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By TIM NARRIGAN
Sports Reporter
TANSOOI@PSU.EDU
Three common knocks on Joe
Paterno are that he can't compete
in the BCS era in college football,
he won't play freshman, and he
can't consistently recruit premium
athletes into the program.
With the past season resulting in
a thrilling Orange Bowl victory
against a perennial power known
for their team speed and with the
contributions of so many freshmen
this year, it looked like the last thing
Paterno had to prove was his ability
to recruit the nation's best. So far,
Penn State has put together an
impressive recruiting class for 2006
that many experts believe could be
one of the Nation's best.
So here's a simple message to all
those Paterno critics, "Go back into
hibernation, Penn State is back."
Although there might not be the
instant impact of freshmen like
Derrick Williams or Justin King in
the class of 2006, there is certainly
enough incoming talent to enable
Penn State to compete with the best
teams for the next several years.
Williams, King, running back/
wide receiver Lydell Sargeant and
linebacker Jerome Hayes are the
cream of last years crop and will
probably be the only future key
players for the Lions from the
2005 class. But this year's class is
loaded with future stars in almost all
offensive and defensive positions.
Defensive end Maurice Evans
was one of the best players on the
field, Jan. 9, at the U.S. Army All
American Bowl, which features
the best high school players across
the country. He will be especially
important next year in replacing All-
American Tamba Hali. A great pass
rusher like Hali, Evans will compete
for immediate playing time next year.
Penn State picked up two elite
defensive tackles in Jared Odrick
and Tom McEowen. Both are from
PA and both are highly regarded
nationally. Odrick is viewed as one
of the best defensive tackles in the
country, but because of his quick feet,
some experts predict he will make the
move to offensive tackle just like 2nd
team All-American and current Penn
State left tackle Levi Brown did.
For the second straight year, Penn
State has recruited arguably the best
cornerbacks in the country; King last
year, and A.J. Wallace this year. Like
King, Wallace is 6'l" and possesses
great speed. In two years, the Lions
will have two outstanding corners that
will be able to cover any receiver.
Two positions where immediate
help is not needed but Penn State
has successfully recruited are
linebacker and wide receiver. Bani
Gbadyu and Navorro Bowman will
help in special teams and eventually
as starters when Paul Posluszny and
Dan Connor graduate.
Probably the deepest position
for the Lions is wide receiver, but
this did not scare away high school
All-American receiver Chris Bell
from committing. At 6'3", he will
give the receiving core some height
they don't have. Also, if the passing
attack isn't dangerous enough, one
of the top tight ends in the country,
Andrew Quarless will give it yet
another weapon.
Penn State is still in the running
for several other big name prospects
and will more than likely receive
commitment from some. Several
elite offensive guards and one
offensive tackle are still on the board
So for those who think this 11-1
year for Penn State was a fluke and
next year they will go back to the
bottom of the Big Ten where they
belong, think again. Penn State is
recruiting the nation's best once again
and especially putting an emphasis on
speed. With some experts calling this
years' recruiting class the best in the
last ten years, it is quite apparent that
Penn State is back.
With as many as 12 starters
leaving, there will no doubt have to
be a learning curve for next year's
team. But with the 2006 recruiting
class, the talent will be replenished
and the Lions will stay competitive
The future is bright indeed.
Sea of blue and white among the oranges
By JAMES CRAP
Sports Reporter
JPGSO26©PSU.EDU
At the end of last semester I swore
I wouldn't write about the Orange
Bowl. I knew the first edition of the
paper would be coming out weeks
after the game and it just didn't
seem appropriate.
That was before I had the privilege
of attending the Orange Bowl. That
was before I witnessed what was
possibly the greatest game in Penn
State history.
Before Jan. 3, the unquestionably
best game in Penn State history was
the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, which capped
an undefeated 1986 season
and gave Penn State a national
championship in thrilling
fashion. What we saw in the
Orange bowl exceeded that
game in my opinion
To understand how great
this game was you have to
understand how great the
1987 Fiesta bowl was. Seeing
as most of you students were
only a few years old, I am
sure you don't remember how
it went down. Some of you
probably have never seen or
even heard of this game. If
that is the case stop reading
this article, do yourself a favor,
and buy the DVD of the game.
It pitted number one Miami
vs. number two Penn State.
In the 1987 Fiesta Bowl
Penn State was considered a
big underdog to the heavily
favored Miami Hurricanes.
