MACall:
A WINNING PROGRAM?
Just did the math -- thanks to my degree from Penn State -- and have reliably determined that the Nittany Lions are a winning team over the last two years. That would be an 8-7 record.
Sunday, we published the highlights of Saturday's thrilling victory over Northwestern. Today, we'll offer the bad, the red flags, the harbingers, the omens, the forewarnings ... well, you get the idea.
LOWLIGHTS
Defense: Is it possible for a team to have a time of possession of more than 60 minutes? That's what it felt like Saturday when Northwestern had the ball because Lion defense had its worst game in a year. Lions put too little pressure on the quarterback, were on the field for 95 plays and gave up 12 first downs on third-down plays. And two of those times, Northwestern made the first on fourth down. Lion defenders also made a couple of bad penalties to extend Wildcat drives.
Michael Robinson: Came through in the clutch but had three interceptions and four fumbles. Too many of his passes were tipped at the line. M-Rob also continues to overthrow receivers.
Offensive line: Did not consistently give M-Rob the protection he needs. And this was against Northwestern. One of the interceptions occurred when a State lineman was pushed into Robinson as he was throwing.
Receivers: Couple of dropped passes, including a bobble by backup Brendan Perretta that became a Northwestern interception. Still would like to see Derrick Williams lay out for the ball on some of those high passes that come his way. But I'm nitpicking here.
Coaching: Special teams not prepared for the fake punt or the pooch kickoff. Why is Robinson still so sloppy with the ball, a month into the season? What is Perretta doing in the game in the first half? He wasn't even listed on the three-deep player chart for the game. Lions also should have gone for two points after their final touchdown for a potential six-point lead.
SUMMARY
Mr. Negative would say Lions still haven't beaten anybody. And the schedule sure looks a whole helluva lot tougher with five of last seven opponents ranked and one of the others being hated Michigan on the road. But Lions are 4-0 and working on a six-game winning streak.
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PENN STATE 34, NORTHWESTERN 29
September 25, 2005 at 10:53 AM
Had 'em all the way!
Well, not exactly, but nobody's complaining after Saturday's dramatic and gutsy comeback victory, the first time this millennium the Lions have won their Big Ten opener. To be sure, Penn State tried like hell to give this away, particularly in the first half, with interceptions and fumbles and dropped passes and overthrown passes and tipped passes and special teams' unpreparedness and boneheaded penalties and a defense that gave up too many drives and too many yards and God knows too many third-down conversions. I mean, at one point I think Northwestern had converted 107 percent of its third-down plays. But I digress. On to the good stuff:
HIGHLIGHTS
That 4th-and-15th conversion to kick-start the game-winning drive in the final two minutes was a great call and well executed pass from Michael Robinson to tight end Isaac Smolko. I guess Smolko -- who had exactly no catches until then -- had lulled Northwestern to sleep.
Tony Hunt ran hard again and recovered Robinson's fumble at the start of the game-winning drive. Not sure what this all means for Austin Scott, but as we look back on his career, he hurt himself big-time the beginning of his sophomore year by arriving late for a couple of meetings. He was in line to be the starter.
Jordan Norwood showed excellent hands and an ability to get open. Yet another promising freshman wide receiver.
The rest of the wide receiving corps also came through with big plays and touchdowns again. What a moment for Derrick Williams' first career touchdown.
Great call by the coaches on the 43-yard reverse by Justin King. It was saved for the right time, that fourth quarter TD drive that gave the Lions their first lead.
Paul Posluszny was an absolute terror from sideline to sideline in piling up 22 tackles, including 14 solo. Safety Calvin Lowry added 12 tackles, seven solo.
At the end of the day, you have to say the Lions showed us that they could indeed win on the road, come from two scores down to win, and craft a game-winning drive in the final seconds. Sure, it was against Northwestern. But the Lions showed heart. It was an important step.
ODDS AND ENDS
How in the hell did Northwestern kicker Joel Howells, who was 2-for-6 entering the game, turn into Adam Vinatieri? How does he make five of six field goals? Ridiculous.
Refereeing was not exactly the best but I think it was fair. State got an undeserved first down on a fourth-down QB sneak by Robinson in the first quarter. M-Rob had slipped to his knees at least a half-yard behind the scrimmage. On the other hand, refs missed blatant block-in-the back which also was a late hit on Lowry in the beginning of the fourth quarter. And I'm not totally sure that Chris Harrell should have been penalized for hitting Northwestern QB Brett Basanez at the sideline to give the Wildcats a first down on their penultimate possession (always wanted to use that two-word combo). Harrell was lunging after Basanez when the QB, still in-bounds, darted out-of-bounds, where the collision occurred. It was a close call, and Harrell was hustling, but you could ask why Harrell, a senior, was even giving the ref a chance to throw that flag.
Dan Connor showed some rust at middle linebacker but look for him to start there next week, completing what should be a tremendous trio at LB for the next two years: Connor, Posluszny and Tim Shaw.
We all said there was no way the Lions could afford bunches of turnovers when they played a Big Ten team. Well, they had four, and also gave up the ball on a kickoff, and still won.
Looking ahead, does the State offense just keep pitching and catching, trying for the long ball, not caring about the turnovers? Maybe. Just maybe. Because a lot of big plays and points -- both in such short supply last year -- have been the result this season.
