Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

The Penn State Nittany Lions football team finished #3 in the Nation during regular season play. They also won the Jan 3, 2006 BCS FedEx Orange Bowl against FSU (26-23)! It took a record-long, triple-overtime to win. See video highlights of the game ...

Read full story...

Wow. I don't think that anyone would argue that the game was boring! Especially the majority of the 111,000+ fans in Ann Arbor! What an exciting college football game! It all came down to Michigan's last play, a 4th-and-"do-or-die" deep in Penn State territory, with only 1 second left on the clock.

I still can't believe that Lloyd Carr (Michigan's head coach) had lobbied to add back 2 seconds to the game clock. If he hadn't done that, PSU would have been in the locker room, celebrating.

Penn State's offense came up with the clutch, go-ahead drive starting with about 2 minutes left on the clock and Michael Robinson is still my hero, with ANOTHER 4th-and-long play. What amazing composure, field of vision and running ability. He is truly exciting to watch (only I have to listen, because in Canada ... if it ain't on ice, it ain't on T.V.) If he could only aim his passes a tad lower when he gets jazzed up, his accuracy (and 3rd down conversions) would improve.

Up 4 points with about 30 seconds left, I was pretty confident that the game was in the bag. But, Michigan came back with an excellent kick-off return and then a series of plays. It was enough to make me shout and scream in denial and protest (poor Oop high-tailed it out of my office and Rachel knew to keep her distance)! I couldn't believe that Michigan cobbled their last drive together and faced with 4th down and one second left, I STILL had hopes that Penn State's defense would ensure a victory.

Chad Henne (Michigan's quarterback), made sure that wasn't going to happen. He connected with Mario Manningham, with no time on the clock, for the winning score. Congrats to Chad, Lloyd and his team! That's gotta feel REALLY good!

For Penn State ... with two turnovers, two missed field goals, a couple of in-opportune penalties and the special teams play (why did they allow that last run back?) ... those kind of mistakes and missed-opportunities come back to haunt you.

The offense was able to move the ball, no doubt. A nice long catch and a nice long run by Tony Hunt. Even better, Alan Zemaitis ripped the ball from Henne and ran it back 35 yards for a go-ahead score. (How I wished that I could have seen that play). Way to go Big "D"!

Still, in BIG games like this one ... it's the little things that'll kill you. Two missed field goals? C'mon! Two turnovers? C'mon! And the run-back from hell! With less than a minute left on the clock? C'mon!

Exciting play, for sure. (My only argument - the wrong team won.)

I enjoy watching Penn State Football games, but I don't live in an area where they are often broadcasted. I don't live in Pennsylvania, so can't listen to radio stations in the Penn State Sports Network. My solution has been to listen online. Here are some links I use to listen to Penn State Football online.

PSU Football - Listen Online

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State is back! They're on top of the Big Ten and back in the hunt for a National title.

PSU -vs- OSU: Box Score

Michael Robinson and Derrick Williams ran for touchdowns less than three minutes apart in the second quarter, and Paul Posluszny and the Nittany Lions' defense did the rest in a 17-10 victory over No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday night.

Win No. 349 for Joe Paterno was the type of victory some thought was only in the past for the 78-year-old coach. The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0) hadn't beaten a team so highly ranked since knocking off No. 4 Arizona to start the 1999 season.

On a chilly and damp night -- just perfect for a slugfest between two of the Big Ten's best defenses -- Penn State was out to prove that Paterno's once powerful program could again compete with the nation's elite after winning just three conference games the past two seasons.

The Nittany Lions did more than just hold their own against the Buckeyes (3-2, 1-1) and their vaunted defense, led by linebacker A.J. Hawk. Penn State bested the team considered the class of the league and Rose Bowl contender.

Paul Sacking: Posluszny sacks Troy Smith for a loss.

When Tamba Hali sacked Troy Smith and knocked the ball loose, it was recovered by Scott Paxson, with about 1½ minutes left, All that Robinson had to do was take a couple of knees and kill the clock.

Now, for the first time since that '99 season, Penn State is a player in the national title picture.

Defense was the lynchpin of the '99 team - linebacker LaVar Arrington and defensive end Courtney Brown - providing the big plays.

Now its Posluszny and Hali.

The Lions bottled up a two-way threat quarterback (Troy Smith) and took Ohio State's big-play receivers, Ted Ginn Jr. and Santonio Holmes, out of the game. Not until the final drive did either have a catch of more than 20 yards.

Posluszny had another double-digit tackle game and he chased down Smith for a 10-yard loss with about five minutes left to help keep the Buckeyes scoreless in the second half.

Ohio State was the highest-ranked opponent to visit State College since No. 2 Miami played at Beaver Stadium in 2001. Games like this used to be common at Penn State, but during four losing seasons in the past five years Happy Valley's been kind of a sullen place.

With the Nittany Lions back in the rankings and a win a way from having first place in the Big Ten all to themselves, the student body was re-energized. Some camped out for a week in what was dubbed "Paternoville" around Beaver Stadium for the first-come, first-serve seats.

The Nittany Lions rewarded their patience with a performance worthy of Paterno's two championship teams. In return, the bouncing crowd of 109,839 literally had the stadium rocking up and down after Penn State scored two TDs in a span of 2:33 to take a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

Williams sped 13 yards with a simple toss sweep for a touchdown that gave Penn State its first lead.

Moments later, Calvin Lowry picked off Smith's pass and returned it 36 yards to the Ohio State 2. On third-and-goal from the 1, Robinson scored on a keeper with 7:55 to go in the half.

But the Buckeyes responded to the Penn State defense and the thunderous roars of the crowd with an 81-yard, 14-play drive that Smith capped with a 10-yard TD run and reach across the goal line.

But that was Ohio State's one and only sustained drive and the Buckeyes dropped to 17-7 against Top 25 teams under coach Jim Tressel.

I don't follow sports. NFL, NBA, NHL or any other "N". I'm just not "N"-to it, if you know what I mean. However, College Football is a different animal. I attended Penn State (graduating with a Masters of Science in GeoPhysics in 1983), so I have an affiliation with the school and their football team.

Today's convincing win against the Nationally-ranked (#18) Minnesota Gophers (with a score of 44-14), moves the here-to-for unranked Nittany Lions into Top-25 territory. Go Lions! For the first time in a number of years, WE HAVE A TEAM!

Beaver stadium holds over 106,000 people. It's huge - the second largest college stadium in the nation. I've attended games there (not when it was THAT large, but still, it was pretty huge when I was going to school there). I remember a game in 1982, when #1 Nebraska came to play #2 Penn State (Penn State won in the final seconds, with a shoe-string catch in the end zone). What a thrill! The best game I've ever attended, for sure.

The tradition lives on today and still, Joe Paterno remains head coach. What a class act. What an upstanding guy. He must love what he does and he has contributed SO much to the school, the players and college football. I know his contract is good through the 2008 season, so we can still look forward to him leading the team for another 2 seasons, at least. Way to go, Joe.

Next week, Penn State faces #8 Ohio State. Let's hope that they keep their heads about them and commit no crimes (in this week's game, Penn State was penalized only 3 times, for 15 yards and neither fumbled the football, nor were intercepted - a stark contrast against the 5 cough-ups last week against Northwestern).

The clash between OSU and PSU is set for October 8th, 7:45 PM (EST) and you can listen to it here . For sure, it will be televised and if you're lucky enough to watch it - please DO. Color me jealous, because here in Edmonton, if it's not played on ice ... it ain't on T.V.

Nittany Lions!