Your Penn State Nittany Lions took on Purdue in their season opener, and emerged victorious, 35-31.
The game was on the road, at night, against a conference foe who won 9 games last year, perhaps one of the toughest first week setups a team could ask for.
And I liked it.
There are many shades of gray in looking at scheduling, but there are two general trains of thought:
- Schedule a cupcake, tuneup game to shake the rust off and work out any kinks the team still has before the tougher games begin
- Schedule a tough foe to make an early-season statement with a big victory
Having thought about it a bit more, I like the second option much better, with one BIG caveat - I only like it when Penn State wins.