After grumbling from the fan base, Paterno began to open up his offense after naming Galen Hall offensive coordinator in 2005 and intensified his recruiting, especially back in the fertile Pennsylvania area.

But with all the attention pointing toward a possible Penn State championship run, there's a question of whether the 2008 team might have been a better team than the one that opens 2009. Of course, with the way this schedule lays out, this team won't have to be better; it'll just need to be consistent.

And with a schedule like this, there's going to be a lot of complaints from around the country. The Lions are going to start to get the heat that Ohio State has - namely that winning the Big Ten right now means nothing. Outside of a home date against Ohio State, PSU plays almost no one of note. The toughest road game is at Michigan State to close the season. And even Ohio State has lined it up against Texas and USC over recent years. Penn State's non-conference schedule: Akron, Syracuse, Temple and Eastern Illinois - all at home.

An undefeated season will be required for the Lions to get to the BCS title game, but since the BCS began in 1998, only once has an unbeaten BCS team been left out. Expect a lot of complaints though if the Lions get an invite over another unbeaten BCS team.

CFN 2009 Preview | ESPN Penn State Page | CBS Penn State Page

Part of a two-week long look into the 2009 Preseason Southern Fans' College Football Poll. New posts released each day, culminating with the No. 1 team on September 2.

No. 9 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

Buckeyes hope to erase doubts around the nation

What does Ohio State have to do to get some respect?

While that might sound odd for the Big Ten Goliath, who always seems to be at the top of any poll, Ohio State receives absolutely no respect from fans nationally. The team has not only been the model of consistency under Jim Tressel but has reversed the John Cooper-inspired trend against Michigan. Tressel has gone 83-19 in Columbus, while holding a 7-1 record over the Wolverines. That kind of record against a rival creates volatile reactions and was responsible for the firing of both Michigan and Ohio State's former coaches (Lloyd Carr was 1-6 against Tressel, while OSU's John Cooper was 2-10-1 against UM).

But for someone who's been so successful, Tressel's teams continue to garner loathing from everyone outside of Ohio. Why is this?

1) Strength of the Big Ten - Outside of a good season in 2006 (where the conference might have been the best in the nation), the Big Ten has been primarily the Big Two in the 2000s. Fans can't stand that Ohio State, who does play notable non-conference games, only has to get up for two or three games a season because of the lack of strength within the Big Ten. This season will prove to be much of the same, with Penn State being the only in-conference opponent of note while USC comes to Columbus early in the season. Wins over those two teams would mean an inside track to the BCS, leading fans to agonize over the previous...

2) BCS Bowl losses - Ohio State was on top of the world at the end of 2006. The Buckeyes had run through another undefeated season (their second in six seasons), had continued their dominance over rival Michigan (and knocked the Wolverines from a spot in the BCS Championship Game), and only needed to beat a good, but lucky, Florida team to be the first team to win two BCS Championships. Of course, over the next 13 months, Ohio State would lose two national title games and be labeled with the rep of losing big games, and another BCS Bowl loss to Texas in 2008. While the loss to Florida was inexcusable due basic to a team fattened on their own greatness and trips on the rubber chicken circuit, the Buckeyes were better than the Gators (and would've won 8 of 10 against UF). The championship loss to LSU shouldn't be held against the team, as they'd only have won 2 of 10 against a healthy Tigers team, that was probably the best team in the nation despite the two losses and Les Miles at the helm. And Ohio State pushed Texas to the brink last January when the Longhorns were a bad tie breaker rule or dropped interception away from playing Florida for all the marbles.

And what's the difference between Ohio State and Oklahoma - who has now lost two national title games and received the biggest break ever in 2003? That might have to do with a little...

3) Tressel Ball - Ohio State is sooooo boring to watch, and it all goes back to Tressel, who preaches the three yards and a cloud of dust mantra while adding his own twist: the punt is the best play in football. While the Sooners continue to put up huge points in the Big XII while holding a stout defense, Ohio State continues to win close and win ugly, and Tressel wouldn't have it any other way. While that might change in 2009 and beyond with a playmaker like Tyrel Pryor at QB, Tressel would at least receive some criticism for this style of play if not for the...

