Oct. 4, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Lewis (Butler): What channel is the Iowa game on?
A: Saturday night's game will air live on ESPN at 8 p.m. (ET). Mark Jones and Bob Davie will call the action. Get in front of your TV to cheer on the Lions. Thanks for the question.
Margo (Lancaster): Can you clarify how national rankings work? PSU women's volleyball lost to Illinois, but remain ranked ahead of them in the latest AVCA poll. Why?
A: That is a very interesting question, Margo. Penn State is ranked No. 4 and Illinois is ranked No. 8 this week, despite Illinois beating Penn State 3-2 on Friday. My take is this: Penn State has a much more impressive resume with road wins at Florida and Wisconsin. That being said, Friday's game was a five-set match that could have gone either way. I'm sure that played into the voting, as well. Penn State deserves to be No. 4 with its quality victories.
Drew (Wilkes Barre): I was at that men's soccer game on Friday vs. Indiana. I can't believe they made that offsides call. Was it really offsides?
A: Drew, this is another good question to debate this week. I was standing directly in line with the final play when it happened, and I had a hard time seeing where the offsides call came from. Nonetheless, the officials have the final say and the goal did not count. Penn State played a very good game against a solid Indiana team. Despite the setback, there were a number of positives to take away from the game. Look for a good year for the Lions in the Big Ten.
Craig (Philipsburg): How do you think the women's volleyball team will respond to another streak being broken (the Big Ten match streak over the weekend)?
A: Like I mentioned a couple weeks ago, if anything the Lions will be more focused after the loss to Illinois. They played well on Sunday at Wisconsin. Illinois is a very good team and it is always a difficult environment for a visiting team in Champaign. Penn State had a match point in the fifth set, but fell just short. The team will continue to get better with each passing week. I am confident.
Mark (Shrewsbury): I'm bringing my family to the Illinois game. Do you have any tips?
A: Hi Mark. I am thrilled to hear that you are bringing your family to the game. A Penn State gameday is unlike anything else. From the tailgating lots to the Tailgreat inside the Bryce Jordan Center to the Blue Buses arriving to the pregame music from the Blue Band, I suggest you take in everything. Arrive early is my first piece of advice. There is plenty to do outside the stadium. You can walk down Curtin Road (which runs right next to the stadium) for a variety of food and merchandise vendors, along with display booths. Tailgreat takes place in the BJC three hours prior to kickoff. Look for the Blue Buses to arrive outside the south gate of the stadium approximately 1:40 prior to kickoff. Soak in as much of the atmosphere as you can. Have a great time.
Jeff McCallus (Facebook): I still don't understand how teams like Texas and Iowa can lose to unranked opponents and still remain higher in the polls than Penn State. We lost to the #1 team in country. Why are we ranked so much lower?
A: Thanks for the question, Jeff. Iowa lost to Arizona, who was ranked 24th at the time. But you bring up a valid point with this argument. I am a firm believer that polls should not start to come out until the third or fourth week of a season so that we avoid situations like the one you mention. Simply put, the preseason rankings have a huge influence on where teams are ranked after an early season loss. Both Iowa and Texas were in the top 10 during the preseason and Penn State was ranked in the upper teens. Therefore, Iowa and Texas didn't drop below Penn State, despite, like you mention, the Lions losing to the No. 1 team in the country. I disagree with how much of an influence preseason rankings have, but it is the system we have to deal with.
Kristine Klemmer (Facebook): What is up with all the field goals? ...we had a few shots to go for it and didn't.
A: Kristine, thanks for submitting a question. I think the coaching staff did a very good job making decisions on when to kick the field goals to get points based on how the game was playing out. It would have been much too risky to go for it on fourth down often in a tight game. When you are in a close game, you need to take the points, rather than risk a fourth down play. Nonetheless, I think the Lions need to score touchdowns in the red zone. It will be difficult to beat a solid team like Iowa with field goals. That will be an emphasis at practice this week. It will improve.
Ashley Pennington (Facebook): Is this game against Iowa a little bit of a revenge game?
A: I hate to use the "revenge" card, but I think the team is very motivated to get a victory over Iowa. Penn State hasn't won in Iowa City since 1999. And we all remember the last trip to Iowa City in 2008 and last season's loss at home. Trust me, the team hasn't forgotten about the last two seasons. And they want a victory badly. It will be a tough game, but I look for a very determined effort on Saturday night. The Lions are due for a big game against the Hawkeyes.