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Maryland plus-minus: Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. --- Maryland forward Dino Gregory's face brightened after Wednesday's 62-39 defeat of Penn State when the topic of James Padgett was broached.

Padgett had just wrapped up a six-point night that featured a steal, a rebound and 2-for-4 shooting from the field. He was also 2-for-3 at the foul line.

He also did not commit a turnover, providing some stability in the paint when Gregory was stuck on the bench in foul trouble in the first half.

"He played extremely well," Gregory said. "He came in again and got some key rebounds and had a key dunk. He was really aggressive and played like he can play. That's what we need every game, and I think from here on out he's going to do that."

It's continued a turnaround for Padgett, who was a meager minus-9 for the season (and minus-.17 points per minute) after Maryland's trip to Madison Square Garden. In three games since, Padgett is plus-46 in 39 minutes of work --- or plus-1.18 a minute.

Yes, those games were against Delaware State, Elon and jump shot-crazed Penn State. No matter. If a team is picking up more than a point a minute when a player is on the floor, he is exceptionally useful.

Padgett didn't seem like he would be so helpful in the first two weeks of the season. But since returning from New York, he's made a major push to emerge as Maryland's top frontcourt reserve.

The rundown of Maryland's plus-minus for the Penn State game:

Player	@PSU	SEASON	Per min.
1-Bowie	+13	+61	0.29
10-Weijs	0	+6	0.13
11-Parker	DNP	+3	0.13
12-Stoglin	+19	+41	0.34
13-Palsson	DNP	+25	0.51
14-Mosley	+15	+60	0.26
15-Levent	INJ	-9	-1.29
20-Williams	+21	+100	0.40
21-Howard	+16	+79	0.57
24-Tucker	+6	+90	0.41
33-Gregory	+10	+58	0.27
35-Padgett	+21	+37	0.41
42-Pankey	DNP	0	0.00

A couple other notes:

* Forward Hauk Palsson did not play for the first time this season.

* Guard Cliff Tucker had his first scoreless outing in 16 games, a stretch dating back to last February's visit to N.C. State.

College football countdown: Nos. 21-25

Five more teams as the top of the list inches ever closer ...

No. 25 NOTRE DAME

Go ahead and underestimate Brian Kelly. Dare you.

For once, Notre Dame didn't simply elevate an assistant with no head coaching experience (Bob Davie) or pluck a fairly successful coach from an academically-oriented school (Tyrone Willingham) or just hand the keys to a storied program to a blustery NFL coordinator with virtually no background in the college game (Charlie Weis).

No, this time, the Irish went with a long-time coach at three schools who simply won. A lot. He went 34-6 in three years at Cincinnati, a run that's going to look downright impossible another 20 years down the road.

Unlike Willingham (who won six of his first eight games by 10 points or less) or Weis (who beat three ranked teams in his first five games on the job and then knocked off one more in another four-plus seasons), Kelly actually should get credit if Notre Dame surges this year. After a 6-9 record in one-possession games the last two seasons (some "decided schematic advantage," huh?), no one will complain if luck favors the Irish.

Kelly is fortunate to have a schedule designed for a bounceback season. The Irish play three true road games (Michigan State, Boston College and Southern California), and Western Michigan, Tulsa and Utah all pay a visit to South Bend in what might be Notre Dame's least glitzy home schedule in quite some time.

Kelly's a confident guy, willing to speak his mind --- but in a less abrasive way than Weis. That will help erase some lingering frustration from the last few seasons. But more than anything else, winning will do that. Kelly has exactly one losing season in 20 years as a head coach, and it's not likely for that total to double this autumn --- or in any year in the near future.

No. 24 WEST VIRGINIA

The Mountaineers have rattled off eight straight winning seasons --- the first time the program has done so since a 12-year stretch from 1914 to 1926 (there was a season lost to World War I in there).

Throughout this stretch, there have been periods West Virginia has gone through as a program. There was the "Hey, Rich Rodriguez got the team fast in a hurry" phase. Then came perhaps a hint of impatience in 2004, followed by the three straight 11-win seasons. 

Rodriguez, of course, bolted, and Bill Stewart managed a pair of 9-4 years. A third in a row could be in the cards.

The Mountaineers need to find a new quarterback (again), only this time they'll turn to a true sophomore rather than a fifth-year senior (Jarrett Brown). That's going to cause some early issues, and while the defense should be better this fall, Mountaineers fan could easily feel like their team is plateauing a rung below where it was only a couple years ago once this season is through.

No. 23 FLORIDA STATE

No, there wasn't some plan to trot out Florida State the same day Christian Ponder's new website was unveiled. Besides, Ponder --- as good as he is --- is going to account for only so much improvement on his own.

The issue in Tallahassee for the foreseeable future is defense. It was, to put things diplomatically, below average a season ago.

The most telling number: The Seminoles gave up 40 points three times in four weeks during one midseason stretch. Florida State had 40 hung on them three times total during one 16-year stretch (1987-2002).

An up-close look at the Seminoles in November revealed a startlingly shoddy defense. It was sort of like watching North Carolina's basketball team in 2002; sure, the trappings were basically the same, but the talent just wasn't there.

There's a new defensive coordinator (Mark Stoops) and plenty of new starters, which in this situation isn't all bad. If the Seminoles can just achieve adequacy on defense, Ponder and a veteran offensive line will take care of securing the program's first Atlantic Division title since 2005.