4) 2001 National Championship - and no one outside of Columbus remembers Maurice Clarett powering in for the winning touchdown. No, fans around the nation remember the late pass interference penalty that saved the Buckeyes' fourth down incompletion, and gave OSU the chance to beat Miami for their first national title in 40 years. The win validated Tressel's style of play, and since, at the time, OSU was David battling the mega-superpower that was the Hurricanes, everyone was pulling for the Buckeyes, but only because they didn't realize what was about to be unleashed on the nation...

5) Ohio State fans - while Alabama, LSU and Florida fans get a reputation around the SEC for being cocky (especially among rivals and foes), no team's fans have a worse reputation then Ohio State, and that comes from people outside the conference. Texas fans, who generally despise anything Crimson and Cream, were eager to admit that Ohio State fans were worse then their foes to the north. Not to mention the pretentiousness that is The Ohio State, this might be the sole factor that annoys the rest of the nation about Ohio State.

CFN 2009 Preview | ESPN Ohio State Page | CBS Ohio State Page

Part of a two-week long look into the 2009 Preseason Southern Fans' College Football Poll. New posts released each day, culminating with the No. 1 team on September 2.

Big East, Big Ten, Big XII Coaching Boards - Week 5

We'll go with a lightening round for this week's Big East, Big Ten and Big XII Coaching Boards.

Big East Coaching Board
1. Randy Edsall, UConn
Edsall went into Louisville and came out with an impressive win. The

2. Jim Leavitt, South Florida
Leavitt's Bulls dropped a must-win game at home against Pitt.

3. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati

4. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
Schiano holds this spot based off his past few seasons and the fact that a 1-3 start now brings the ire of Scarlett Knight fans. But the Knights need to show a turnaround - and quickly, for Schiano to stay high in the rankings.

5. Dave Wannstedt, Pitt
Huge win on Thursday night for the Stash and his Panthers. Going into Tampa and leaving with a dominating win over the Big East favorite Bulls (after trailing 7-0) is a huge boost for the program after the opening-season loss.

6. Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville
The Cardinals looked competitive against UConn last Friday night. At 2-2, and with a few non-conference games ahead, Coach Krag really needs to move to 4-2 before the remaining Big East schedule hits.

7. Bill Stewart, West Virginia
At 2-2, it's tough to look at the WVU and find 4 sure-fire wins - well, at least with the product Stewart's put on the field.

8. Greg Robinson, Syracuse
Has Lane Kiffen already agreed in principle to a Syracuse contract? Either way, Robinson won't be with the Orange after this season.

Big Ten Coaching Board
1. Jim Tressell, Ohio State
Tressell's team looks completely different than the one that struggled against Ohio and lost to USC. And that'll be what pollsters will say at year's end if the Buckeyes go through the Big Ten unbeaten and there are more upsets like last weekend.

2. Joe Paterno, Penn State
A nice win against Illinois coupled with the Wisconsin loss moves JoePa to No. 2, and within shouting distance of No. 1.

3. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
The loss in the Big House was out-of-character for a Bielema-coached team. The Badgers must rebound against the Buckeyes this weekend in order to have a shot at the Big Ten title.

4. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan
Finally, Michigan started to get the turnovers that they've been giving this season, and the offense actually put some pressure on Wisconsin. Still think the call to go for two was way too early, but Michigan was able to stop UW's two-point attempt and Rich Rod became the first Wolverine coach to ever mount a 19-point comeback in Michigan Stadium.

5. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State

6. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Huge win by the Wildcats in Iowa City last week. Fitz has NU at 5-0 for the first time in over 45 years, with two home games upcoming.

7. Joe Tiller, Purdue

8. Ron Zook, Illinois

9. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Wow, what a huge loss to Northwestern. Ferentz was once the star of the Big Ten, and it looks like the Hawkeyes are not about to become competitive under him.

10. Tim Brewster, Minnesota

11. Bill Lynch, Indiana

Big XII Coaching Board
1. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
With the upsets going around, the Sooners return back to the top of the national polls, which is probably where they'll remain until, oh, December.

2. Mack Brown, Texas

3. Gary Pinkel, Missouri

4. Mike Leach, Texas Tech

5. Mark Mangino, Kansas

6. Dan Hawkins, Colorado
Coach Hawk slips a spot due to the loss in Jacksonville to FSU. I expected a better performance from his team, which had 10 days to prepare for a team that could only must 3 points against Wake the week before.

7. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Gundy has his team unbeaten, and should have an easy time with A&M before having to travel to Missouri next weekend.

8. Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Pelini falls a spot due to the loss to Virginia Tech at home, but with the way the Hokies are playing, that's not too disappointing for the first year head coach.

9. Art Briles, Baylor

10. Ron Prince, Kansas State

11. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M
Hoo-ray; Sherman's troops beat winless Army... 21-17. Nice first home win Mike.

12. Gene Chizik, Iowa State
Chizik has two weeks to make a statement - hosting Kansas and traveling to Baylor. Amazing how those two teams now look so formidable on the Iowa State schedule.

Big Ten Coaching Boards - Week 4

This week's Big Ten coaching boards... no movement at the top.

1. Jim Tressell
Ohio State
Yes, the Buckeyes looked horrible against USC, but that doesn't amek Tressell worse than the other coaches in the Big Ten, at least not yet. Even when considering the Oregon State win on Thurs night, most teams would find it challenging to come out of the Coliseum with a victory this season. With Buckie Wells coming back, OSU is going to be a formidable team; some other
people are already talking about this but don't be surprised if the Buckeyes are lurking at the top of the polls come Dec. 1.

2. Bret Bielema
Wisconsin
The Bielema has the Badgers unbeaten, even with the bad calls from the WAC officiating crew in Fresno. Regardless, Wisconsin is going to contend for the Big Ten championship and Bielema hasn't seen to miss a beat after taking over for Barry Alvarez, who, by the way, may have the largest hands in the world.

3. Joe Paterno
Penn State
I'm quite impressed by Penn State's start this season. The Nittany Lions should be getting a lot more respect than they are. The only question for Joe Pa is how many games will he distance himself from Bobby Bowden before the season's over, oh, and when he'll die on the field. I hope the answers are 8 and Nov. 7, 2009 against Ohio State at home. Tressell won't be able to gameplan for that.

4. Joe Tiller
Purdue
Tiller and Purdue lost to Oregon, but it was close and in overtime. The Boilermakers head to Notre Dame for their annual match-up against the Irish. I see Tiller getting one last victory over ND before retiring at season's end. Tiller could actually be removed from this list, considering he's gone next year, but he's actually a good buffer between the cream of the Big Ten crop and what could be dropped into the MAC without anyone really noticing.

5. Rich Rodriguez
Michigan
I really don't like lowering Rich Rod to far on this list just because of the horrible season he's having this year. Perhaps if this was year two, he'd get a farther fall. But he's still living off his days at West Virginia, which makes me wonder whether Rodriguez or West Virginia wishes that he would've stayed more...

6. Pat Fitzgerald
Northwestern
Probably shouldn't be giving Fitz this much credit with wins over Syracuse, Duke, and two non-BCS cream puffs, but Fitz has done a great job thus far in getting the Wildcats to 4-0. They travel to Iowa this weekend, and have a really good shot at getting to five before October, but it's going to be tough as Kirk Ferentz is starting to get some heat in Iowa City.

7. Mark Dantonio
Michigan State
After opening the season with the loss at Cal, MSU has beaten two nobodies before the big win over Notre Dame. While beating the Irish may not seem like much to any top tier BCS team, a Spartan win over the Irish is huge, especially given their mentality to choke when they see gold helmets. Dantonio is a good coach and cleaning up the mess of the John L. Smith era, but he needs to make a move on the upper teams in the Big Ten and needs to do it now - the talent of the Big Ten is going to see an increase soon.

8. Kirk Ferentz
Iowa
I originally had Ferentz No. 5 on this week's board, but then had to take another look at why he should be so high... turns out, he shouldn't be. The Hawkeyes have played no one this season, and lost he close one to Pitt, who gets very little respect in my book. Five years ago Ferentz would've been in the top 5 easily; amazing to see how mediocre Iowa has become since then.

9. Ron Zook
Illinois
The Zooker has had two weeks off to prepare for the Penn State onslaught - actually, with games over Eastern Illinois and U-La-La, they should've had a month off to prepare, but the Rajin Cajuns came close to knocking off the Illini in Champaign. Zook probably deserves to be a little higher than this ranking, but he'll need a big game from Juice Williams to beat the Lions - a win in Happy Valley would push him toward the upper tier of this board.

