Match Thread - #1 Penn State at #17 Purdue - 10/20/17 - 8pm

The fact that the players still have a passion for the game is one of the rewards that coaches feel when their former players go into coaching. I’ve been here for so long, we probably have 50 or 60 kids stay involved in the game, whether it’s at the high school, club or college level. I think it’s great that they want to stay involved in the sport. No matter what level you’re at, it’s a commitment of time, and you’re dealing with people, and it’s great they want to venture into that fray.

There have been four or five teams that have been there, so it’s not like I’m moving furniture around. There are five teams in the Big Ten that have been in the top 10. We’re there [ranked #1] based on a couple of factors. One of them is that the #1 team lost. Kentucky played great against Florida. Florida has had a terrific season to-date. There are a lot of teams that are really good, and there are a lot of teams that are good that on any given night can beat any of a number of teams that everybody thinks are the leading candidates [to win the national championship.]


I think it’s nice [being ranked #1.] I think the players might find some excitement in that. But it’s October, so it’s really not that big a deal. If it was your first time ever [being ranked #1], it would be great. Kentucky [beating Florida] — that was the first time ever beating the #1 team in the country. We’ve been beaten a number of times as the #1 team in the country. A different scenario [laughter in background]. Both of them are part of the process. I think the players might have a different twist on it than I do.

I just look at it as a lot of factors go into play. My vote — for me it was tough to vote, because if anything, I think I should vote us ahead of Stanford, because we beat Stanford twice. But that doesn’t mean I think we’re better than Stanford. We lost 3-0 to Nebraska. A week ago, I was voting Nebraska ahead of us, because they beat us. It’s fair to pick a team that beat you 3-0 ahead of you. But they lost [to Wisconsin at Madison.]



At least in our case, in our conference — and I can’t comment on other conferences because I’ve only coached at Penn State for the last set of years — this conference is really difficult. I expect there to be more and more teams winning and losing each weekend that may surprise people. It’s not a surprise to those of us on the inside that know that every team has good players, and every team is supported well and coached well, and will seize the opportunity, especially if the visiting team isn’t ready to go.