Bu that is not to say that the Rank Nazi doesn't have some work to do this week.

Auburn--NO RANK FOR YOU!

Connecticut--NO RANK FOR YOU!

Fresno State--what? NO RANK FOR YOU!

Kentucky--no a bad showing against Bama, but . . I hate to have to do this, but . . . NO RANK FOR YOU!

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	--
2	Missouri	--
3	Texas	--
4	LSU	--
5	Penn State	--
6	Alabama	--
7	Southern Cal	--
8	Brigham Young	--
9	Texas Tech	--
10	Ohio State	1
11	Georgia	1
12	Florida	--
13	Utah	1
14	Boise State	4
15	Vanderbilt	4
16	Oklahoma State	4
17	Illinois	5
18	Kansas	8
19	Northwestern	4
20	Michigan State	6
21	Virginia Tech	5
22	South Florida	9
23	Ball State	2
24	North Carolina	2
25	Wisconsin	8

Fifteen teams remain undefeated:

1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Alabama
4. Penn St.
5. Missouri
6. BYU
7. Ball St.
8. Oklahoma St.
9. Tulsa
10. Texas Tech
11. Boise St.
12. Utah
13. LSU
14. Vanderbilt
15. Northwestern

For whatever reason, Tulsa is the only one I don't have currently ranked. I don't know why. Don't ask me again. I promise I will consider it if they are still undefeated next week.

NCAA Average Ranking in 32 categories:

1. Ball St. (27.75)
2. Penn St. ( 28.78)
3. Oklahoma (32.40)
4. Florida (32.65)
5. TCU (32.87)
6. Arizona (32.93)
7. BYU (34.28)
8. Southern California (34.68)
9. Texas (35.21)
10. Boston College (37.46)
11. Tulsa (37.96)
12. California (38.37)
13. Missouri (38.75)
14. Kentucky (38.84)
15. Oklahoma St. (38.93)
16. Texas Tech (39.40)
17. Minnesota (40.43)
18. LSU (40.93)
19. Arkansas St. (41.84)
20. Wisconsin (43.03)

BTW: In case you didn't notice, there is a CBS Sports logo attached to the Blog Poll. That is not an accident. Do not adjust your computer. CBS Sports has teamed up with the Blog Poll and will now feature the poll on their site.

CBSSports.com will continue this tradition: The BlogPoll's initial results will be released on Monday, displayed side-by-side with the more traditional AP and Coaches' polls. Fans will be encouraged to review the ballot of the blogger associated with their favorite team and, if interested, even challenge them to defend their decision-making. The BlogPoll voters will take this fan feedback into account before submitting their final ballot, released each Wednesday exclusively at CBSSports.com.

The BlogPoll's founder and administrator, Brian Cook -- who publishes MGoBlog.com, the leading blog dedicated to Michigan football -- will continue to provide his weekly analysis, calling out individual bloggers for qualities like excessive deviation from the overall poll and "homerism."

It's just one more step toward world domination.

It was an overall solid performance by the 6th ranked Nittany Lions as they nearly shut out Purdue, winning 20-6. The fourth quarter touchdown by Purdue was their first offensive touchdown in 11+ quarters and, if I am not mistaken, the first time all season that PSU did not answer an opponents' score with one of their own.

Most of Nittany Nation was anxiously awaiting our top ten offense to shred Purdue's bottom ten defense, but the blow out never materialized. Part of this was due to an inexplicably slippery field (at least for our team) and the patented Joe Paterno road conservatism. I don't think the field was wet, but apparently we didn't have the right cleats--blame Spider! Penn State punted at least twice from the Boilermaker side of the field, eschewing a fourth and short opportunity to continue drives. Of course, those opportunities were passed after unimaginative runs up the middle on third and short failed.

Why, with so many weapons and so many options, do we go into a goal line formation and try to pound the ball against defenses that are stacking the box? Why is it suddenly dangerous to pass over the middle? Safe at home; dangerous on the road? Safer against the Illini defense, but not the Purdue defense? I don't think Daryll Clark even ran an option all day long. Where are the roll outs with an option to run or pass?

Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-NewsJust a Couple of Joes.

I am going to go off on a tangent here. Let's assume for the sake of argument that you are the head coach and you think you've got a pretty good team--maybe even a national championship contender. You're playing a team that on paper and film, does not appear to be much of a matchup--you should win pretty handily. What do you do?

If you play conservative and do just enough to win, you have the advantage of not giving future opponents much to look at on tape. By not running your start quarterback, you minimize the risk of injury. By playing conservative, you don't give up the big plays, but you don't make many of your own--but that's okay as long as you win. As far as I can tell, those are the positives to that approach.

