Orange scheme backfires; No. 7 in the bag By RICK WEBER Daily Collegian Sports Writer Penn State left its offensive game plan in the hands of Syracuse's young defense. The result was one of the most impressive aerial displays in Penn State football history. The second-ranked Lions, given some incredibly open passing lanes by a stacked-up Orangemen defense, ex ploded for 293 yards and four touch downs passing and rolled to a 45-15 win Saturday before a record Beaver Stadium crowd on Homecoming. The Lions, who went into the traditional clash averaging 204 yards rushing per game, had every intention of establishing a ground attack. But when Joe Paterno and his offensive coaches saw eight Orangemen stacked around the ball, the plan was quickly revised. "They obviously went into the game with the idea that they were going to stop our running game," Paterno said. "We tried to generate a running attack but we really didn't have much of a chance to do that the way they were playing. There was no way to run. They stacked the line of scrimmage with a lot of people. "We like to have a balanced attack we like to be able to run and throw the football. But if they're going to overload to stop the run and give you so much room for the passing game, you almost have to take it." According to Coach Bob Phillips, who is in charge of the quarterbacks and the passing game, Syracuse's decision may have paid dividends against some other teams but not Penn State, which has a receiving corps comparable to any in the country. . "They were trying to cover deep with only three people, which is tough to do against good receivers,': Phillips said. "And some of their coverages weren't real good. They have good people back there, but they were in a scheme that was designed to stop the run. We were able to pick them apart. 'We probably could have thrown on every down." .Penn State didn't throw on every down, but when it did, the result was something to behold. Quarterback Chuck Fusina was on target throughout Grabs four passes for 112 yards Fitzkee main man in air show By DARLENE HROBAK Daily Collegian Sports Writer It was evident from the Lions' second play from scrimmage in Saturday's 45-15 win over Syracuse it was to be a Scott Fitzkee day. Quarterback Chuck Fusina hit his senior split end with a 21- yard touchdown pass only 2:05 into the football game, but that was only the beginning. Fitzkee caught four passes for a total ofll2 yards, including another touchdown. "Scott played his usual game," Fusina said. "I feel bad for the other receivers because I look to Scott maybe too much. But when you have a great' receiver like him, you can't help it." Fu - sina teamed up with Fitzkee for an aerial attack that had Syracuse defenders shaking their heads in confusion and had trivia buffs looking for Fitzkee's name in the Penn State career record books Fitzkee's two touchdown catches Saturday tied him with Ted Kwalick and Chuck Herd for the Penn State record of 10 and he is now in third place on the all-time receiving yardage chart with 1,089 yards, being only the sixth receiver in Lion history to surpass 1,000 yards. "I never think about it ( the records) when I'm playing," Fitzkee said. "I see it written somewhere or hear it from someone andthen it's in my mind. But it's the furtherest thing from my mind when I'm playing. . "The only goal I have is that I want to do my best for the rest of the team." That he's certainly been doing. Fitzkee, who also takes care of the punting duties, already has 27 receptions this year and is •/ .l .' s' <i,R;`Z¢~rµa • -; 1 . ; 4 • : 45, r ;w t .. 17, 1 E 1 44 . P . • C 1; * Scott Fitzkee was just a blur to Syracuse defenders Saturday. The senior split ' end was in top form, hauling in four Chuck Fusina passes for a total of 112 yards and two touchdowns. Collegian sports the daily the game, completing 15 of 27 passes for 293 yards including passes of 65, 52, 48 and 21 yards. Fusina said it was not his best passing effort this year, even though he racked up the second highest yardage total of his career. "I thought I was sharper in the last game, even though I did have four touchdowns today," *Fusina said. "Our receivers had some great catches. They were more wide open because of Syracuse's defense. I still don't think our passing game is where we want it to be. We still haven't had that perfect game, I really don't know what a perfect game would be, but I guess that's what we're looking for." Fusina got the Lions on the board two minutes into the game with a perfect 21- yard strike to Scott Fitzkee, who was wide open in the left corner of the end zone. Fusina got his second touchdown pass of the game on the 48-yard screen pass to fullback Matt Suhey. This one, however, was the work of Suhey and the offensive line. On third and eight, Fusina faked a pass to the left, rolled right, and dumped the ball off to Suhey, who cut back behind the blocks of guard Eric Cun ningham and center Chuck Correa] and raced down the right sideline for the touchdown. "It was a real nice call because Syracuse was charging hard and stunting the linebackers