Penn State Players Transferring

Seniors
Justin Brown (Starting Wide Receiver) to Oklahoma
Devon Smith (Starting Wide Receiver) to Marshall

Juniors
Robert Bolden (Backup Quarterback) to LSU
Khairi Fortt (Backup Linebacker) to California
Kevin Haplea (Backup Tight End) To Florida State
Silas Redd (Starting Running Back) to USC

RS Juniors
Anthony Fera (Starting Kicker and Punter) to Texas
Derrick Thomas (Backup Cornerback) to Marshall

RS Freshmen
Tim Buckley (Backup Safety) to North Carolina State
Ryan Nowicki (Backup Offensive Tackle) to Illinois

Freshmen
Jamil Pollard (Defensive Tackle) to Rutgers

2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl Preview

Date: December 31, 2011 3:30 PM ET

Stadium: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California

Payout: $925,000 (Pac-12), $750,000 (Big Ten)

Played: 2002-present

Former Names: San Francisco Bowl (2002-2003), Emerald Bowl (2004-2009)

Broadcasters: Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard

Sideline Reporter: Shelley Smith

All Time Series: 6-5 UCLA

Line: Illinois by 3

	Illinois			UCLA
Overall Record	6-6		Overall Record	6-7
Conference Record	2-6		Conference Record	5-4
Bowl Record	7-9		Bowl Record	14-15-1
Last Bowl Win	2010 Texas		Last Bowl Win	2009 EagleBank

On The Hot Seat: Week 12

1. Paul Wulff—Washington State upset Arizona State on November 12^th and lost to Utah in overtime on November 19^th. The Cougars are slowly improving, but that does not take away from the fact that Washington State will have its fifth consecutive losing season, and fourth under Wulff. Wulff is 4-31 in Pac-12 games. He needs to go.

2. Neil Callaway—UAB got a huge 34-31 upset over No. 22 Southern Mississippi on November 17^th. With a 3-8 record, Callaway will have his fifth consecutive losing season. Callaway is 18-41, or .305, in Birmingham with one game left to play.

3. Ron Zook—After starting out 6-0 this season, the Illini had a meltdown and lost their next five games. The Illini play a 2-9 Minnesota squad in their finale Saturday. If it is their sixth straight loss, Zook will probably be canned.

4. Steve Fairchild—Colorado State started the season 3-1, then dropped six consecutive games to fall to 3-7. Fairchild is 7-22 in Mountain West games during his tenure. If the Rams cannot beat Air Force or Wyoming, they will finish the season with their third consecutive 3-9 season.

5. David Bailiff—Bailiff is 23-37 with one game left to play in his fifth year. The Owls will have their third straight losing season and fourth losing season in Bailiff’s five seasons.

6. Dennis Erickson—A few weeks ago, the Sun Devils were looking good with a 6-2 record and a Top 25 ranking. The following three weeks, Arizona State dropped to 6-5, losing to UCLA, Washington State, and in-state rival Arizona inside Sun Devil Stadium. The Sun Devils are having a meltdown.

7. Mike Riley—Just when you thought the Beavers bottomed out last season, things get even worse in 2011. The Beavers are 3-8. The last time Oregon State was that bad was 1997 when they finished the season 3-8. Oregon State has the Civil War left to play against the Ducks, which will likely put them at 3-9.

8. Turner Gill—Kansas is 2-9 this season, with a 1-15 record in Big 12 games. All but two of the Jayhawks losses were by double-digits. Gill needs to start making some progress in Lawrence before the administration and fans lose their patience.

9. Rob Ianello—Rob Ianello is 1-10 in 2011 and 2-21 overall in almost two seasons. Is Akron happy with one win per season? Will Ianello be back for a third season?

10. Larry Porter—Larry Porter is 3-20 in two years at Memphis. The former Tigers running back is struggling, having beaten only one Conference USA opponent in two years. Two seasons may be too early to cast judgment, but the past two seasons have been dismal.

Waiting list: Robb Akey, Frank Spaziani, Rick Neuheisel

Fired: Joe Paterno

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 14.