But let's pause and look at the downside to this strategy. By allowing a team to "hang around," you give them the opportunity to "make a play." Let's not forget Minnesota 1999--I know I will never forget that game. No matter how you spin it, the bottom line is that Purdue was a blown coverage (which has happened at least three times this season already!) and an on-sides kick away from ruining what could be a special season.

You also run the risk of disappointing the voters. While it may be too early to worry about things like that, the harsh reality is that it does matter. You can run the table and still be left out in the cold if there are still teams ranked above you. In this case, it did not matter, and the 14 point win was enough to keep our 6th spot. One more touchdown would not have been considered running up the score (unless you crossed the goal line with less than a minute to go) and certainly would have kept the fans from sweating in the fourth quarter. A win is a win, unless you are the 1994 Penn State team and you give up what seems like meaningless scores at the time to a team like Indiana.

Another problem with this approach is that in not showing future opponents what you might have by limiting the playbook, you also prevent the team from practicing these plays in a real time situation under game pressure. Wouldn't it be nice to know what works before you try it in Madison or Columbus? Isn't it the job of the opposing defensive coordinator and his defense to limit what you can do? Why help him out? We've already shown that we can pass across the middle--why not exploit that against Purdue?

Wouldn't it have made more sense to allow your offense to keep playing the way it has--the way it is used to, and mounting a more comfortable lead before going inside your shell? I personally think a 28 point first half lead , 21 in the 3rd and 17 in the fourth are bare minimums to really be comfortable against a team like Purdue. I will step off the soap box now.

What was a bright spot on the afternoon was the way our defense rose to the challenge. While most fans expected Penn State to score a lot more points, most also expected Purdue to do likewise. The much maligned Hull had a great game. A pass interference call and giving up a fourth down conversion in the red zone were the only major defensive problems. There was also some shoddy tackling at times, but that didn't contribute to any points. The Boilers were held to 83 yards on the ground (2.5 per carry) and only 241 total yards. Penn State had no turnovers and Astorino logged an INT for the Blue and White.

On the other side of the ball, Purdue shot themselves in the foot repeatedly. I think they shot their kicker in the foot because he was totally ineffective, missing two field goals and a point after attempt.

The spotting of the ball in the fourth quarter made me wonder if this game was being played at the Big House with referines. Even with a review, they couldn't spot the ball properly. The bad spots ended up having no bearing on the ultimate outcome, but for crying out loud, spotting the ball is a basic skill that these guys should be able to handle.

BY THE NUMBERS:

From GoPSUsports.com:

Zero penalties for the Boilermakers, and an uncharacteristic 4 for PSU.

I wish we could do something about stopping those fourth down conversions!

INTANGIBLES:

Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-NewsJoe deosn't even know HOW to wear a headset!

Penn State won the toss and deferred.

Purdue has lost 16 straight games to ranked opponents.

Paterno, with 378 wins, still leads Bowden by 1, as inexplicable evil forces have converged to help F$U defeat Miami. Paterno coached from the pressbox due to his knee/leg.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1. South Florida--pretender, not a contender
2. Auburn--beaten by the Vandy Geeks
3. Nebraska--first loss in Lincoln to Missouri since 1978
4. Oregon--quacked by a resurgent USC
5. Fresno State--lost to Hawaii 32-29

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Lions travel to Madison for a prime time show-down with the Badgers. If you believe in the transitive property of football, PSU beat Illinois, Illinois beat THEM, and THEM beat the badgers. Ergo, PSU should beat Wisconsin. Oh, if only it were that simple.

I strongly suspect that Joe Paterno is still keeping some offensive firepower under wraps. We went back to a very conservative game plan this week. It remains to be seen whether that will change against higher ranked competition or not. The defense seems to improve each week. We do not have a shut down defense, but when you look at what Illinois and Oregon State have done in other games, our defense has done a heckuva job. In fact, we may already have played our toughest Big Ten opponent.

Unfortunately for us, this is a road game (read: conservative game plan) and Wisconsin is coming off back-to-back losses in the conference. This is a must win game for them if they harbor any aspirations for a share of a Big Ten title. I found it interesting that the Camp-Randall crowd did not seem that loud or raucous on TV for the Ohio State game, so maybe the atmosphere won't be as hostile. I wouldn't count on that, though. Safer bet is that we play things conservative. The next three weeks will pretty much determine how good this team really is. I think they are up to the challenge. Bigger question: is the coaching staff?

GO STATE! BEAT BADGERS!

Feel how soft and tender the defense is

Can Purdue stop the high-octane Lion offense?

Can our defense rise to the occasion?

Will it be a Joe vs. Joe shoot-out?

We shall see. . .

Please post your predictions, comments, thoughts, etc.

The whole band has been suspended!

According to UW-Madison News:

The University of Wisconsin Marching Band has been suspended as a result of serious hazing allegations, Band Director Mike Leckrone announced today (Oct 3, 2008).

