PSD Plays Sloppily m Season opener
Zach Mills and strong third quarter defense
help Lions escape with a victory, 27-24
Penn State’s season opener against Central Florida was
supposed to provide fans with a lot of answers. Instead, a 27-24
victory over the mediocre Golden Knights has the Penn State
faithful asking more questions.
At times, PSU resembled the likes of a rag-tag arena
league team from the backwoods of Schenectady. Kick returners
Bryant Johnson and Tony Johnson each fumbled once, resulting
in a turnover. Penn State’s second play from scrimmage saw
quarterback Zach Mills pitch a ball that landed five yards to the
right of running back Larry Johnson. Equipment problems,
another lost fumble, and a lack of continuity plagued the Nittany
Lions in a game they could have easily lost.
But let’s not jump the gun. After all, it was only the sea
son opener. Mistakes like these are common the first time a team
steps on the field. The bottom line is they won the game. That’s
better than the last two seasons when they began 0-4 and 1-4
respectively. And even though Penn State made about a half
dozen more mental errors than should be expected, they do have
an off-week to tie up the loose ends. The bad news is that those
ends could unravel against the powerhouse Nebraska
Comhuskers, the eighth-ranked team, in the country. The blue
and white will have to prove that they are worthy of their sur-
prise twenty-third ranking, something they didn’t do too well
against Central Florida.
On the bright side, the UCF game showed that Zach
Mills is maturing at a respectable pace. Although his numbers
weren’t spectacular (13-20 for 194 yards), they were solid
enough to get the “W.” Mills also displayed his knack for mak
ing big plays, especially in third and long situations. Playmaking
is a characteristic that was sorely lacking during the 2000 season
and the first half of last year, before Mills led the team to a 5-2
finish. In addition, Mills didn’t turn the ball over.
The defense will need some work. They couldn’t get to
UCF’s quarterback the entire first half. The Golden Knight’s
Ryan Schnieder was able to sit comfortably in the pocket and
complete 15 of 21 passes in the first thirty minutes.
The third quarter showed that PSU’s defense has the
potential to be solid. Defensive end Michael Haynes recorded
two sacks and the defense caused two turnovers. But then they
did an about-face in the fourth quarter and allowed a 27-9 advan
tage to slip to 27-24. The young secondary and an average line
backing core will need to step up and be consistent.
The Nittany Lions didn’t show me enough to forget the
bad memories of the past two losing seasons. Images of Matt
Seneca throwing the ball 10-yards over the intended receiver still
loom in the back of our minds. It got so bad last year that Seneca
became a scapegoat for everything that went wrong at Penn State
campuses, even if it was unrelated to football. If a girl spilled her
can of beast light at a frat party, she would blame it on Seneca
and most likely get away with it. If a student went to a professor
and said, “I don’t have my paper that was due today because
Matt Seneca stole my book,” the professor would grant an exten
sion in full confidence. Sometimes I feel bad for Seneca. The
poor kid had to transfer across the country to avoid being ostra
cized by the student body.
While Matt Seneca is no Zach Mills, Penn State is no
Nebraska. The Lions won’t make as many mental errors as they
did against UCF, but they’ll lose another close one, 31-24. Then
many questions will be answered. Mainly, that Penn State will be
good, but not good enough to appease the high standards of the
PSU faithful. However, some will be left unanswered, such as:
Why did Seneca slash my tires so I couldn’t make it to class on
Wednesday?
BY Pete Strella
Capital Times Assistant Layout Editor