Look out California: Here Comes JoePa

Darryl Clark

The debate over which is the best team in the Big Ten this season is over. Penn State claimed that crown emphatically today.

The Nittany Lions rocked Michigan State 49-18 and, by virtue of a win in Columbus earlier this year, earned a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. Say what you will about Penn State's loss to Iowa, but in the two games that were most important to PSU's Big Ten hopes - today vs. Michigan State and at Ohio State in October - Joe Paterno's boys proved their worth.

Saturday's win over the Spartans was a clinic, almost right from the start. Penn State went three-and-out on its opening possession, but asserted itself offensively from then on. Darryl Clark shredded Michigan State's secondary deep, hitting on 16-of-26 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns. That's more than 21 yards per completion for Clark.

Adding to Penn State's dominance was that the Nittany Lions completely took Javon Ringer out of the game. One of the nation's leading rushers, Ringer mustered just 42 yards on 17 carries, as Penn State dared MSU quarterback Bryan Hoyer to beat them. As the final score indicates, Hoyer could not accomplish that task.

Of course, he didn't get much help from anyone. It was 28-0 before Michigan State got on the board, and 49-7 before a couple of meaningless scores late.

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio might have added some fuel to this rivalry late, too, calling two timeouts prior to the game's final play - on the surface, fairly harmless, but ABC's announcing team speculated that Dantonio was trying to delay a Penn State celebration because the Lions kept passing with a large lead.

The game was long decided by that point, though.

Two weeks after losing that heartbreaker to Iowa, Penn State left little question that a Rose Bowl trip was a fine runner-up prize. So Paterno and company will head to Pasadena for a date with either USC or Oregon State (which Penn State smashed earlier in the year).

Michigan State, on the other hand, awaits its bowl fate - the Spartans almost certainly will head to one of the Big Ten's New Years Day bowl tie-ins, where an SEC opponent probably awaits.

Look out California: Here Comes JoePa originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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