The suspension, which applies to band performances, is effective immediately. The band will not perform at Saturday's game versus Ohio State University, scheduled for 7 p.m.

The alleged conduct is consistent with behavior that resulted in the band being placed on probation in 2006. In particular, the new reports of alleged conduct include inappropriate alcohol-use, hazing and sexualized behavior.

Do these drummers think they're football players or something? Hard to believe in this day and age that college kids would be mixed up with alcohol and sexualized behavior.

AP PhotoHull in position? Not exactly.

One of the topics of conversation was Josh Hull.

Joe asked the question--and I paraphrase here--why is Hull starting at Penn State when he wouldn't even be a starter at IUP?

Kind of harsh, doncha think?

On our own forum, PKnite asks:

Can the defense overcome one very marginal player - Hull? Are we good enough on the line and in the seconday? Secondary actually worries me more. Man, if we had Lee, I know we would be a force on D.

The messageboards are rife with criticism of the young man. Apparently, this has not gone unnoticed. Brendan Shorts ("sports shorts") on Scout.com writes that Hull isn't fazed by the critics:

Nittany Lion fans have still found a whipping boy. It is starting middle linebacker Josh Hull, a redshirt junior who entered the program as a walk-on. Though Nittany Lion coach Joe Paterno seemed a bit irritated when told Hull has been heavily criticized by fan, the player himself refuses to get fired up over it.

"I'm aware of some of the criticism," Hull said. "I've taken it as it comes. You're going to experience some good; you're going to experience some bad. You don't let the negative experiences affect you in a negative way. I'm going to move on and get better every day at practice."

Hull was thrust into the starting middle linebacker job in the spring, when All-America candidate Sean Lee tore an ACL and was lost for the 2008 season.

Paterno's response regarding the fans' criticism:

''You want me to be critical of people who are too dumb to know what a good football player is?'' the coach said.

Paterno went on to add: ''No, no he's a good, solid football player. I'm not going to get into [that] and justify criticism. You know, I go through that all the time. People call me up and say, 'Do you know what so and so said about you? I say, 'No, I don't know what they said about me, and I really don't care.' And I think Josh is probably in the same boat.''

Classic. (But not classy.)

The Hull saga should be a feel good story.

Hull is a great story - a local kid from Penns Valley High School who dreamed about going to Penn State, walked on and eventually earned a scholarship and starting job.

That said ...

Hull has not played well so far as Penn State's starting middle linebacker.

He has only 21 tackles in five games, has been run over and dragged by ball carriers for extra yards, has not shown good closing speed on tackles and doesn't seem to have a good nose for the ball.

I personally have felt the fans have been too harsh on Hull. From the way some of them speak, you'd think a national championship hinged on his play alone.

I watched a replay of the Illinois game, which gives you the luxury of stop and rewind--and Hull did not have a good first series. He was not as bad later in the game, when the defense as a whole played better. (After Illinois scored on its first two possessions, the Lions held them to 3 points until the fourth quarter.)

The Lions also have the 15th ranked rushing defense in the country. Maybe Hull doesn't have individual stats, but you would think we were 1-4 by the amount of criticism this kid is taking.

He has absolutely huge shoes to fill, following in the line of Poz, Connor and the injured Sean Lee. He hasn't had the playing time that those guys had in their senior or junior years.

On the radio show, I contrasted him to another player that took a lot of heat from the fans, a player who Paterno likewise stood behind--Morelli.

The difference here is that Morelli, as a senior with an entire junior year of playing time under his belt, was no better than when he had first taken the field. He still made costly mistakes that did cost us games. Hull has not lost a game for us. Not even close. In fact, the Illini drives were often keyed by big plays against our secondary, not huge chunks of yardage up the middle.(I am concerned about our secondary.)

I'm not arguing here that Hull is a great player. He definitely has had some problems, but I think I see some improvement each week. Whereas I felt the criticism of Morelli was justified to a large extent, I do not feel the same way about Hull at this point.

Purdue probably won't be a good game to gauge his improvement, but Wisconsin with their punishing rushing attack will be.

Chris Null, "the working guy", writes in his blog (and I guess that is the working part) that employees waste 2 hours a day on the Internet at work.

Two hours???!!!!

Come on people! That is barely enough time to recap last week's game, check on your fantasy team standings, preview your next opponent, check out the polls and place a bet on this week's game. And what about checking out the depth chart? Complaining about Josh Hull on messageboards? There is just so much to do and so little time to do it. How can you do that in less than two hours? I can't be expected to do all that on my free time!

If you're one of these people, you need to work harder to slip more blog time into your work schedule. I'm not running this blog here for my health you know. Work on that.

Speaking of wasting time . . . Pitt plays tonight.

