Could O'Brien turn Wisconsin into a bunch of ... 'fighters?'

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- It is, without question, the funniest Penn State football moment in decades. Maybe ever.

It's also where we kick off this week's edition of the midweek top 10, which will catch Penn State fans up on everything going on during the week throughout the Big Ten season.

1. Oh, the irony, if Bill O'Brien ends up at Wisconsin

O'Brien's name has come up as one of the leading candidates to become the next head coach at Wisconsin, which stunningly fired Paul Chryst earlier this week. O'Brien, Penn State's head coach in 2012-13 and former head coach of the Houston Texans, currently serves as Alabama's offensive coordinator.

Odds to be the Badgers' next coach, from BetOnline.ag:

Jim Leonhard: 2-1
Bill O'Brien: 3-1
Lance Leipold: 5-1
Dave Aranda: 6-1
Sean Lewis: 8-1
Dave Doeren: 10-1
Matt Rhule: 12-1
Tom Herman: 14-1
Matt Campbell: 16-1
Chris Peterson: 18-1
Dan Mullen: 20-1

Leonhard, who played at Wisconsin and has been an assistant there since 2016, makes the most sense for the job. The defensive coordinator since 2017, he's now the interim head coach and has the rest of this season to prove to the folks in Madison that he's the right guy for the job.

Would O'Brien be a good fit at Wisconsin? Maybe, maybe not. That's a run-first program, and a lot of OB's success as a coach has been with good passing teams. Still, he is a good enough, hard-nosed coach and knows enough about the Big Ten to think that he would do well with the Badgers.

But man oh man, how ironic would it be if O'Brien ends up at Wisconsin, which he beat twice for the two best victories of his Penn State tenure? The Lions knocked off the Badgers in 2012 in overtime, 24-21 -- they finished 8-4 and O'Brien was the national coach of the year -- then went to Madison in 2013 and pulled off a stunner as a 24-point underdog, winning, 31-24.

It was after the 2012 victory that O'Brien gave us this gift:

Wait, what? Did he just curse and call his players a bunch of f***ers? On national TV?

Oh my goodness, that moment was hysterical. Then ... and now. Especially if you got to know O'Brien a little bit, as he was, let's just say, known to drop an occasional F-bomb from time to time.

But no, the coach did NOT actually say the F-word that it sounds like, or that everyone thinks he said. Clearly, you can hear O'Brien's voice crack a bit as he tries to say "fighters," and he follows that up by adding, "They fight hard."

Here's a great video from veteran Penn State reporter Mark Brennan of Fight On State, on O'Brien talking about that whole thing from a coaches caravan function in May of 2013.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, O'Brien left an impressive legacy at Penn State, and fans should be forever grateful.

He will be a head coach again somewhere -- either in college or the NFL -- and it all just depends on where he will be the best fit. He's also been mentioned as a possibility for openings at Nebraska, Georgia Tech and Arizona State.

If he ends up at Wisconsin, it would mean Penn State would get to go up against O'Brien on occasion in the future.

And it would be a lot of fun seeing which team has the better "fighters."

2. Wisconsin did Chryst wrong with firing

Chryst had a lot of success with the Badgers, going 67-26 in seven-plus seasons, but the team is struggling this year at 2-3. Wisconsin was embarrassed at home by Illinois this past weekend, 34-10, and that apparently was the final straw.

Chryst is universally respected for being a great person, and he had a nice run at Wisconsin. You would like to think there's a lot of value in that, and that his job security would be protected from one rough stretch.

But no. The folks at Wisconsin decided to dump the guy and move on, despite him leading the Badgers to three Big Ten championship game appearances in his tenure.

Wisconsin has a very good football program. It has for a long time. No doubt it was tough for everyone there to watch the Badgers get humiliated at home by Illinois, and clearly Chryst was having troubles.

But c'mon, doesn't a coach like him deserve a longer leash after all he's accomplished?

It seems like Leonhard is going to be the next head coach, if he can get things turned around this season. But he's also the defensive coordinator, and the Badgers' defense was just smoked by Illinois for 34 points, after giving up 52 to Ohio State. So for Leonhard to earn the full-time job, you would think it'll be on him to get the defense playing much better.

