Joe Pa really is uber alles . . .

After having been mired in bad seasons, stupid penalties, and crucial turnovers for 4 of the last 5 seasons, Penn State's 17-10 victory over Ohio State last night, for me, is about the equivalent of an alcoholic having his first drink in 10 years. Your head swims, you get all warm, and you suddenly want more, more, more. This year's Penn State seems perfectly placed to keep providing more, more, more.

I will boldly make this statement right now: Penn State can beat any team in the country, if Michael Robinson and company on offense can avoid turning the ball over. Period. Texas, USC, Va Tech, anybody. More importantly, Penn State can and will beat its five remaining Big Ten opponents if the offense can continue to hold onto the ball.

The offense is good enough to not just put up enough points to squeak past what the defense allowed, but power through teams with defenses not as stellar as Ohio State's. Case in point: Minnesota. The Northwestern game, you might say; what about Northwestern? 4 first half turnovers turned into 13 points for the Wildcats. Perhaps that game was a turning point: the point where the team finally believed it could win again. Perhaps Penn State will stumble on the road, as it still faces games at Michigan, Illinois, and Michigan State. Perhaps . . .

But I will make my claim now that the defense is stout, the offense is potent, and the Nittany Lions will win the Big Ten, and, if other teams manage to stumble by December, should be playing in the Rose Bowl again. WE ARE . . . PENN STATE, and we are happy.