Penn State comes off an emotional, white out high (no, they weren't sniffing white out or smoking pot--and they didn't inhale!) and has an intimidating trip to Madison looming on the horizon.

Look it up in the dictionary--this is the definition of a trap game.

Purdue is statistically worse than Illinois, but that is not terribly surprising. Illinois was ranked; Purdue was not. Illinois has played some tough games. Purdue played Notre Dame.

Actually, Purdue was beating Oregon, before pulling a dramatic come from ahead loss, ala PSU versus the Spartans last year.

Offensively, PSU has a better overall offense (total and scoring) but more importantly, it is a balanced offense. On the other side of the ball, Purdue has the 41st. ranked offense in the country, but this is skewed toward the Curtis Painter led passing attack, which is 16th in the nation.

In terms of total defense, the difference is dramatic, 14th in the nation for the Lions versus 107th in the nation for the Boilers. Only 12 division 1A teams have worse defenses. We've already played one of those (Syracuse.) To put this in better perspective, Temple has a better defense (88th.)

It does not appear we will have trouble putting points on the board, providing of course that Joe allows the offensive playbook to remain open with a balanced attack, we minimize mistakes, and we wake up early enough for the noon kick-off. It would also help if we pretend this weren't a road game.

Purdue is ranked 31st in kick-off returns and we are 100th in KO defense. Hopefully this won't lead to many short fields or quick return scores.

Despite our problems with fumbles, we are better in turnover margin (+0.8) than Purdue (-0.25).

We are less penalized than Purdue--we play well with others.

The last I checked, we were 10.5 point favorites.

Penn State is 9-3-1 versus Purdue all-time. The last meeting was a 26-19 win at Beaver Stadium in 2007. The only two losses since joining the Big Ten were in the dark ages of 2003-4.

No. But according to Arrelious Benn, the Illini gave the game away to Penn State.

From Herb Gould of the Chicago Sun Times:

The Illini left with the feeling that mistakes beat them as much as Penn State.

''Give [Penn State] some credit,'' said Arrelious Benn, who caught touchdowns of 33 and 54 yards. ''But I thought we were the better team. We should have won that game. We just gave the game away with our penalties and mistakes.''

Daryll Clark is starting to get noticed. He has been mentioned 8th on a list of Heisman hopefuls by Gene Menez of SI.com.

8. Daryll Clark, Penn State, QB, Sr.

Last week: 14-of-20 passing, 181 yards, 2 TDs; 11 rushes, 50 yards, 1 TD in a 38-24 victory over No. 22 Illinois.

Season: 62-of-98 passing, 896 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT; 23 rushes, 131 yards, 3 TDs.

Heisman-o-meter: Penn State running back Evan Royster has been on the verge of breaking into this list and could easily be here instead. Teammate Derrick Williams had a sensational all-around night Saturday. But Clark is the choice. While he ran more against the Illini than he ever has in college, Clark is a capable passing quarterback who just happens to have the ability to tuck the ball and take off. With him, the Nittany Lions have found balance on offense, averaging 267.6 yards on the ground and 247.6 through the air, while becoming the team to beat in the Big Ten.

Javon Ringer of MSU also made the list at #6. Yeah, whatever. I have some teams to unrank here:

First off, Colorado let me down big time. Florida State couldn't even sell out the tickets to this one. NO RANK FOR YOU!

Nebraska fell to Virginia Tech--NO RANK FOR YOU!

Wake Forest lost by 7 to Navy--NO RANK FOR YOU!

And TCU was crushed by Oklahoma--NO RANK FOR YOU!

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	1
2	Missouri	3
3	Texas	3
4	LSU	3
5	Penn State	4
6	Alabama	6
7	Southern Cal	6
8	Brigham Young	3
9	Texas Tech	4
10	Georgia	7
11	Ohio State	1
12	Florida	8
13	South Florida	6
14	Utah	1
15	Fresno State	2
16	Auburn	2
17	Wisconsin	9
18	Boise State	4
19	Vanderbilt	4
20	Oklahoma State	5
21	Connecticut	5
22	Illinois	6
23	Northwestern	3
24	Kentucky	2
25	Ball State	1

Ball State? What am I thinking? Well, they're 5-0. They have wins over Indiana and Navy, who just upset a ranked Wake Forest team. If they don't deserve to be ranked, it will be proven soon enough. I always consider that 25th spot kind of a bubble--you've got one spot left and maybe a dozen or so teams that have just as much claim to be there. Can't say the same about the top 10 or 15 spots.

Kentucky and Connecticut are likewise undefeated and the bubble spot was already taken. The Rank Nazi was impressed with Illinois, whose two losses are to teams currently in the Top 6 in the country. I felt they deserve some credit for that. In fact, Tulsa is the only unranked team I don't have listed. Too bad for them. Keep winning and perhaps the Rank Nazi will smile on you.