FanHouse DaryllClark

Every Thursday, Pickin' on the Big Ten previews the weekend's games so Big Ten haters can get even more nervous.

I don't know if you've noticed, but the rest of the college football universe is sort of obsessed right now. They have a deep, lingering fear of Iowa winding up in the BCS Championship Game. That, to them, could only mean one of two things. The Hawkeyes could get blown out in a total snoozer. That would be bad. They could also win, which would be worse. Now what conference would they have to say is overrated? Their own?

Every Thursday, Pickin' On the Big Ten previews the weekend's action, settling the scores before the scores are settled.

Penn State has declared that Saturday night's game with Iowa will be a "whiteout" game. That distinction is usually reserved for games of the utmost importance, and if you don't know why this game is so important to the Nittany Lions, you must not remember what happened last year in Iowa City. A Daniel Murray field goal put the Hawkeyes on top and ended any hopes Penn State had of getting blown out by Florida playing in the BCS National Championship Game. It's time for revenge.

Penn State, however, is not the only Big Ten team with a little revenge on its mind this weekend.

While Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio State were struggling with their opening day opponents, three Big Ten schools were making short work of theirs. Penn State had little trouble with Akron, beating the Zips 31-7. Michigan State likewise found Montana State easy pickings, rolling over the Bobcats 44-3. And, in Evanston, Northwestern flattened Towson, 47-14.

For Michigan State, quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol had big days, with Cousins throwing for three touchdowns and Nichol adding two more. The Spartan rushing game seemed to take its predicted step backwards, though that could just be because the passing game was clicking so well. The MSU defense held Montana State to just 171 yards of total offense; after their opening three-and-out drive, the Bobcats only entered Spartan territory once.

Michigan State wasn't the only school to put up unexpected passing numbers today, however.

It's barely spring here in the Midwest but spring football is well under way, and there's abundant intrigue in the Big Ten conference. Coming off what seems like the 46th consecutive disappointing bowl season, including a Rose Bowl where Penn State's Daryll Clark (right) did his best but the Nittany Lions still couldn't beat Southern Cal, nobody will be expecting much from the conference or its teams when fall rolls around. Somebody has to win it, however, and now is when the jockeying for position really begins.

In the first installment of the end-of-season report card on the Big Ten, we looked at the schools in the first half of the alphabet. Know what letter is in the first half of the alphabet? That's right. F. But then, all the other grade letters are in the first half of the alphabet too.

Even though it wasn't a great year overall for the conference, there were plenty of bright points and hopeful signs and "wait until next year" moments which should have Big Ten fans excited for next season. Either that, or we'll all look like Charlie Brown did five seconds after Lucy teed up the football. But I digress. Let's take a look at the teams in the second drawer of the Big Ten file cabinet, shall we?

Every Thursday, Pickin' On the Big Ten breaks down action across the conference. Except for the weeks when it just breaks down, period.

Okay, sure, but what about the rest of the conference? Once again, I get it; nobody outside of State College wants Penn State to win out and make it to the title game, particularly if it comes at the expense of a one-loss champion from the Big XII or SEC. The Coke-Bottle Glass Guy must pay for the coaching sins of the Sweater Vest Guy, and the whole conference suffers until, you know, they actually win something.

So I'm guessing that whatever SEC teams wind up in the Capital One and Outback Bowls will have it penciled in as an Insta-Win; ditto the Big XII and the Alamo Bowl, the likely destination for whoever is unfortunate enough to win the North Division. I don't know what to say, other than that it's hard to argue with somebody when they're probably right. Who knows? The conference might not even win the Motor City Bowl this season, given that it's likely they'll be facing a bevy of honked-off Ball State Cardinals.

Blame, of course, is like fruitcake: Somehow it seems like there's always enough to go around. Who do I blame for the fact that the Big Ten keeps getting force-fed giant bowls of Scorn Flakes? Go back to the first paragraph.

If the Minnesota Golden Gophers aren't the most improved team in college football this season, who is? Through seven weeks of play, Tim Brewster's squad is enjoying the sort of success that always seemed to elude his predecessor Glen Mason. The Gophers are now 6-1 with a signature road win over Illinois and their sole loss coming in Columbus.