a lot," Correal said. "The linebackers are the ones who have to read the screen and get out there for it. • "We set up the pass protection just for a second, then two offensive linemen went out to one side. Then Eric and . I went out the right side on a slower screen and Matt got the pass. It opened up real nice. Eric got rid of the first man and I took out the second guy with a low block." Fusina got his third touchdown pass of the first quarter after Syracuse had narrowed the gap to 14-9. On third and 10 from the Syracuse nine, tailback Mike Guman,made a diving catch of Fusina's . aerial in the end zone. The Lions got an unexpected touch down one minute later when Mickey averaging 16.9 yards per play and 65 yards per gaine. What more could a coach ask for? "Fitzkee has been great all year actually he's been great for two years," coach Joe Paterno said. "Last year he was excellent but we didn't get the ball to him enough because we kind of got into a groove with Cefalo." , But Saturday Paterno and the Lions were in just the right groove with Fitzkee. It became evident early that Syracuse's game plan was to shut down Penn State's running game, so the Lions went to the pass and their speedy split end. Fusina threw touchdown passes to Fitzkee of 21 and 11 yards. Fitzkee's longest reception of the day came near the close of the first quarter when he streakid past Syracuse defensive halfback John Patterson for a 65-yard pass play. That carried the ball to the 26-yard line and set up State's third touchdown. "I'm definitely spoiled by him ( Fusina )," Fitzkee said. "I don't think there's a better quarterback around. He definitely makes me look good. The receiver's supposed to catch the ball if the quarterback puts it anywhere near him." This year Fitzkee has extra motivation because it's his last in the blue and white of the Nittany Lions. "I definitely think this is the best year I've had since I've been here," Fitzkee said. "I've been catching the ball more and I've been learning so much more everything a receiver should do. It's my last year and I really want to make it special because I've been having such a great time here. "And," he added, "it will be really nice if I do get any records." . Urquhart btirSt in from the left side and blocked Jim Goodwill's punt into the end zone where Matt Millen pounced on it. It was unexpected because Penn State was setting up a return and not really.trying for a block. "That was supposed to be 'a 'return," Millen said, "but Mickey got around the end to block it. After he blocked it, it was just sitting in the end zone so I was trying to hit it on the, right angle. I wanted to come in on it slow so I wouldn't knock it away." That play was just part of the superb play Paterno got out of the kicking teams. Other plays came from Mike Guman, who returned a punt 37 yards, and Bruck Clark, who - leapfrogged the Syracuse line to block a second-quarter field goal attempt. "Those things are' all plusses," Paterno said. "If we hadn't gotten points out of our. kicking game, it would have been a much tougher game." Tougher because of a couple of mistakes one by the kickoff coverage team which let Syracuse's Joe Morris return a fumbled kickoff 83 yards to the Penn State three yard-line, and the other by Joel Coles, who futhbled at the Penn State 18 on a kickoff return to begin the second half. - But the Lions were bailed out by a tough defense that stiffened and forced the Orangemen to kick field goals. "I was pleased how well we played defensively outside of a couple of great passes and a couple of traps," Paterno said. "Overall, we played a better defensive game than I thought we could play against them." EXTRA POINTS: Syracuse became the first team to score on Penn State in the first quarter when kicker Dave Jacobs made a 29-yard field goal. The field goal also accounted for the first points the Lion defense had allowed in 11 quarters dating back to the Southern Methodist . game . . . Linebacker Rick Donaldson and defensive back Joe Diminick were not 100 percent recovered from their injuries and did not play. Paterno said they would have played had the Lions really needed them.' Monk.• An orange with extra juice By GARY SILVERS Daily Collegian Sports Writer Following the Lions' 45-15 romp over the Orangemen Saturday, a touching scene occurred in the Syracuse lockerroom. As running back Art Monk toweled off outside the showers, he was approached by a handicapped child who had waited over a half an hour after the game to talk to him in person. . "I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed watching you today," the youngster said. "You were out there every play, weren't you?" "It certainly looked that way didn't it," Monk replied. "I just wish I could've done a little better out there for you." "You played good enough for me, Art. How much more could you have done?" The answer is simple nothing. Monk does it all on a football field; he's an absolute dream to a coach. In Saturday's game alone he played five different positions. As a rusher, he gained 23 yards on 15 attempts. As a