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Michigan
homecoming for PSU
By NICK O'CONNOR
STAFF WRITER
NBOSOOI @PSU.EDU
The Nittany Lions couldn't
have asked for a better
weekend for football.
The weather for Homecoming
weekend was wonderful. It
was bright and sunny but in
the 50s and had a chilling wind
that let you know winter was
coming. Beaver Stadium was
the house for nearly 110,000
crazed fans including a
student section white out with
the classic Black and Pink "S"
and thousands of white pom
poms in the crowd. With
one of the biggest turnouts in
school history you could tell
that this game was going to be
big.
This game was important for
both teams. For the Lions, they
are defending their undefeated
record and hopes for a BCS
Championship Bowl game.
For the Wolverines, they were
hoping to turn around and
chalk up another big upset
for their season. Despite
Michigan's huge upset of, then
No. 9, Wisconsin they are still
one of the worst Michigan teams
in recent memory. Their 9 game
winning streak against PSU
was going to be put to the test.
The first half for PSU looked
terrible. Now we all know that
for the most part the Lions are
a second half team. However,
they were making Michigan
look amazing. The first couple
Lions drives were awful. They
had numerous "three and outs,"
a fumble by Clark, and a missed
field goal.
On the other hand, Michigan
scored on their first three drives.
Landing two touchdowns and a
field goal. PSU never gave up
and a despite some lackluster
playing in the first half managed
to get 14 points on the board by a
44 yd run by Royster and a 3 yd
reception by Norwood.
Going into the half you could
tell something was off, perhaps
it was because JoePa wasn't on
the field for the third week in a
game a sweet
3to courtesy of washingtonpost.com
PSU runningback, Even Roster scores a 2 4 yard touchdown
against Michigan this past Saturday to help bring the Lions to win.
row. Joe Paterno, PSU's 81 year
old coach, still recovering from
a sore leg and hip was coaching
from the press box on Saturday.
However, he got his team ready
for the second half and the Lions
took Michigan to the woodshed
for some beatings. The offense
started where they left off late in
the first half. They had a great
drive into the red-zone, however,
after a couple attempts at the end
zone they had to settle for a field
goal.
Fortunately, the Lions' defense
really stepped it up in the second
half After a bobbled kickoff
return and a holding penalty on
Michigan. PSU's defense pinned
them inside the 5 yard line and
collected two points on a safety.
" two points! Why? Cause you
get none!" Penn State's defense
was flawless in the second half,
and Michigan failed to put any
points on the board. They made
a statement with the safety,
FrrwTmwnm
a blocked punt and a forced
fumble on consecutive Michigan
possessions.
The offense also made a
statement in the second half.
They put up 32 unanswered
points, on the performances
of Royster who had 174 yards
rushing on 18 carried including
a TD and Clark who was 18 for
31 171 yards passing including 1
passing and 2 rushing TD.
It looks like Penn State
survived the early flurry of
points from Michigan. They
made a statement on both sides
of the ball and remain the only
top 10 team in the BCS standings
with both a top 10 defense and
offense.
Unfortunately, the Lions didn't
move up and remain No. 3 in the
nation behind Texas and Alabama
respectively. They bring their
undefeated record to Ohio State
next to take on the red-hot No.
10 Buckeyes.
Showdown with
Ohio St. next as
Penn State rolls
By GENARO C. ARMAS
AP SPORTS WRITER
Joe Paterno coaching from the
press box may not be such a
big deal after all for No. 3 Penn
State.
With his team down 17-14 at
halftime Saturday to Michigan,
the hobbled Hall of Fame coach
didn't make it down to the locker
room to personally deliver a pep
talk, instead relaying messages
over a microphone to an assistant
coach.
It took a little longer than
usual, but Penn State delivered
another knockout blow. Thirty
two unanswered points and a
dominating second half later,
the Nittany Lions (8-0, 4-0 Big
Ten) stayed perfect and ended
a nine-game losing skid to the
Wolverines with a 46-17 win.
"In fact, I think some of
the kids are going to take a
vote, 'When we're home, can
you stay on McKee Street?"'
Paterno quipped, referring to his
house a short drive from Beaver
Stadium.
Penn State was third in the first
BCS standings released Sunday.
The Nittany Lions will need to
win their last four regular-season
games, likely by big margins,
and hope for losses by either
Texas or Alabama the two
undefeated teams ahead of them
in order for Paterno to have a
shot at a national title.
Next up for Penn State: a
showdown with No. 10 Ohio
State at the Horseshoe that may
likely decide who wins the Big
Ten and locks up the conference's
automatic BCS berth.
"Obviously, we'll have a tough
one this week," Paterno said.
A sore right leg and hip have
bothered Paterno since the first
week of the season, when he hurt
himself while demonstrating an
onside kick in practice. He's
been relegated to the press box
the past three games.
Oct. 22 2008
Yet this squad might have the
perfect mix of veteran assistants
and strong team leadership to
withstand the sideline absence
of Paterno. It's quieter down
there without Paterno using his
shrill voice to bark at officials or
encourage his players.
That first half might have been
the right time for his unique
brand of communication.
Michigan (2-5, 1-2) scored all
17 of its points and gained 204
yards of total offense on its first
three drives. The struggling
spread offense was off to an
encouraging start.
Momentum began to fizzle
midway through the second
quarter, in part after the insertion
of Michael Mauti and Bani
Gbadyu at linebacker gave Penn
State an energetic defensive
jolt.
The Nittany Lions D adjusted,
and young quarterbacks Steven
Threet, a redshirt freshman, and
Nick Sheridan, a sophomore,
started struggling again. It's a
typical storyline this season for
the Wolverines.
Michigan's last 11 drives of
the game were a disaster: 87
total yards, seven punts and a
momentum-shifting safety by
defensive tackle Jared Odrick
with 4:39 left in the third quarter
that put Penn State up for good,
19-17.
"It's frustrating when you don't
execute. It's frustrating when you
don't tackle," Michigan coach
Rich Rodriguez said. "A lot of
guys played their tails off and
played hard. We got something
there that we can build on."
Penn State has been rolling
all season even with Paterno
hobbled. He has used a cane the
last couple weeks, and he has
been monitoring practices from
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