Nobody was complaining about the Gopher offense last season. They just weren't up to the task of bailing out the nation's worst defense week after week. Statistically this season's Gopher offense is mid-pack by almost any measure. The difference is on the other side of the ball.

It's not that the Gophers have moved way, way up. It's that the Gophers had nowhere to go but up. Their defensive statistics this year aren't the stuff of dreams, but the Gophers are allowing, on average, about 130 fewer yards and 19 fewer points per game than they were a year ago. New defensive coordinator Ted Roof didn't work out as a head coach at Duke. Both Duke and Minnesota are happy for that.

Anybody can post good results against a squishy schedule, however. The Gophers hung in against their most challenging opponent to date (Ohio State) but failed to win. That raises the question of whether the Gophers can stand up against the other challengers in the Big Ten.

First of all, no, I don't have any idea if this is Joe Paterno's last season or not. How can I know if JoePa himself doesn't know? What I do know is that whatever Paterno is doing, it's working. Sort of. The Nittany Lions were an agrarian army awfully arrayed just four seasons ago, and the hoots of derision coming from all corners of the college football world were threatening to eclipse all of Paterno's past accomplishments. Now the Nits have won three straight bowl games and are all but guaranteed to have a shot at making it four in a row.

Second of all, yes, the Lions have had their share of off-the-field problems lately. That's why an Iowa fan is writing this preview. Looking at Penn State football right now requires the ability to gloss over all the extracurricular activities, and we Iowa fans are about the only group of fans who can't say squat about the Nitty Kitties' rap sheet. Also, we want to thank them for taking the Outside The Lines bullet for us. So, thanks!

Now, on to the football.

With their 24-17 victory in San Antonio over Texas A&M last night, Penn State not only gave Joe Paterno his record 23rd bowl game victory, but it also opened a new window to what we should expect from the Nittany Lions next season. Rejoice, Penn State fans. The Anthony Morelli Errror Era is over!

On Saturday night the Nittany Lions reintroduced a facet of their offense they've been missing since Michael Robinson led Penn State to an Orange Bowl victory in 2006 over Florida State: a mobile quarterback.

Part of Penn State's game plan going in was to get junior quarterback Daryll Clark involved in the offense, and they did just that. Clark didn't throw any passes during the game, but he did rush the ball six times for 50 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown that tied the game at 14-14.

Also, while senior Rodney Kinlaw led the Lions in rushing with 143 yards, it was freshman Evan Royster who broke free for a 38-yard touchdown that would prove to be the difference in the game.

So heading into 2008 there's a lot to be optimistic about in Happy Valley. Yes, the defense must deal with the loss of Dan Connor, but Penn State is Linebacker U, so I feel safe in my assumption they'll find somebody to fill that void. They also face the possible loss of corner Justin King, who is yet to decide whether or not he's going to return for his senior season.

Still, given the fact that Michigan may drop off a bit next season as they get accustomed to Rich Rodriguez's new offense there's an opening at the top of the Big Ten. It's not going to be easy because Ohio State will still be Ohio State, and the rest of the Big Ten continues to improve, but at this point a conference title and BCS berth should be the NIttany Lions goal going into next season.

With Clark under center, and Royster toting the rock, it's a goal that's very much within reach.

If you were to judge Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli solely by his numbers, you would think that the Nittany Lions have themselves a pretty good quarterback. His completion percentage could be higher than 59%, but the 757 yards, eight touchdowns, and only one interception looks pretty nice though.

As is often the case though, numbers don't tell the whole story. After Penn State lost to the Michigan Wolverines last weekend in Ann Arbor, the same questions surrounding Morelli last season came to the surface again.

Will he ever beat a good team?

Yes his numbers look good, but they came against teams like Buffalo and Notre Dame. Not exactly top flight competition. Against Michigan he completed less than half of his passes for 169 yards.

Since he became the starter last season, Morelli is 0-4 in games against Big Ten powers Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. He's yet to throw his first touchdown pass against any of them.

So the question becomes, if Morelli struggles on Saturday against the Illini in Champaign, will Joe Paterno pull him for Daryll Clark or Pat Devlin? I don't know if it means anything, but Morelli is usually made available to the local media in weekly conference calls.