No. 22 PENN STATE

If there is a team whose expectations should be reined in simply because of its schedule, it is Penn State.

The Nittany Lions must visit Alabama, Iowa and Ohio State, all while breaking in a new quarterback and working with a revamped front seven on defense.

The schedule does bring a nice treat --- a "road" game against Indiana in Landover, Md. But effectively playing five conference home games (who really thinks FedEx Field will be a pro-Indiana environment on Nov. 20?) only does so much to make up for the brutal road the Nits will face.

The last five years were incredibly impressive in Happy Valley --- 51-13, with a couple BCS bowl appearances. Penn State probably won't make a trip to Pasadena on New Year's, but a 10-3 season isn't out of the question. That would include Joe Paterno's 400th career victory, a feat Nittany Lions fans can only hope comes during one of three midseason home games.

No. 21 PITTSBURGH

Tailback Dion Lewis is back for another romp through the history books. That's good.

Quarterback Bill Stull, who completed 65.1 percent of his passes last season and tossed 21 touchdowns against eight interceptions, is not back. That's not good.

Oh, and that guy on the sideline. He still scares the heck out of me. The Panthers have won their share of close games the last few years, but it's also worth pointing out the Panthers' last five losses have come by a combined 21 points.

Nonetheless, Pittsburgh has accrued plenty of talent in the last few seasons, and it's important to allot some of the credit for that to Dave Wannstedt. At this point, it's left the Panthers in as good a position as anyone in the Big East.

That's why, with a measure of reluctance, Pitt is the pick here to win the Big East. There's ample opportunities for a nonconference loss (Utah, Miami, Notre Dame) and it's difficult to imagine the Panthers hanging around the top 10. But it's a solid group, and a trip to the Orange Bowl is the next logical step for a program that's won 19 games the last two years.

Finding winners and losers in wild lacrosse coaching week

Maryland has a new coach. A month ago, he'd have been a mild surprise.

Penn State has a new coach. A week ago, he'd have been a big surprise.

Cornell has a new coach. All along, he seemed like the next man in line.

Harvard is looking for a new coach for the second time in a three-year span.

Here's a look at who did well, who treaded water and who wound up losing now that college lacrosse's coaching carousel is near completion. 

WINNERS

* Penn State

Unquestionably, the school that came out furthest ahead in any of this was Penn State. The Nittany Lions have only two NCAA tournament appearances, and wound up landing Jeff Tambroni, a guy who took Cornell to three  final fours in the last four seasons. Penn State went after the biggest fish it could have hoped to have landed and pulled it off. The Nits might not be relevant immediately, but they simply couldn't have done any better.

* John Tillman

In a little more than 34 months, Tillman went from the top assistant at Navy to the head coach of a second-tier Ivy League program (Harvard) to the head coach at Maryland. Not bad. He received a seven-year contract with the Terps, so chances are good his second head coaching stint will be longer than his first.

* Ben DeLuca

The Cornell grad was next in line for the last few years, though it started to seem as if Tambroni would be in Ithaca for the long haul. DeLuca was pursued last year by Princeton, and that certainly would have been a great hire. Instead, he winds up stepping up from running the Big Red's defense to running the program. DeLuca had a hand in three final four teams, and it seemed only a matter of time before he got a team of his own. That it happens to be Cornell makes it even sweeter.

EVEN

* Jeff Tambroni

Tambroni told the Ithaca Journal his decision had much more to do with family --- his wife, Cornell's former field hockey coach and a Penn State grad, will have a chance to help with the Nittany Lions' field hockey program --- than anything else. That's a good overriding factor, and a nice reminder that money and prestige don't always drive decisions in non-revenue sports. Nonetheless, it is a trade of a final four team for an outfit that won two games last year. It'll be a few years --- at least --- before Tambroni has a team playing on Memorial Day weekend.

* Maryland

The Terrapins shouldn't be criticized for getting rebuffed by Tambroni, which is probably a tempting thing for second-guessers to do. Tillman's resume --- 20-19 over three seasons --- isn't particularly deep, but the short-term prognosis remains pretty much the same. If Maryland gets decent goalie play in 2011, it has a chance to play deep into May. The next year, with the starting attack and starting close defense wiped out by graduation, there will be a step back. That sequence was going to play out regardless of the coach. Tillman is bright and energetic, but this is still a bit of a gamble.

* Cornell

The Big Red lose a coach with a 109-40 record, which typically would be a pretty big deal. But elevating a capable assistant who was part of eight straight Ivy League title teams isn't a bad way to solve the problem. The Big Red will maintain continuity, and that's important for a group with so much success.

LOSERS

* Ivy League

Five of the Ivy's seven jobs have turned over in the last 13 months, with four coaches --- Bill Tierney (Princeton to Denver), Brian Voelker (Penn to Drexel), Tillman (Harvard to Maryland) and Tambroni (Cornell to Penn State) --- electing to leave. All of those happened for different reasons, but that's still remarkable flight from such a competitive league.

* CAA coaches other than Tambroni

Given the gaggle of competitive programs, it wouldn't have been the worst thing for the Towsons and Delawares of the world to have Penn State not taking things particularly seriously in lacrosse. Tambroni's hire ensures the Nits will be a force before long.

* Dave Cottle

He's the one guy who left a job unwillingly and didn't wind up with a new one. In any sort of coaching shuffle, that's usually going land someone on the wrong side of this sort of assessment.