Helmet Stickers: Week 3

ACC—Clemson ended No. 21 Auburn’s 17-game winning streak and avenged its overtime loss to Auburn last year. The Clemson Tigers’ 624 yards was the most the program has ever put up on a SEC school. Clemson beat Auburn after losing the last fourteen meetings. It has been sixty years since the Clemson Tigers have beaten the Auburn Tigers. At one point, Clemson converted ten-straight third downs, going 13 for 18 overall on the day.

Big 10—Illinois got by an improved No. 22 Arizona State squad 17-14, despite putting up 240 yards of offense and giving up 362 yards to the Sun Devils. The Illini defense stepped up when it had to, tallying 6 sacks and 2 picks against Sun Devil quarterback Brock Osweiler. Illinois led 10-7 before the first quarter was over. Early in the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils took the lead 14-10 on a 14-yard quarterback rush. A 16-yard touchdown pass to Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins put Illinois back on top 17-14 and was enough to get a big victory for a program that has struggled since going to the 2008 Rose Bowl.

Big 12—No. 1 Oklahoma’s resume for the BCS Championship Game is looking good after a 23-13 victory over No. 5 Florida State in Tallahassee. The Sooners defense was phenomenal: 6 sacks and held the Seminoles to 27 rushing yards on 26 attempts. Oklahoma defensive back Javon Harris had two interceptions, while linebacker Tom Wort added another. Florida State tied the game at 13-13 in the fourth quarter, but the Sooners added a touchdown and field goal in the final minutes to get the W.

Big East—Louisville took out rival Kentucky 24-17 on Saturday. Louisville last beat the Wildcats in 2006. Louisville quarterback Will Stein left the game early in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. True freshmen Teddy Bridgewater came in to replace him and completed 10 of 18 passes for two touchdown and no interceptions. The Cardinals are 2-1 and have two weeks to get ready for Marshall at home.

C-USA—UTEP prevailed over New Mexico State 16-10 in the Battle of I-15. UTEP kicker Dakota Warren had most of the Miners’ points: field goals of 42, 47, and 37 yards. The Miners only touchdown was set up by a 60-yard run off of a fake punt. UTEP’s defense played a great game, getting 6 sacks and holding NMSU to 16 yards rushing on 29 carries. The Miners have now beaten the Aggies three straight years.

MAC—Western Michigan routed in-state rival Central Michigan 44-14. Broncos wide receiver Jordan White had 13 catches for 177 yards, while quarterback Alex Carder threw for 355 yards, going 28 for 37. The Broncos have lost to the Chippewas each of the last five seasons. If Western Michigan can go on to defeat Eastern Michigan later in the season, it will win the Michigan MAC Trophy.

MWC—UNLV pulled a huge upset over Hawaii Saturday evening at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Rebels beat the Warriors 40-20, despite the Vegas line favoring Hawaii by 17.5 points. UNLV running back Tim Cornett ran in an 80-yard touchdown, the longest touchdown run for the Rebels in 22 years. The Rebels defense was opportunistic, recovering all four of Hawaii’s fumbles. The Rebels got their first win of the season and the biggest of the Bobby Hauck era.

Pac-12—Utah absolutely destroyed BYU in the latest installment of the Holy War. The Utes put up 54 points on the Cougars, while only allowing 10 points and 11 rushing yards with stout defense. The Utes forced the Cougars to turn over the football a whopping seven times. Young was embarrassed on its home field. Utes running back John White IV rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns. After losing 10-7 in the second quarter, Utah scored 47 unanswered points in the blowout.

SEC—Florida beat Tennessee for the seventh straight time Saturday in a 33-23 decision. Florida senior running back Chris Rainey was the MVP of the game. He rushed for 108 yards, caught for 104 yards, and blocked a punt. The Florida rush defense totally shut down the Volunteers run game. The Vols rushed for -9 yards in the contest. Luckily, solid play was able to overcome the Gators’ 150 yards of penalties.

Sun Belt—Florida International gets the Sun Belt helmet sticker for the third straight week. FIU was the only Sun Belt team to get a win over a FBS opponent, which was Central Florida this past Saturday. The Golden Panthers got by the Knights without stud wide out T.Y. Hilton. Hilton was injured. FIU is 3-0 for the first time in school history. The Panther defense put up six sacks on Central Florida’s Jeff Godfrey. One of those sacks came from FIU cornerback Tevin Blanchard late in the first half. It resulted in a fumble that was picked up by FIU defensive end Isame Faciane and returned 51 yards for the score.

