By James Grap
Sports Columnist
jpgso26@psu.edu
On Saturday, October 29, a
resilient Michael Robinson led
Penn State to a 33-15 victory
over Purdue. Robinson was
under pressure all day but
still managed to throw for 213
yards and run for 96 yards
and a touchdown. That gave
Robinson his tenth rushing
touchdown which is the most by
a Penn State quarterback in a
single season. With that victory
Robinson has guided Penn
State to 5-1 in the Big Ten and
8-1 overall.
As impressive as all those
statistics are, fans continued to
shower Robinson with boos after
a slow start against Purdue. I
had to ask myself, when will
people respect Robinson as
the great quarterback he is?
If I asked you who is the best
quarterback in college football
today, most people would
probably say Matt Leinart of
USC or Vince Young of Texas.
A few ignorant Notre Dame fans
may even say Brady Quinn. It's
no coincidence that those are 3
of the top 4 Heisman candidates
according to ESPN. Leinart
has thrown for 19 touchdowns
and rushed for 3 for a total of
22 touchdowns. Young has
thrown for 16 touchdowns and
rushed for 8 for a total of 24
touchdowns. Quinn has thrown
for 20 touchdowns and rushed
for 1 for a total of 21. Now ask
Joe Paterno and he will answer
Michael Robinson emphatically.
Not only that, Paterno will tell
you Robinson is quite possibly
one of the greatest all around
players he's ever coached, and
he is not too far off.
Robinson has thrown for 13
touchdowns and rushed for 10
for a total of 23. One other little
statistic to consider, the top
Heisman candidate according
to ESPN, USC running back
Reggie Bush, has 10 rushing
touchdowns. Yes, Robinson
is currently tied with him. So
by the numbers Robinson has
to be considered one of the
best quarterbacks in college
football and a frontrunner for the
Heisman. However, it is what
he's been able to get this young
Penn State team to accomplish
that really sets him apart from
the crowd. USC, Texas, and
Notre Dame all came into this
season ranked in the top 25
nationally, with USC and Texas
at one and two respectively.
They had all the pieces in place
for championship seasons.
Penn State came in with loads
of young talent but no proven
leader. Robinson has filled that
hole putting the swagger back in
Penn State and vaulting them to
national powerhouse status, just
ask Minnesota safety Brandon
Owens.
No, he's not Kerry Collins;
he's better than that. He is the
first Penn State player to rush
for 1,000 yards and pass for
1,000 yards. He is a double
threat quarterback who draws
as much attention with his arm
as he does with his legs. He is
the extension of Coach Paterno
on the field. The unquestioned
leader of the team Robinson
continues to deliver week in
and week out. To put it simply,
Robinson just knows how to
win. He has carried Penn State
in each of their victories and will
be the key this weekend against
Wisconsin. So with senior day
approaching this weekend I
have one request, recognize this
is Michael Robinson's football
team and be very thankful it is
yours. Until next time, Let's Go
State!!!
PSU pounces on Purdue
By GENARO C. ARMAS
Associated Press Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.-With a
favorable conference schedule
and an offensive scheme that
proved to be potent in the past,
Purdue was a chic preseason
pick to surprise in the Big Ten.
Surprise! It's Penn State instead
that has turned heads in the
conference.
After handing the Boilermakers
their sixth straight loss, the Nittany
Lions (8-1, 5-1) moved up a spot
to No. 10 in the Associated Press
poll released Sunday. Penn State
can win the conference's BCS
bid with victories in their last two
regular season games, starting
with this weekend's showdown
against No. 14 Wisconsin.
"Next week is huge," defensive
end Tamba Hali said Saturday
after the 33-15 win over Purdue.
"Everything is on the line."
Purdue's losing skid might be
just as big a surprise.
The Boilermakers (2-6, 0-5)
had a Top 25 ranking and lofty
aspirations before the season
started. A Big Ten title was a
reasonable goal, especially
since Purdue didn't have to play
conference powers Ohio State
and Michigan this year because
of a scheduling quirk.
Instead, Joe Tiller is now
assured of his first losing record
and bowl-less season in his nine
year tenure as Purdue coach.
"I only think about who we're
going to play this week. For me,
I've been to a number of bowls
and we'll go to bowls again," Tiller
said. "Our football team needs to
win a football game more than
they need a bowl game."
