Thanks Penn State, for doing the Big Ten proud, you clowns. You have the road paved for you to either make the BCS national title game OR at least make a case for (again) why this system sucks. Instead, you laid a smelly egg in Iowa and lost the game to a team that really shouldn't have been on the same field with you.

I often say I hate being forced to defend teams that I don't like. But I live in Big 12/SEC country now and so that happens a lot. I am a Big Ten loyalist -- not that I root for Big Ten teams, necessarily, but I don't like it when the idiotic statement is accepted as fact that the Big Ten is lousy. It's not that bad.

There was a guy in my office two weeks ago who claimed that he thought Penn State was "maybe #25 in the nation." Now no matter whether you think the Big Ten is down or not, that's just silly and I told him so. When teams from the MAC, the WAC, the ACC and the Big East are in the Top 25, you simply cannot make that claim. Penn State is a good football team. But again, I hate to defend them because, well, I can't stand them or their senile coach (hint -- when you're too old and decrepit to even stand on the sidelines, it's over).

And then PSU goes and loses by a point to Iowa. And while I do think Iowa isn't nearly as good as PSU, they're having a quietly decent season. Which brings me to another point.

How come when a mediocre SEC team (like, oh, say, Ole Miss) squeaks one out against Florida, people say that just shows how tough the SEC is, but when the exact same kind of thing happens with Iowa and Penn State, it "proves" that PSU isn't for real? I don't follow.

While I do agree Florida is the best team in the SEC (Alabama will find this out in the conference title game), they lose to a team they never should have lost to. Why doesn't this disqualify them in voters and media memebers minds? Ah, because they've all collectively decided that the SEC is "so good" that it's "hard" to go undefeated. Yeah, it's hard to go unbeaten in any conference, stooges. Including the Big Ten.

The other frustrating media thing is when they all sing the praises of a darling like Ball State or Boise State and how they can go undefeated and "not get their shot." Yes, see, that's because they play cream puffs and come from truly second-tier conferences. Yet it's fun to act like they deserve a shot and a one-loss (or, let's face it, even if they'd been unbeaten) PSU team doesn't because the Big Ten is "down."

Whatever, I'm salty.

In Other Moron Media News

Todd Blackledge of ESPN fame was on ESPN radio this morning talking college football and he shocked listeners by saying he has no problem with no playoff and doesn't even think we need the title game that we have... basically saying he liked the old bowl system where if two unbeaten teams played in different conference-affiliated bowls and both won, that the voters got to decide... and that if they split the national title, then it's "okay to have several winners."

What is this, peewee football? Unbelieveable, that a clown like Blackledge could think that. I'm so tired of this arcane argument that the lack of a playoff system makes college football so much more interesting. It's a tired and ignorant argument. Yes, it creates discussion and arguments on The Sports Reporters. But so what? Don't you think it'd be more interesting to actually see the top 6 or 8 teams (or, hell, the top 4 teams) duke it out for a title? I just fail to see how one meaningful bowl game (and 30 meaningless ones) at the very end is better than some incredibly meaningful playoff bowl games followed by a true national champ. You can still have your useless Pointsettia Bowls and Music City Bowls and Sun Bowls. Nobody cares about those besides the schools playing in them (and Vegas) and that would continue. They're meaningless now and they would continue to be just as pefectly "traditional" and meaningless as the deceitful powers-that-be want you to think they care about them being.

College football is so much fun and so exciting and yes, there's a desperation involved because of the system. But the little bit you'd lose would be far outweighed by actually deciding a champion on the field.

I'm sure this won't be the last time I ramble about this before January.