10. Tim Brewster
Minnesota
Brewster moves up after getting the Gophers to 4-0. Sure the wins haven't come over anyone with a pulse, but that's a lot better than what went on last year in Minneapolis. Tim and Bill may be fighting to stay out of the cellar for the remaining of the season.

11. Bill Lynch
Indiana
Lynch drops following the loss to Ball State. I know he's in a tough situation, but there's really not much to go off of to grade him, and Brewster seems to have rallied his team - at least until the game against Ohio State this weekend. Lynch takes his team to face Michigan State in a big early conference game between two lower teir Big Ten teams.

Big 10 Coaching Boards - Week 1

For more information about the coaching boards, click here.



1 Jim Tressell
Ohio State W
Tressell's the best in the conference. We'll get to see the two best in the PAC-10 and Big 1 go at it next week. Until then, nada.

2 Bret Bielema
Wisconsin W
Bret Bulimia stays at the number two position. They won against a name non-BCS opponent. In the Big 10, apparently that's all you have to do to stay at the top.

3Joe Paterno
Penn State W
JoePa looks like he's going to make one more run at the Big 10 championship. I'd like to see him do it; and I'd like to see him go for it again next year.

4 Rich Rodriguez
Michigan L
The Rodriguez era got off to a rousing start. Still, it's not like WVU took off immediately with RichRod's hire in 2001, so there's no reason to think that Michigan would be great right out of the gates. While he's getting a pass through most of the season, anything less than 7 wins will have him sink in these rankings. It's Michigan - they should be competitive regardless. And they need to beat Miami of Ohio on Saturday.

5 Pat Tiller
Purdue DNP
Purdue decided that after taking eight months off from their bowl game victory that they needed to rest up, take a bye for the opening week, and come on strong in week 2. They'll face Northern Colorado on Saturday, and who doesn't need 36-and-a-half weeks off to prepare for the Bears of Greeley?


6 Kirk Ferentz
Iowa W
I'll check back in on Iowa when they play a real team. Should be in late October.

7 Ron Zook
Illinois L
The Zooker got 42 points against Missouri and yet still took another season-opening loss to the Tigers. And yet it could still translate to a Rose Bowl blowout loss against this season. Thanks Big Ten; Thanks Ohio State.

8 Mark Dantonio
Michigan State L
MSU lost a big game against the Bears, but Dantonio's squad didn't look horrible; well, at least they didn't blow a lead... They never actually had one. I still think Dantonio will change the mentality at MSU. This game was a chance to prove that, and he couldn't get it done. There will be others, and I expect a difference.

9Pat Fitzgerald
N'western W
Fitz lead his team to a big BCS win over Syracuse, showing just how far Greg Robinson has depleted the men of Orange.

10 Bill Lynch
Indiana W
So is Western Kentucky a BCS team yet? Or are they still provisional? And does that even matter anymore when it comes to bowl games? The Hoosiers get on a roll with the States, with each getting progressively better - Murray, Ball and Michigan States all come to town over the next four weeks. If Lynch can leave the month of September unbeaten, he'll probably deserve a little more recognition. Of course, I think it'll be more like 2-2.

11Tim Brewster
Minnesota W
Apparently I was wrong about people in Minnesota liking Brewster. Turns out they were frozen to death.

Big Ten Coaching Board

The coaching rankings for the Big Ten. Each week, the rankings will be updated to reflect each coaches game and season-to-date performances.

Jim Tressell
Ohio State
Yeah, he's lost two back-to-back national championship games. Yeah, he coaches in a league that appears to be on a downturn, and it's become Ohio State and their 10 little bros, but the teams that Tressell has put together have really been top 5 worthy, and the talent around Columbus right now is unreal. This team is said to be better than any team Tressell has had, and with a victory in L.A. will mean another BCS Championship Game, which would mean Tressell would be strung up in SEC country. Win or lose that Championship Game, Tressell has come to dominate the Big Ten, and that doesn't look to change.

Bret Bielema
Wisconsin
Bret Bulimia has not missed a beat since taking over for Barry Alzarez, and many forget that Wisconsin was not too far away from taking on Ohio State in the 2006 National Title Game due to the Big Ten scheduling. Bieliema's teams have been competitive, which has moved him slightly ahead of Paterno, who is on his last leg through the conference.

