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Mane man: QB Clark's versatility has revived the Nittany Lions' offensive roar
by Doug Lesmerises Wednesday October 22, 2008, 10:11 PM
Gene J. Puskar/Associated PressWith the ability to break tackles and gain tough yards with his legs and an accurate arm to activate the passing game, Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark (17) has been a revelation this season for the undefeated Nittany Lions.
COLUMBUS -- After three seasons of preparations, Ohio State finally gets a real look at quarterback Daryll Clark on Saturday and will experience what the Penn State offense could have been long ago. "He's talented," Ohio State senior linebacker Marcus Freeman said. "You wonder why you haven't seen him the past couple years. As he goes, that offense goes."
In a season in which Ohio State coach Jim Tressel quickly benched senior drop-back quarterback Todd Boeckman in favor of more mobile freshman Terrelle Pryor, No. 3 Penn State enters as an example of what can happen when you stick with a veteran. As Anthony Morelli led the Nittany Lions to 9-4 records in 2006 and 2007, Clark, for the most part, watched. Then he ran for 50 yards in the second half of Penn State's Alamo Bowl win last year, and the new Penn State was born.
"He took over and got them a victory in their bowl game and I think that began their momentum," OSU coach Jim Tressel said.
Presto, 8-0 record, No. 3 ranking, shot at the national title.
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Scout$--Circled Date On Calendar Almost Here
Numerous players discuss the weeks of "looking ahead" to this game.
Numerous players discuss the weeks of "looking ahead" to this game.
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BN$--Coaches Quotebook: Heacock, Daniels
Rundown of the numerous discussions concerning the D and TP from yesterday's pressers
Rundown of the numerous discussions concerning the D and TP from yesterday's pressers
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Shoe doesn't fit
Penn State hoping to end history of offensive woes at Ohio State
By Jeff Rice
Historically, Penn State's offense and Ohio Stadium do not mix. At all.
AP file photo
Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli (14) found the Ohio State defense stifling in the Nittany Lions? last visit to ?The Horeshoe? in 2006. Penn State has not scored more 10 points in its last seven trips to Ohio State.
In seven games against Ohio State in the Horseshoe since 1993, the Nittany Lions have managed a total of five touchdowns. In those games, the Buckeyes have scored eight touchdowns via interception, fumble or kick returns. Given such numbers, Penn State?s 0-7 record in those games ? five of them to Buckeye teams ranked in the top five ? is understandable.
This Saturday, the No. 3 Nittany Lions (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) face another strong Ohio State defense, one that is ranked second in the conference (just two yards per game behind Penn State) in total yardage and has four defensive or special teams touchdowns to its credit this season.
This time, they plan on being a little harder to stop.
?There?s just more things that we can do,? said Penn State wide receiver Derrick Williams of an offense ranked 11th in the nation in yardage (482.1 yards per game) and seventh in scoring (45.3 points per game). ?We have a lot of guys that have been in big games, guys who have played a lot of plays.?
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Ohio State seeks respect
By Josh Langenbacher
Collegian Staff Writer
Ohio State, which could be the first Big Ten team to win three outright conference championships, has played for the last two national titles and is ranked No. 10 in the country.
Programs of similar stature would figure to be nationally respected.
Not the Buckeyes, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said this week.
In fact, he said the level of respect Ohio State receives is almost non-existent, and a byproduct of the Buckeyes beating Penn State would be Ohio State again asserting itself.
"If we could come out with a win, it would force some people to respect us again, because we pretty much don't have any right now," Jenkins said.
Ohio State's fortunes turned when running back Chris "Beanie" Wells returned from a right foot/toe injury. The Buckeyes have won five straight since Wells' return, and those wins include stopping Wisconsin's 16-game home winning streak and thumping then-No. 20 Michigan State, 45-7, on the road.
The defense has also allowed 11.6 points per game during the stretch, and a chance to continue that dominance comes Saturday when the Buckeyes host Penn State in an 8 p.m. kickoff.
Ohio State dropped nine spots to No. 14 after losing to USC, 35-3, and has moved up only four spots since.
