JoePa gives Rutgers the thumbs up....

Well the Big 10 expansion won't go away, and now Joe Paterno has added some fuel to the fire.  The Penn State head coach had more to say about the issue at an alumni event near Allentown, PA on Wednesday.  And this time, things seem to be coming up Rutgers:

Paterno, meeting with reporters Wednesday at an alumni event near Allentown, has long pushed for Big Ten expansion. A 12th team could ease scheduling difficulties and clear the way for a lucrative playoff. Penn State joined as the conference's 11th team in 1990.

Paterno said he'd like the Big Ten to add an Eastern school, especially one that plays in the New York media market. That would seem to favor Rutgers.

"If I had my choice, someone that can give us the biggest TV exposure in the East," Paterno said, offering as possibilities "Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers. Not in that order."

Paterno also had some harsh words for Notre Dame who balked at an invitation to join the Big Ten a decade ago:

"There's some pressure, I would suppose, to maybe go back to Notre Dame and ask again, which I would not be happy with," Paterno said. "I think they've had their chance."

We all know that JoePa has no say whatsoever in what happens with the Big Ten.  He's become the puppet master of the Penn State program, with little of the actual coaching going through him.  But give the man credit, because he knows when he talks, people will listen.  And if you don't think that this will increase the pressure on the Big Ten head honchos to at least raise the possibility of Big Ten expansion, then you're crazy.

That being said I will right now go on record saying that if RU ever received an invitation to the Big Ten it should reject it*.  Do you remember, or do you still feel intense hatred for Miami, Va. Tech, and Boston College after their little stunt where they jumped ship to the ACC, leaving the broken and tattered Big East in the rearview mirror.  That's exactly what RU would be doing to the Big East, and it would be wrong.  The Big Ten should just stick with their 11 teams and find a way to win a meaningful bowl game instead of worrying about a Conference Championship game.

*Unless the Big East lost it's tie-ins to the BCS bowl games.  Then I say jump ship immediately.