Oh boy...

The title sort of has two different ways it can be taken.

On one hand it's, Oh boy, Penn State really sucks.  On the other, it's Oh boy! The Capitals pounded the snot out of the New Jersey Devils.

Penn State looked absolutely horrendous against Illinois on Saturday.  They couldn't run, they couldn't pass and they couldn't tackle -- a total recipe for a disaster.  Homecoming is supposed to be a game where you beat the other team handily, the alumni are happy and everyone goes to tailgate and to the bar on a high not.  Not trying to block out the pain of suffering that will be this season.

As I mentioned last week, I thought PSU would go 6-6 at best after their showing against Iowa.  One of those wins was supposed to be against the Fighting Illini.  Whoops.

I know the defense is banged up and that we lost Lou Eliades on the offensive line for the season.  But even the guys who are second on the depth chart, should be good enough to beat Illinois.  This is Penn State we're talking about.  For some reason the recruiting has dropped off and we're not getting the big boys of farmland Pennsylvania to come play ball. 

Also, I keep hearing that the running game isn't Evan Royster's fault.  So why is it that we keep changing the running back, seemingly on every series?  Royster is a fifth-year senior, even though the offensive line can't muster the strength to block, Royster should be smart enough, veteran enough to figure out a way to make it work.  Changing him and the receiving corps (which seems to be done on every play) could be  playing a part in this.  Perhaps a little consistency would do us some good.  And throwing Kevin Newsome in the game every once in a while wouldn't hurt either.

Here's hoping the team takes the bye week seriously and gets back on track before Michigan and Denard Robinson show up.

**********

Even with the crappy afternoon, the night turned out OK.

Coming off a 4-2 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers, the Washington Capitals opened their home slate against the Devils.  The Caps trailed twice in the game, but broke out for four goals in the second period and dominated the Devils, 7-2.

It was good to see Alex Ovechkin grab a couple goals and I was glad to see John Carlson stepping up in the offensive game. Ovechkin scored just his second goal on a penalty shot, in seven tries in his career.  Perhaps he worked on that during the summer.  He certainly had a head start, thanks to the Montreal Canadiens.

Also good, the fights in the third period.  The Capitals took care of business when the Devils decided they'd rather box than play hockey.  Needless to say, the Caps' new enforcer, D.J. King, will suit up the next time we see the Devils in New Jersey. A little payback may be in store for New Jersey, not that the Capitals need any more rivals or targets on their backs.

The team that played Saturday night was the team that the NHL was used to seeing, and hopefully the one that will be showing up to the next 80 games for the Caps.  I know they won't win them all, but if they put in the effort like they did against New Jersey, things will be OK in D.C.