Joe Paterno
Penn State
Tough to put the all-time coaching leader (I don't count Bowden's wins at Stanford against Berry High and Alabama Women's Institutional College for the Blind) at third in the Big 10. But Paterno has gone 32-32 in Big Ten play, and other than the 2005 Orange Bowl season, the feisty old coach has not had extreme success in the twilight (evening?, dusk?) of his career. I hope he dies on the field.

Rich Rodriguez
Michigan
RichRod is getting credit for his success at WVU, Clemson and Tulane, but I wonder if he really knows what it's going to be like coaching in a conference like the Big Ten. Sure, it may not be the SEC, but the Big Ten will offer much more competition annually, than the Big East did. Also, it will be interesting to see how Michigan recruits for the spread. Obviously the loss of Tyler Pryor to Ohio State was a huge blow. Michigan's coach should never be lower than third on this list.

Joe Tiller
Purdue
Tiller is in the twilight of his career and has done an admirable job at Purdue, becoming the face of the Boilermakers, which I think puts him on a liquor bottle somewhere in Indiana. Prior to his arrival in '97, Purdue had been to five bowl games - ever. Since he arrived, the Boilermakers have attended 11 bowl games, including a 2000 Rose Bowl appearance. This is Tiller's final season at Purdue, with a succession plan in place, so not only will he not really care about where he's ranked (like all the other coaches do), but I don't really care either.

Kirk Ferentz
Iowa
Ferentz continually declined NFL job after NFL job, with most thinking it was only a matter of time. Now Ferentz is looking to hang on to his job in Iowa City. Long gone are the days of Brad Banks; Iowa has sunk to mediocrity, and it's only because of the little depth of quality Big Ten coaches that Ferentz hangs on to No. 6. It won't be surprising though for Zook, Dantonio, and even Brewester to jump Ferentz; possibly even this season.

Ron Zook
Illinois
The Zooker lead Illinois to a BCS game in 2007. He's always been known as a good recruiter, and laid the foundation for the 2006 National Championship Gators, but he also was unable to win in a powerful conference like the SEC and, other than the Ohio State game, he didn't really win big games with the Illini. Plus, if the Rose Bowl weren't such big dillholes, UGA would've played USC in that game last year, and Illinois would've played in the Alamo or Citrus or Sun Bowl, so I can't give him too much credit for an antiquated ruling by a group that doesn't care to see a competitive game. Not to mention that USC kicked his ass.

Mark Dantonio
Michigan State
Dantonio left for MSU from Cincinnati before last season, and I have a feeling that he's a Schiano type that has the ability to do good things in East Lansing. The only problem is that, even with Michigan flailing, the Spartans have that SouthCarolina-esque mentality of losing any game that it's suppose to win and squandering any lead that it might have. It's not so much of coincidences, as that MSU now seems to believe that they will eventually lose. I don't think Dantonio can change that, but if he can, he'll earn a top 3 position in these rankings, because i think he can get talent there.

Pat Fitzgerald
Northwestern
Pat Fitzgerald is in a similar boat to Bill Lynch, as Fitz became the NU coach following the sudden death of Randy Walker. While he has not had great success at Northwestern - tallying a 10-14 mark in two seasons - Fitzgerald has received praise from the administration, and has been able to lead the Wildcats to victories over mediocre Big Ten teams. Sure that doesn't sound like much, but a string of those will get Northwestern into a bowl game, and that's all they can really ask for in Evanston.

Bill Lynch
Indiana
I know very little about Bill Lynch, but under the circumstances, there really hasn't been much time to get a handle on him. He lead the team to a bowl game in his first year, completing the goal of the late Hoosier coach Terry Hoeppner of 'Playing 13.' He lead Indiana to a 7-6 season and their first bowl since '93. This was enough for the administration to sign him on to a 4 year contract, but I have my doubts that he will be able to do anything with Indiana in the Big 10. For the record, Hoeppner would've been around No. 6 in this poll.

Tim Brewster
Minnesota
Brewster is down this low after a horrible first year with the Gophers, but he will probably shoot to the middle of the pack this season. People around Minnesota are content with Brewster, despite the 1-11, and as my grandpappy used to say, if people are content in Minnesota, you'd better make sure they're not frozen to death.