With the Big Ten opener of Illinois at home this past weekend, we have again launched into an uphill battle to survive. Every year we come so close and misstep; or a team gets an extra play to determine an entire season (*cough* Michigan *couch*). Either way the hype and recognition that Penn State is now seeming to get is great. I love being able to watch Sports Center and actually see the Beav’ in its white bouncing splendor on TV. With this spotlight also comes a collective sense of ego for the team, the fans, and the University.

Take into account that we have played 5 games and have a majority (7 games) of the season to finish. Also, remember that 80% of our games were played at home and the first 4 of the 5 were expected to be blow outs. So with our only win against a legitiamate opponent (where we were the favorite by a 13.5 point spread) we burst onto the national scene. The conference schedule is perenially the toughest stretch for any team.

So now we look at the next game: AT Purdue. Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium 62,500 Boilermaker fans will be yelling when the Blue and White is on offense, not defense. There are a few reasons why this game could be a trap. Purdue is a mediocre squad. They beat up on two teams they should have; Lost to Oregon in double overtime and are reeling from a pounding last week @ Notre Dame. Conversely, Penn State is in between “big games” with the recent beating of #22 Illinois and looking ahead to now #18 Wisconsin. The team is hearing how good they are at every turn in their lives. I mean, Daryll Clark is even getting some Heisman recognition.

I liked Stewart Mandel’s take from FanNation.com. He writes “Penn State is the class of the Big Ten. I realize many of you feel this is akin to being dubbed the prettiest girl in Pittsburgh, but last we checked, at least one of this conference’s teams will be playing in Pasadena, if not Miami — and the Nittany Lions look more and more like they could be that team.” The fact that he’s talking about Penn State AND trouncing Pittsburgh is near and dear to my heart being a Philly kind of guy. His true point is that somebody has to win the Big Ten. Why not Penn State?

So this goes out to the team, the fans, and everyone who cares about Penn State football year round, not just on Saturday. Beware the Boilermakers. They would like nothing more than to play spoiler to a BCS chance for a our own Nittany Lions.

The Big Ten network can now be seen on Comcast’s expanded basic cable package thanks to a deal that was struck between the network and the provider this past June. The BTN’s first year saw thousands of State College area Comcast subscribers missing out on some PSU games because the channel was not available.

The channel officially launched about a week ago on Friday August 8th, just in time for the upcoming season. The network is channel 55 on the expanded basic package. HD subscribers can also see the games in high definiton on channel 191.

At least two Penn State football games will be broadcast on BTN this year, which are the season opener on August 30th against Coastal Carolina, and also the September 20th game against Temple. Sources indicate that at least one other PSU game will be on BTN as well.

Check out this year’s full TV schedule after the jump.

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Popular Penn State football news site Fightonstate.com is reporting that defensive tackle Devon Still suffered a broken leg in a scrimmage yesterday afternoon. It is unclear how much time he will miss, but a broken leg this close to the start of the season is likely to sideline him for most of the year.

This is a definite blow to the defensive line which also recently lost Phil Taylor and Chris Baker due to off-field incidents. On one hand it appears that all of our depth at this position has disappeared. But we must remember that the redshirt freshman Still was also injured last year, which means he has not yet proven himself on the field. Although he has been a promising prospect, nobody can be perfectly certain on what we are missing.

Nearly two years ago, Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN’s College Gameday proclaimed that Beaver Stadium is home to the nation’s best student section. A year later, Herbie continued to support us. In an article on ESPN.com he wrote “After witnessing the whiteout last year and seeing Paternoville, I’m a 100 percent believer that the Nittany Lions have the best student section in the nation.”

And now in the present day, ESPN as a whole agrees. The latest issue of ESPN Magazine officially names us as the best student section in the country.

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