3. One of my favorite Joe Paterno stories

Since we're talking about Wisconsin ...

My first year covering Penn State was 2006, and many longtime Lion fans know that Paterno used to hold an off-the-record chat session with the media each Friday night at the hotel before road games.

In the 2006 game, Paterno suffered a broken leg on the sideline when he was hit by Wisconsin's DeAndre Levy, who was trying to tackle Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless.

Well, the night before that, a handful of us reporters were sitting around a table with Paterno, who was telling stories as usual. Jeff Rice, who was covering Penn State at the time for the Centre Daily Times, had written a story about how Wisconsin handled its coaching transition from Barry Alvarez to Bret Bielema, who was in his first season as the Badgers' head coach.

How Penn State would handle its coaching transition from Paterno to the next guy was always a big topic of conversation back then, so Rice's story about what Wisconsin did was relevant. But the story didn't go over well in the Paterno household.

Sitting at a table on that Friday night, Joe looked at Rice, and in his high-pitched voice said, "I just want you to know, my wife doesn't like you."

We all broke out laughing at the line. And we at least think Paterno was joking.

4. Are Penn State's linebackers good enough?

This will be a big topic of conversation next week, as the Lions get set to face a Michigan team that runs the ball well.

Penn State has an excellent run stuffer on the line of scrimmage in tackle PJ Mustipher, and clearly the linemen are going to have to play well in the trenches.

But one of my biggest concerns going up against teams like Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State in the coming weeks is whether or not Penn State's linebackers will be up to the challenge. All of those teams commit to the run and are good at it, and Ohio State also has an elite QB in C.J. Stroud, the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

If the linebackers play well, particularly in run support, then Penn State's defense will have a shot. The secondary, we know, is very good, and we'll see how Manny Diaz uses those guys in run support, as well.

Penn State has played five games, and safety Ji'Ayir Brown leads the team with 25 tackles. Among the linebackers, freshman Abdul Carter is second on the team with 18 tackles, and Curtis Jacobs is tied for third with 17. Tyler Elsdon has 16, Kobe King 12, Dominic DeLuca 11 and Jonathan Sutherland 10.

Carter looks like a future star, but he's also still a freshman and will play better competition than he's ever faced in the next three games.

Given that no linebacker is averaging even four tackles per game, it's certainly fair to wonder how that group will stack up in these huge contests.

5. Vilbert not available this season

James Franklin announced Tuesday night that defensive end Smith Vilbert "will not be available this week and will not be available this season."

The coach didn't offer any other details about why Vilbert won't be playing. Franklin did say last week that Vilbert was the development squad's defensive player of the week.

Vilbert, a redshirt junior, had a breakout game in the Outback Bowl last year with three sacks against Arkansas. That led many to believe he could be in for a big season, but he hasn't appeared in any games.

6. Recruiting update

Penn State is No. 12 in the 247Sports recruiting rankings, with 20 commits. The top five are Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas.

Here's the star breakdown among Penn State's commits:

5-stars: 0
4-stars: 14
3-stars: 6

Among Pennsylvania top 10 recruits for 2023, the Lions have commitments from:

1. OT J'ven Williams (6-4, 285)
2. Edge Ta'Mere Robinson (6-4, 225)
4. Edge Jameial Lyons (6-4, 255)
6. LB London Montgomery (5-10, 180)
8. TE Joey Schlaffer (6-6, 215)

7. Saquon, Barkley tearing it up in NFL

This is quite an accomplishment for Penn State through four weeks of the NFL season.

Saquon Barkley of the Giants leads the league in rushing with 463 yards, while Miles Sanders of the Eagles is third with 356. That gives the Lions two of the top three rushers in the NFL. Nick Chubb of the Browns is second with 459 yards.

Barkley and Sanders, of course, played together at Penn State.

8. Parsons on hand to Judge history

Dallas Cowboys star and former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons was at the game Tuesday night when Yakees star Aaron Judge hit his historic 62nd home run against the Texas Rangers in Arlington.