WAC—Nevada defeated conference foe San Jose State by a score of 17-14. The Spartans were poised to get the go-ahead touchdown with 1:10 remaining in the game, but Nevada safety Duke Williams intercepted the Spartans’ third down pass into the end zone to clinch the victory for the Wolf Pack. Running back Mike Ball rushed for 124 yards and scored both of the Wolf Pack’s touchdowns.

Independents—The Black Knights got a quality 21-14 win over Northwestern, their first win of the season. All but 6 yards of Army’s offense came on the ground. Army quarterback Trent Steelman scored all three of the Black Knights’ touchdowns on runs, the third of which gave Army the lead with less than 3 minutes left. Victory was sealed after the defense stopped the Wildcats on 4^th and 1 on the Army 33-yard line. The Black Knights controlled the clock for over 40 minutes with their triple-option offense.

On The Hot Seat: Preseason

1. Mike Locksley—The Mike Locksley era at New Mexico is a train wreck. He is 2-22, with New Mexico getting massacred in most of those 22 losses. The Lobos ranked dead last in total offense last season and second-to-last in total defense out of 120 FBS teams. Toss in his off-the-field infractions and you have an absolutely pathetic head coach.

2. Paul Wulff—Paul Wulff is lucky to be coaching at a school that allows you to come back after going 5-32 in three seasons. Any other school, no matter what the circumstances, would not accept a .135 winning percentage. Wulff needs to turn the Cougars around 180 degrees this season.

3. Bob Toledo—The Green Wave have finished in last place in the C-USA’s West Division each of the last two seasons and have never won more than four games in a season under Toledo’s leadership. If Tulane does not become bowl-eligible, Bob Toledo is going to get kicked to the curb.

4. Neil Callaway—The Blazers have not had a winning season under Callaway, nor finished better than fourth in their division. With 15 starters returning, UAB should be able to string together wins and possibly save Coach Callaway’s job.

5. Steve Fairchild—Fairchild is heading into his fourth season, going 3-9 in both 2009 and 2010. The Rams have an uncompetitive 2-14 record in the Mountain West the past two seasons. Fairchild will get canned if he cannot produce at least a half dozen wins in 2011.

6. Dennis Erickson—This is the final year of Erickson’s contract, and if he does not win at least seven games, it is certain is contract will not be renewed. Erickson has lost 21 games over the last three seasons, making his last three years in Tempe the worst three seasons of his head coaching career.

7. David Bailiff—The Owls have gone 6-18 over the last two seasons since their great run in 2008. The Owl pass defense has been almost nonexistent. If Bailiff can get his defense to improve and put together a respectable conference record, he has a chance of coming back for a sixth season.

8. Ron Zook—The question of whether to fire Zook or not has been swirling around Urbana-Champaign over the past three seasons. By going 7-6 last season and getting the Illini’s first bowl win in eleven years, Zook seems to only be on a warm seat at the moment, but a fifth sub-.500 season will get him fired.

9. Rick Neuheisel —Rick Neuheisel’s time at his alma mater has been a subpar 15-22, with a pathetic 8-19 conference record. The Bruins have finished eighth, eighth, and ninth in the final three years of the Pac-10. Slick Rick needs to turn things around at UCLA this season, or he’s out.

10. Mike Price—The Miners have not had a winning season since 2005, Price’s second season in El Paso. With a record of 40-45, Mike Price is going to have to become bowl-eligible like last season to feel safe about his livelihood. It won’t be an easy task with 1 starter returning on offense.

Waiting list: Ron English, DeWayne Walker

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 4.

2010 Texas Bowl Preview

December 29, 2010 6:00 PM ET

Stadium: Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas

Payout: $612,500

Played: 2006-present

Once known as: N/A

Broadcasters: Dave Pasch, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman

Sideline Reporter: Holly Rowe

Storyline: Illinois makes its first bowl appearance since losing the 2008 Rose Bowl. The Illini have not won a bowl game since 1999. Illinois is led by tailback Mikel Leshoure who tallied 1,513 yards during twelve games. Ron Zook’s job may be in jeopardy with the outcome of this game. Zook will have his fifth losing season in five years and be 0-2 in bowls should the Illini not be able to stop Baylor’s balanced attack. Baylor is led by dual-threat quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin passed for 3,195 yards and rushed for 591 yards. The rushing load is split with running back Jay Finley who has ran for 1,155 yards this season. Illinois is heavily reliant on the run; Baylor's lackluster run defense needs to step up. Baylor is appearing in its first bowl game since 1996. A win over Illinois can put Baylor football back on the map with its first postseason victory since the 1992 Sun Bowl. Baylor and Illinois have only met once before: a Baylor 34-19 win in 1976.

