FanHouse Evan Royster

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.

If EA Sports is at all accurate with the simulation of the college football season, we have plenty of excitement and more than a little history on our hands this fall.

While they project a rather anticlimactic national championship game (Florida over Penn State 45-14), the path to get us there appears to be full of fun for fans of all conferences. The simulated season leads us into one of the more high-profile Heisman Trophy races you could ask for.

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?

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 anybody was worried about the Penn State ground game after the indefinite suspension of tailback Austin Scott, I don't think they need to worry anymore. Scott, you may have heard, has been suspended indefinitely by the school for allegedly raping a girl in his apartment a few weeks ago. Just another fun story to throw on the Penn State pile this season, right there on top of Anthony Scirrotto's drunken fighting, and JoePa's busy middle fingers.

The Nittany Lions were able to rack up 221 yards on the ground on Saturday, as they buried the Wisconsin Badgers 38-7 in Happy Valley. The 221 rushing yards against Wisconsin came just a week after the Nittany Lions ran for 256 yards against Iowa. So in two games without Scott, Penn State is averaging 238.5 yards a game after averaging only 164.2 yards a game with him in the backfield.

The reason for their success has been the 5'9 senior Rodney Kinlaw. After only carrying the ball only 80 times for 326 yards his first three years in Happy Valley, Kinlaw has compiled 283 yards the last two weeks alone. Including the 115 yards and touchdown he had against Wisconsin on Saturday.

Kinlaw's not alone either, as freshman Evan Royster has played well in Scott's absence as well. Royster rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown of his own against Wisconsin, as the Nittany Lions are finding a lot of options in their backfield. Which is a very good thing, because every time Anthony Morelli takes a snap and hands it off to a running back, it's one less time Morelli will throw the ball. Something that's sure to make a lot of Penn State fans sleep better at night.