The Heisman Trophy winner,
Vinny Testaverde, led Miami.
It was a back and forth game
with Penn State intercepting
Testaverde five times.
Flyers paddle Penguins
Philadelphia defeats Pittsburgh 2
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH (AP) Playing in his
first game in more than a month,
Robert Esche made 32 saves for
his first shutout of the season in
the Philadelphia Flyers' 2-1 win
over the Pittsburgh Penguins
Saturday afternoon.
The Flyers broke a four-game
losing streak while Pittsburgh
lost in regulation for the ninth
consecutive time.
Esche, who improved to 12-4-
2, had not played since Dec. 15
due to a groin strain, and Antero
Niittymaki made 17 consecutive
starts in his place.
Rookies R.J. Umberger and Jeff
Carter scored the Philadelphia goals.
Umberger, a Pittsburgh-area
native, gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead
Photo
The Flyers and Penguins battled a scoreless game until only
left in the game.
SPORTS
Miami was threatening down
17-10. Testaverde dropped back
and let a pass fly toward the end
zone. Penn State Linebacker, Pete
Giftopolous, stepped in front and
made a miraculous interception
to seal the game and the
national championship.
The underdog Nittany Lions had
done what most deemed impossible.
Up until this year's magnificent
Rose Bowl it was the most watched
college football game in history.
Now turn to this year's Orange
Bowl. Penn State came into this
season with expectations of a
mediocre season at best by most
Penn State players celebrate another touchdown against Florida State
when he scored his eighth of the
season while on the power play
on a shot from close range on
goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Petr
Nedved _ playing in his first
game since being acquired via
trade from Phoenix Friday _ and
Sami Kapanen assisted on the
goal, which occurred less than six
minutes into the contest.
The teams played scoreless
hockey until there were just less
than six minutes left in regulation
when Carter beat Fleury on the
short side from the left circle on
a five-on-three power play for his
12th goal of the season.
The Penguins have allowed
multiple power-play goals in six of
their last nine games.
Esche did not appear as it he
was suffering from any rust alter
they were 10 and one going
into the Orange Bowl and
I won't even get into that
one "loss."
This was an overachieving
Penn State team. This was
a team the experts were
Waiting to crumble. They
would be facing a surprise
Florida State team.
Make no mistake about
it this was a talented
Florida State team. They
had four losses on the
season but beat Miami and
Virginia Tech in the ACC
championship
in six-minute
the long layoff. He made several
challenging saves, including
stopping Sidney Crosby in the slot
with the man-advantage toward the
end of the first period and Sergei
Gonchar on a wrist shot from his
left with four minutes to play in
the second.
The teams combined for only
one shot on goal during the first
eight and a half minutes of the
third period.
Philadelphia did not register a shot
on goal in the period until its two
man advantage midway through
the period.
But the final six minutes
of regulation was furious,
highlighted by a Pittsburgh goal
by Colby Armstrong with 3:49 to
play. It was the fourth goal for the
rookie, who redirected a Gonchar
pass from the left corner
behind Esche.
The Penguins out
shot an opponent for
only the 15th time this
season and fell to 5-8-2
in such circumstances.
Pittsburgh had 33 shots
to the Flyers' 26.
Flyers had lost five
of their last six coming
into the game. Pittsburgh
hasn't earned a point in a
game since a 6-4 win at
Montreal Jan. 3.
NOTES:
_Fleury's
mask was fitted with a
small camera as the NBC'
courtesy GOOCLE COM
six minutes were
was experiencing concussion
like symptoms.
regional telecast was in
its second Saturday of
the season.
Philadelphia center
Peter Forsberg, tied for
eighth in the league
with 60 points, missed
his second consecutive
game with an abdominal
muscle injury. Flyers
defenseman Kim Johnson
was scratched because he
THE CAPITAL TIMES January 23, 2006
Full back Adam Senk blocks his op
ponent in attempt to gain yards.
That is a Virginia Tech to
many people had challenging
the national championship bef'
they lost to the very same Mi •
team Florida State beat. It was
obvious trap game.
On top of that it was a bat
between the two most accomplish
coaches in division I footb.
Between Joe Paterno and Bob
Bowden they have over 700 wi
including 40 bowl wins.