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Trio preps for secondary
By Travis Johnson
Collegian Staff Writer
Derrick Williams had little to say about Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins on Tuesday. When the senior Penn State wideout did talk about the Buckeye defensive back, his words were concise and to the point.
"Just one of the best cornerbacks in college football right now," Williams said.
The Ohio State secondary, led by Jenkins, ranks 15th in the nation in passing defense. The Buckeyes give up just 168.25 yards through the air and have intercepted opposing quarterbacks 12 times. Three of those picks have come from Jenkins who has 11 interceptions in his career.
"They're still great," senior wideout Deon Butler said of the Buckeye secondary. "They always have a great reputation. I don't think they're letting down this year. Obviously I think it starts with Malcolm Jenkins. He's a great corner, he makes plays all over the field, not just on defense but on special teams also."
Butler, along with his teammates, Williams and fellow senior Jordan Norwood will take turns matching up against Jenkins -- a physically imposing cornerback listed at 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds.
In addition to Jenkins' size, which he uses to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage, Butler said, Jenkins' strengths are his instincts.
As a senior, Jenkins has been in the Ohio State program long enough to develop his abilities. In the last two meetings between the Buckeyes and the Lions, Jenkins has taken over the games late.
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USC-OSU game provides insights for victory
By Josh Langenbacher
Collegian Staff Writer
Evan Royster has seen enough of the USC-Ohio State game to know how Penn State will prepare against the Buckeyes.
"I think our speed can really be a factor against their defense," Royster said. "We're gonna try to come out and try to beat their safeties deep and their corners deep. We'll try to play our game and see what happens."
If what happened against USC is any indication of what could happen Saturday, when Penn State travels to Ohio State for an 8 p.m. kickoff, Penn State might be able to put points on the board early.
On the Trojans' first touchdown drive, quarterback Mark Sanchez was 4-of-6 passing for 54 yards.
Sanchez was 3-of-4 for 21 yards on the second touchdown drive and finished 17-of-28 for 172 yards and four touchdowns.
USC crushed Ohio State, 35-3, Sept. 13, after building a 21-3 halftime lead.
"That game took a lot out of us as a team," Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "A lot of guys were anxious for that one."
Ohio State has won five games since but only beat Troy, 28-10, the next week and had similar struggles the next three weeks before crushing Michigan State, 45-7, last weekend.
Joe Paterno said Tuesday the team he saw play Michigan State wasn't the same one he'd seen in prior weeks, and linebacker Tyrell Sales said the Ohio State team thrashed by USC isn't the one he'll play this weekend.
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Defensive line to face experienced unit
PHOTO: Meagan Kanagy
Click Photo To Enlarge | Print
Aaron Maybin (59) and his teammates will face an experienced Ohio State line.
By Andrew Wible
Collegian Staff Writer
One stat in particular from last year's Ohio State game still irks Josh Gaines. The Penn State defensive end and his fellow Nittany Lion defensive mates could not force the Buckeyes to punt once during the entire 60-minutes.
Gaines called that puntless game an "embarrassment," but also warned the defense wasn't as prepared as this year's unit will be for the Buckeyes' hulking offensive line.
"Our starters weren't really ready for how physical the game was going to be," Gaines said. "But coming into this year, we have a little bit of experience. All of us are back, and I think it'll be a little different this year."
Ohio State's offensive front only lost one starter from last season, but injuries have plagued the line and forced true freshman Mike Brewster into starting duty at center.
The injuries have also caused numerous position shifts along the line. Only the tackles, Alex Boone on the left side and Bryant Browning on the right, have started every game at their natural position.
Boone is the anchor of the line, considered by many pro scouts, and Gaines, as a first-round pick in next year's NFL draft. The 6-foot-8, 312-lbs. Boone has been a starter since midway through his freshman season and was a preseason All-Big Ten first-teamer.
Gaines said Boone likes to talk on the field and is fun to play against, and also called him "probably the best tackle" they'll face all season.