Purdue's defense had some
success in disrupting the Nittany
Lions' potent offense by blitzing
quarterback Michael Robinson
early and often. But Penn State
succeeded on short passes and,
in the fourth quarter, went almost
exclusively to the run to thwart a
Women's v-ball sets the ace
By Katherine Davis
Staff Reporter
kidso34@psu.edu
The PSH Volleyball team finished
its season with a record of 7-8,
not bad considering that this is
the first intercollegiate team since
1993. The season ended with the
Penn State University Athletic
Conference Tournament, which
was held at University Park from
October 22-23. PSH competed
in three games, winning against
Hazleton and losing to Fayette
and Beaver.
The double elimination
tournament included fifteen teams
from all over Pennsylvania. The
teams were divided into three
divisions, two eastern divisions
and one western division.
"At the tournament, we ran into
the best team from the western
conference, Fayette, and then
played a close match with Beaver
before losing in the third and final
game 15-13," said Kevin Larkin,
head coach.
Eight players came out for the
team. The members included
Jayme Michael, Vera Kanova,
BRACT
late Purdue rally.
Tony Hunt ran for 52 of his
129 yards in the fourth quarter.
Robinson was 13-of-29 for 213
yards passing in the game, while
also running for 96 yards and a
touchdown. The straight-ahead,
bull-rushing style of running
shared by Hunt and Robinson
excited the homecoming crowd.
"We feed off each other," Hunt
said. "We complement each
other well."
Penn State's defense was
solid and frustrated both Purdue
quarterbacks, though senior
Brandon Kirsch had a little more
success against the Nittany
Lions after entering the game in
the second half when redshirt
freshman starter Curtis Painter
was pulled for ineffectiveness.
Kirsch ran for a 4-yard score
early in the fourth quarter to
help Purdue close within eight,
23-15. But Penn State safety
Calvin Lowry sealed the win after
intercepting a Kirsch pass with
more than five minutes left.
Tiller said he needed to watch
practice before naming his
starting quarterback for Purdue's
next game, Saturday against
Michigan State. The Boilermakers
have three games left and cannot
finish better than 5-6 even if they
win all three.
That means they are assured to
be home for the holidays.
"I've got so many mixed emotions
right now," said senior defensive
tackle Brandon Villareal. "I'm
angry, I'm disappointed, I'm
anxious at the same time to get
out and want to continue to play,
and I'm sad I'm going to be home
for Christmas."
The Nittany Lions will be
traveling during the holidays to a
warm locale for a bowl game after
having losing records four out of
the previous five years. Coach
Joe Paterno can cap this feel
good season with his first Big Ten
title since 1994 if his team can
beat the Badgers on Saturday
The PSH volleyball team smiles proudly with the Nittany Lion mascot
Alexis Campbell, Katie Howe, competed in high school, none
Danielle Kumar, Alexis McFall, had ever played at the college
Emily Salness and Janessa level.
Byard. Although most had "I played for four years in high
=VAKES E
Rodney Kinlaw runs 58 yards on a kickoff return to open the second half of the Penn State-Purdue game.
and Michigan State on Nov. 19. Robinson, who, after running for "Coach Paterno has been telling
"Everyone is always talking a score against Purdue, became you guys all the time that we were
about, 'Oh, Penn State is turning the first Nittany Lion quarterback only a few plays off from winning
things around.' But we never felt to have 10 rushing TDs in a most games."
like we were that far off," said season.
Photo by Katherine Davis/Capital Times
The Capital Times, November 7, 2005 7
school but I didn't have the
opportunity to play in college
until this season," said Michael,
captain of the team.
The season opened on Sept.
15 with a match against Mt. Alto,
which Harrisburg lost. The team
was defeated in four out of their
first five games. They lost to York,
Schuylkill and Delaware County.
"We started slow," said Larkin.
"That's mostly because we didn't
have much pre-season practice.
The players weren't familiar with
each other."
With the conflicting schedules
of the various teammates, it
was difficult at first to organize
practice times. There were four
practices a week until the games
began. The team's schedule
was quite rigorous, with twelve
regular season games crammed
into only one month.
As the season went on, the
team progressed and began
to accumulate some victories.
Midway through the season, they
defeated Scranton, Wilkes-Barre
and Hazleton.
The team has been aided by
the knowledge and experience
Photo courtesy of AP Sports
of Coach Larkin. 'He has played
volleyball for 12 years and held
the position of assistant coach
at Penn State Abington for
both the women's and men's
teams. Along with coaching
the volleyball team, he is a
graduate student.
Larkin plans to continue coaching
next season. However, many of
the players will be graduating or
transferring to University Park.
"The team will be comprised of
a lot of new faces," Larkin said.
"but returning starters Jayme
Michael and Vera Kanova will
bring with them experience
and leadership."
Be sure to
congratulate the
women's
volleyball team on
an excellent first
season. Way to
go Lady Lions!!