For Penn State this is a rather ordinary weekend of football. Not much intrigue in to the match-up with Eastern Michigan, who have picked up their two wins against FCS opponents.
While Penn State has proven to have a dependable defense, it is the offense that remains a great concern. Joe Paterno will continue to evaluate his quarterbacks with Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin battling it out for the full time job. The bigger question may not be which one of these players will win the full-time job (at some point) but if either can lead the offense to a passing touchdown.
Penn State heads in to the week as one of six FBS programs without a passing touchdown this season, and only one of two schools from an automatic qualifying conference. The good news for Penn State is that Eastern Michigan is one of the weakest teams in the nation. We'll see how the entire quarterback situation plays out this weekend, but the leader of the offense this week should be running back Silas Redd, who is due for a big performance. Penn State's defense should have no problem shutting down the Eagles (any E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES chants in Beaver Stadium?).
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Tightend Andrew Szczerba, for those who were not aware, continues to mourn the death of his uncle, Sgt. Joe Szczerba was the first New Castle County, who was the cop killed last week while on-duty. Against Temple last week, the day following his uncle's death, Szczerba committed a false start penalty on Penn State's first offensive play.
"I thought he handled it," said coach Joe Paterno. "I think it is a credit to him and his family, particularly his family. ... I think it was a real tribute to the whole family.
"And I hope that you never forget those things. And you can't put them behind you. They're things you live with. But I hope that it won't affect the youngster in ... his outlook on his college life and his experience, chance to be a good football player here and beyond. ... But it's a tough, tough thing."