A monumental match up w
set. The game was incredib
spectacular, amazing, and a
other superlatives you can co
up with. With over 70 thousi
fans in attendance at the Oral
Bowl this year nearly 50 thousi
of them were Penn State fa
The atmosphere was electric
you closed your eyes you wo
have believed you were back
Inside the stadium the fans had
answered the call for a "white-
A sulk to
remember
By MATTHEW MILLER
Sports Reporter
MGMSOOO@PSU.EDU
Don't hate me because I cheered
against the Steelers in their nail
biting divisional playoff win
against the Colts; rather hate me
for missing the entire first three
quarters of the game.
After I picked my jaw up off the
ground when I discovered the Colts
were losing 21-3 at the start of the
fourth quarter, I tried to reconcile
what could put the unbeatable Colts
in this position.
My first guess was a technical
difficulty on the scoreboard. I mean,
it had to be, this is the Colts, the team
that embarrassed the Steelers just a
few weeks earlier in the season.
After a few excruciating minutes of
no change to the scoreboard I realized
this was not the problem.
So I began to think of what events
must have unfolded while I was
sleeping during the first three quarters
I assumed that Edgerrin James
and Marvin Harrison had been
shot, and Peyton Manning's arm
fell off, leading to a lack luster
offensive performance.
When I saw them take the field in
the fourth quarter I was amazed at
how quickly they had recovered, but
later discovered all my assumptions
were false.
Could it be? Were the Steelers
legitimately beating the Colts?
Maybe this was true, but my brain
wasn't ready to except an answer of
that magnitude, so rather I went into
"denial mode". Grass was red, the
sky was brown, up was down, and
the café made good food.
As I drifted into oblivion the world
began to take shape again as the
Colts rallied and closed the game to
a three point gap. Finally, a glimmer
of hope for every Steelers hater in
the land; the Colts had the ball, time
to score, and Peyton Manning at the
helm. A few plays later, yada-yada
yada, I was in tears.
The Steelers had possession of
the ball on the Colt's two-yard line
out". The stadium was a sea of
white. While I waited for the game
to start two Florida State fans made
their way up to my section. When
they got to their seats they took a
look around and muttered, "Oh my
God, there is no one else".
Yeah, we packed the house. We
came in full force to support our
team and we shut those obnoxious
Florida State fans up, hard.
Penn State lost their starting
running back, Tony Hunt, on
the first series of the game.
However, this overachieving team
continued to do just fine when
Austin Scott ignited an eight play
85-yard drive, including a 3- yard
touchdown run.
The second quarter saw Florida
State try to land a knockout blow.
The always-dangerous Willie Reid
took a Kapinos punt 87-yards for
a touchdown. A revitalized Florida
State offense landed a second blow
when running back Lorenzo Booker
took a Drew Weatherford screen
pass 57-yards for a touchdown.
Florida State kicker Gary Cismesia
would miss the extra point.
Remember that? After forcing a
Florida State punt, Penn State got
the ball back with less than thirty
seconds remaining in the half.
The Nittany Lions would continue
to overachieve. Jordan Norwood
hauled in a Michael Robinson pass
for a 35-yard gain on the sideline.
Norwood, a freshman out of State
College recruited by nobody but
Penn State, would have six catches
for 110 yards to lead the team.
With six seconds left, Penn State
landed their own haymaker when
Ethan Kilmer made a spectacular
catch in the end zone. Kilmer
Please see ORANGE on page 8
Rothlisberger trips up Harper
preventing a Colts victory.
Roethlisberger hands the ball off
to Jerome Bettis and the series of
events that followed were equal
to the levels of happiness one
experiences at a birth, a wedding, or
from a grande meal at Taco Bell.
Bettis had fumbled; the ball was
recovered by Nick Harper and
returned thirty-five yards to the
Indianapolis 42-yard line. At this
point I had restored my faith, kissed
a baby, and saved a bunch of money
on my car insurance; happy days
were here again.
Manning marched the Colt's
down the field, where the game
was placed on the foot of the
most accurate kicker of all-time,
Mike Vanderjagt.
To the unexpected joy of
every Steelers fan in the nation,
Vanderjagt missed that kick.
That very same baby I had
just kissed was now ready to receive
a punch, and as I pulled my arm
back to strike, something hit me;
these two teams had just played one
of the greatest playoff games of the
decade and, perhaps the history of
the NFL, and I was upset.
I realized that this is what football
is all about, two teams determined
to win, but only one winner can
survive. It was a glorious epiphany
for the baby and me.
So congratulations to all the Steelers
fans around the world, that was one of
the best games, or in my case, quarters
of football I have ever seen.