"He's one of my favorite tackles to play against because he's a character. I like the way he plays and he carries himself well," Gaines said. "He walks with a lot of confidence, I like playing against him. He's a great player and I'm looking forward to playing him."
Aside from Boone, the inconsistency along the line has made the once-considered strength of the team a question mark. The Buckeye line has already surrendered more sacks this season (21) than it did all of last year (19).
Its play had gotten so bad that senior tight end Rory Nichol called out the line during a line meeting before last week's Michigan State game. Nichol said he and his linemates were playing like a "bunch of girls."
But coach Jim Tressel scaled back the line's responsibilities against Michigan State and the Buckeyes rushed for 214 yards and only surrendered two sacks. Tressel said he doesn't want to get too caught up into watching what past Penn State opponents have had success with.
"The coaches did a good job of perhaps scaling down conceptually what we were trying to do," Tressel said. "Sometimes you get excited about these big games and you want to have 90 different -- oh, man I saw this, Illinois did this and Wisconsin did that -- all of a sudden you're there.
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zincfinger
Gert Frobe-approved
A couple of quibbles...
USC scored TD's on 4 good drives and an interception return, not on 5 good drives. Also, I don't think it was all USC after the first OSU drive settled for a FG, unless you mean "all USC" strictly in terms of points. The two teams had the same number of field-length drives, but red zone follies and the huge pick made it not appear that way on the scoreboard.
JXC;1302624; said:
USC scored TD's on 4 good drives and an interception return, not on 5 good drives. Also, I don't think it was all USC after the first OSU drive settled for a FG, unless you mean "all USC" strictly in terms of points. The two teams had the same number of field-length drives, but red zone follies and the huge pick made it not appear that way on the scoreboard.
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UpNorthBuckeye
Hall of Fame
I like our D this week
I like having some quick D linemen (Rose, Heyward, Gibson, etc) to complement our bigger guys like Larimore and Abdallah. I am still a little worried about their QB getting loose.
I would love to see Chekwa get sent on a blitz several times. If he has a bad shoulder which might hinder his pass break up abilities, at least he still has the wheels and the moves to track down the QB. I do NOT want to see Freeman and Laurinaitis running 2-3 yards behind the QB as he goes around end for 15 yards.
No, I don't want to be a proponent of "bend don't break" but our LBs need to play this QB and RB like they're playing TP and Beanie. Don't get caught ten yards behind the scrimmage when the play is happening at the line.
I hope we continue to man up with three guys on three receivers and make stuff happen with our other 8 guys...
SILVER BULLETS!
I say, OSU 27, PSU 24.
Big plays? Nate Williams, Chekwa, Homan, Laurinaitis.
On offense?? eh, I don't know. What will JT pull out of his sleeve? Devier? Air it out? a lot of pistol? I notice that according to O-zone breakdown, we only ran the pistol once last week.
What does Penn State have on film to look at? Not much.
this is going to be a long 59 hours.......
I like having some quick D linemen (Rose, Heyward, Gibson, etc) to complement our bigger guys like Larimore and Abdallah. I am still a little worried about their QB getting loose.
I would love to see Chekwa get sent on a blitz several times. If he has a bad shoulder which might hinder his pass break up abilities, at least he still has the wheels and the moves to track down the QB. I do NOT want to see Freeman and Laurinaitis running 2-3 yards behind the QB as he goes around end for 15 yards.
No, I don't want to be a proponent of "bend don't break" but our LBs need to play this QB and RB like they're playing TP and Beanie. Don't get caught ten yards behind the scrimmage when the play is happening at the line.
I hope we continue to man up with three guys on three receivers and make stuff happen with our other 8 guys...
SILVER BULLETS!
I say, OSU 27, PSU 24.
Big plays? Nate Williams, Chekwa, Homan, Laurinaitis.
On offense?? eh, I don't know. What will JT pull out of his sleeve? Devier? Air it out? a lot of pistol? I notice that according to O-zone breakdown, we only ran the pistol once last week.
What does Penn State have on film to look at? Not much.
this is going to be a long 59 hours.......
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