Big Ten Football Morning Coffee: Punishing Penn State Shouldn't Be NCAA's Job

Rise and shine, friends. Here's what's going down in the Big Ten today.

— Matt Hinton at CBSSports.com argues that, despite the protestations of some bloviating columnists, the NCAA really has no business punishing Penn State for the entire Jerry Sandusky fiasco.

He's right: the situation, as we understand it, is being dealt with by the criminal justice system, while what the NCAA regulates isn't really in dispute here.

And look: anger at Penn State as an institution for its role in the Sandusky affair is at the very least understandable; whether it's justifiable depends pretty heavily on the Louis Freeh investigation's results.

Channeling that anger into a call to expanding the NCAA's ability to punish schools for things that have nothing to do with player eligibility or competitive advantage cannot end well. Don't drive angry.

— Former Ohio State QB and 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, per the AP (via Yahoo! Sports).

The bummer of the situation is that this is what most NFL players have to go through: league minimum contracts, unceremonious releases, and the uncertainty of whether you're going to find a roster spot anywhere else in the league or go somewhere like the United Football League (Smith played for the Omaha Nighthawks recently). 

— Illinois' special teams got a boost on Monday when, per ESPN.com, the school announced that Northern Illinois safety/return man Tommy Davis was transferring in.

Davis was a two-time All-MAC kick and punt returner, while Illinois was dead last in the Big Ten in both kick and punt returns under Ron Zook last year. Davis graduated from NIU, so he'll play one year immediately with the Illini.

— Per the Wisconsin State Journal, Wisconsin center (and mortal lock for preseason first team All-Big Ten) Travis Frederick says he's not worried about cohesion on the offensive line after three Badgers were drafted and he was moved from guard in 2011, since switching positions during games and playing next to different people was integral to former offensive line coach Bob Bostad's approach.

Bostad's gone too—the Tampa Bay Bucs came calling—but one must assume new coach Mike Markuson's approach is going to be similar enough, so assuming he's got two good linemen to plug in, Wisconsin should still be in good shape.