Parsons shared on Twitter that he was able to meet Judge and pitcher Gerrit Cole on the field after the game and got his ticket signed by Judge.

9. Wrestling schedule announced

The Penn State wrestling team announced its schedule this week. The Lions won their ninth national title under coach Cael Sanderson last season and will have a good chance at another title this season with four individual national champions returning.

Here's the full release from the school on the schedule, which you can see in full here:

The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the direction of head coach Cael Sanderson, has announced its 2022-23 schedule. The Nittany Lions host seven home duals this season, including two in the Bryce Jordan Center. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change and television and/or streaming will be announced soon.

Penn State opens its season in Rec Hall, hosting local rival Lock Haven at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11. The next weekend, the Nittany Lions will venture to West Point, N.Y., for the Black Knight Open at Army-West Point on Sunday, Nov. 20.  The Nittany Lions begin December with a two-dual road trip. Penn State will travel to Rider to face the Broncs on Friday, Dec. 2. The dual will be hosted in Trenton, N.J.'s, CURE Insurance Arena and is set for 7:30 p.m.  Two days later, Penn State treks to Lehigh University to face the Mountain Hawks on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. in Stabler Arena.

The Nittany Lions return home after a month away to host the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday, Dec. 11, in Rec Hall. The dual meet starts at 2 p.m.  Penn State will once again take part in the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in late December. This year's event takes place in New Orleans, La., at the Morial Convention Center on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 19-20. The dual tournament once again features 12 teams in two preselected pools. The events full schedule, including Penn State's opponents, will be announced.

The Big Ten season begins on the road for Penn State. The Nittany Lions trek to Wisconsin on Friday, Jan. 6, for their conference opener. The dual starts at 9 p.m. Eastern. After a 'bye' weekend, Penn State begins an exciting three-dual homestand.  Penn State will host Michigan on Friday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. in the first of two BJC Duals. The Lions and Wolverines tangle at 7 p.m. Two days later, Sunday, Jan. 22, the Lions host Michigan State at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall.  Penn State welcomes Iowa to the Bryce Jordan Center for a second BJC Dual on Friday, Jan. 27., at 8:30 p.m.

Penn State hits the road for two duals the following weekend. The Nittany Lions visit Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. The team then heads to Bloomington, Ind., to visit the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday, Feb. 5 (time TBA). The next weekend, Penn State travel to Rutgers for a dual meet on Friday, Feb. 10 (time TBA) and then returns home to host Maryland two days later, on Sunday, Feb. 12. The Lions and Terrapins tangle at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall.  Penn State closes out its regular season schedule by hosting intra-state foe Clarion on Sunday, February 19 at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall.

The 2022-23 post-season begins in Ann Arbor, Mich., with the 2023 Big Ten Championship. The two-day event, both the conference crowning event and the national qualifier for the Big Ten's 14 wrestling teams, will take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 4-5, 2023.  The 2023 NCAA Championships will take place two weekends later, on March 16-18, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The Nittany Lion wrestling team returns 2022 National Champions Roman Bravo-Young, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks and Max Dean as well as All-American Greg Kerkvliet. National qualifiers Robert Howard, Beau Bartlett and Joe Lee also return. Penn State is coming off winning its ninth NCAA team championship in the last 11 tournaments and a 17-0 dual meet season in 2021-22.

10. Tickets for relocated basketball student section on sale

Penn State has moved the student section for seating at basketball games at the Bryce Jordan Center, and tickets for students go on sale today through Ticketmaster.

From the school release:

New this year, the Penn State student section will be sections 101L through 110L, directly behind the home and visiting team benches, as well as the sections behind each basket. The Legion of Blue, the official student section of Penn State Basketball, is presented by MI Windows and Doors.

For just $50, Penn State student season ticket holders have access to 11 home games, enjoy several exclusive benefits, student giveaway opportunities and Legion of Blue events.

Student season tickets do not include home games over University holiday breaks (Lafayette, Canisius, Quinnipiac, Delaware State, Iowa) or the Jan. 8 Palestra game that will be a separate sale.