All-time Series: 1-0 Baylor

Line: Pick

	Illinois			Baylor
Overall Record	6-6		Overall Record	7-5
Conference Record	4-4		Conference Record	4-4
Bowl Record	6-8		Bowl Record	8-8
Last Bowl Win	1999 MicronPC.com		Last Bowl Win	1992 Sun

Big Ten Home Attendance Figures

	Illinois			Indiana
Memorial Stadium			Memorial Stadium
S11 Southern Illinois	52,217		S2 Towson	35,242
S18 Northern Illinois	50,569		S25 Akron	42,258
O2 Ohio State	62,870		O2 Michigan	52,929
O23 Indiana	53,550		O16 Arkansas State	40,480
O30 Purdue	50,371		O30 Northwestern	37,818
N13 Minnesota	55,549		N6 Iowa	42,991
AVERAGE	54,188		AVERAGE	41,953
	Iowa			Michigan
Kinnick Stadium			Michigan Stadium
S4 Eastern Illinois	70,585		S4 Connecticut	113,090
S11 Iowa State	70,585		S18 Massachusetts	110,187
S25 Ball State	70,585		S25 Bowling Green	109,933
O2 Penn State	70,585		O9 Michigan State	113,065
O23 Wisconsin	70,585		O16 Iowa	112,784
O30 Michigan State	70,585		N6 Illinois	111,441
N20 Ohio State	70,585		N20 Wisconsin	112,276
AVERAGE	70,585		AVERAGE	111,825
	Michigan State			Minnesota
Spartan Stadium			TCF Bank Stadium
S4 Western Michigan	75,769		S11 South Dakota	49,554
S18 Notre Dame	78,411		S18 USC	50,442
S25 Northern Colorado	70,926		S25 Northern Illinois	49,368
O2 Wisconsin	73,108		O2 Northwestern	49,228
O16 Illinois	74,441		O23 Penn State	48,479
N6 Minnesota	71,128		O30 Ohio State	48,717
N20 Purdue	71,111		N27 Iowa	50,805
AVERAGE	73,556		AVERAGE	49,513
	Northwestern			Ohio State
Ross Field, Wrigley Field*			Ohio Stadium
S11 Illinois State	25,471		S2 Marshall	105,040
S25 Central Michigan	30,075		S11 Miami	105,454
O9 Purdue	33,847		S18 Ohio	105,075
O23 Michigan State	41,115		S25 Eastern Michigan	105,017
N13 Iowa	47,130		O9 Indiana	105,291
N20 Illinois*	41,058		O23 Purdue	105,387
			N13 Penn State	105,466
			N27 Michigan	105,491
AVERAGE	36,449		AVERAGE	105,278
	Penn State			Purdue
Beaver Stadium			Ross-Ade Stadium
S4 Youngstown State	101,213		S11 Western Illinois	47,301
S18 Kent State	100,610		S18 Ball State	54,124
S25 Temple	104,840		S25 Toledo	42,068
O9 Illinois	107,638		O16 Minnesota	47,319
O30 Michigan	108,539		N6 Wisconsin	45,227
N6 Northwestern	104,147		N13 Michigan	50,268
N27 Michigan State	102,649		N27 Indiana	50,136
AVERAGE	104,234		AVERAGE	48,063
	Wisconsin
Camp Randall Stadium
S11 San Jose State	78,469
S18 Arizona State	81,332
S25 Austin Peay	77,224
O9 Minnesota	80,328
O16 Ohio State	81,194
N13 Indiana	80,477
N27 Northwestern	80,011
AVERAGE	79,862

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Michigan	111,825
Ohio State	105,278
Penn State	104,234
Wisconsin	79,862
Michigan State	73,556
Iowa	70,585
Illinois	54,188
Minnesota	49,513
Purdue	48,063
Indiana	41,953
Northwestern	36,449