receiver, he caught four passes for 34 yards. As a punt returner, he flagged down two for 11 yards. As a kickoff returner, he ran back five for 123 yards. He even had a chance at quar terback, completing his only pass of the afternoon for a five-yard gain. "I used to play everything in high school," Monk said, "so it's just a matter of the team using me where they think I can help." , Lynn Lrudinsky* Penn State quarterback Chuck Fusina dodged his share of the Penn State record for most yards passing by a Syracuse defenders Saturday as he passed for 293 yards, , quarterback 315, set against North Carolina State last the second highest game total of his career. Fusina holds year. Record books take beating also Records, records, and more records That was the story at Beaver Stadium Saturday in Penn State's 45-15 thrashing of Syracuse. Trivia nuts had a field day looking through the Penn State press guide as players like Chuck Fusina and Scott Fitzkee set new marks and made .greet records. For starters, Fusina's 293 yards passing was the second highest total in Lion history. Fusina holds the record of 315 yards, set last year against North Carolina State. Fusina, who went into the game holding or sharing 13 Penn State records, added two more to his collec tion. His four" - touchdowns passing tied Penn State-Syracuse Statistics TEAM STATISTICS Penn Stale First downs Rushes-Yards Passiqg Yardage ...sir 1, Total 'ardage 445 Passesi att -comp -int I 29-15-1 Punts-Ave 7- tf o Fumbles-Lost 2-1 Penalties-Yards 7.74 u=n 21-11144 15 11-3.3.11 15 First Quarter Ss racuse Penn State Filzkee 21 pass from Fusma ( Bahr kick) Syracuse —Jacobs 29 field goal Penn State M. Suhey 48 pass from Fusina ( Bahr kick I Syracuse— Hartman 1 run (pass failed) '‘ Monk's strongest area, according to the junior, is pass receiving. Last year the running back caught 41 for 590 yards, including 14 in a single game against Pittsburgh. This year, however, with quarterback Bill Hurley out of the lineup, he's grabbed a total of just 15 in seven games. "When Hurley first left, everyone was shocked," Monk said. "We couldn't keep sulking because it wasn't gonna do us any good. We just learned to work with what we have. "With Tim Wilson in the lineup things are a lot different. The timing's changed. When you're used to having one quarterback do one thing and you're forced to have it done another way, it's pretty tough on the receivers. Still, with proper execution, it shouldn't really matter who's throwing the ball." Despite the fact Wilson only hit his 30 percent average in the completion department (six for 20), Syracuse coach Frank Maloney did see some bright spots Saturday afternoon. "Wilson improved tremendously," he said, much to the media's dismay. "He's still a few light years away from being a great quarterback, but I think he inn.- proved a few light years today. We ran some audibles for the first time all season and he handled it rather well. "He did get pretty flustered on some occasions, however. All our time outs were called because he called the wrong formations. This is only his first year at the game record set by Tom Sherman in 1967. The four TD's passing also tied the stadium record set by Sherman and Pittsburgh's John Hogan in 1972. Fusina established the Penn State career total offense .touchdown record with the 11-yard touchdown pass to Fitzkee early in the third quarter. He now has 39 career total offense touch downs (35 passing and four rushing), breaking the old record of 38 set by Lydell Mitchell. Fitzkee was not to be outdone by Fusina. The senior split end from Red Lion, Pa., moved into third place on Penn State's all-time career receiving yardage chart with 1,089 yards. He is only the sixth Lion receiver to gain over Penn State Guman 9 pass from Fusma i Bahr kick) Penn Stale Millen recovered blocked punt in end zone i Bahr kick) Syracuse—Jacobs 25 field gall Penn State Bahr 50 field goal Third Quarter Syracusi Jacobs 33 field goal Penn State Futzkee 11 pass from Fusina ( Bahr kick) 194 24 7 1 6 41 6-4 441 Fourth Quarter Penn State M. Suhey 4 run (Bahr kick I INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing Penn State Moore 13 for 37 yards; M. Suhey 7 for 34; Guman 10 for 25; Coles 4 for 19, Alguero 3 for 14; Torrey 6 for 12; McClelland 1 for 12; Fusina 3 for 0; Donovan 1 for -I. Syracuse Ilartman 11 for 39 yards; Monk 15 quarterback, though, and it's a tough little errand being sent out to face Maryland and Penn State back-to back." The Orangemen had their hands full all day long with Lion tackles Bruce Clark and Matt Millen, who seem to be proving week after week that humans can be just as tough to run against as concrete walls. "Those two guys are for real," Monk said. "They're definitely the best two tackles I've ever played against. They just work great together." Good observation. Take the case of the blocked field goal in the second quarter when Clark leaped high into the air to bat the ball down and teammate Millen recovered almost instinctively. "Whenever an outside guy blocks a field goal, it means it's a great in dividual play," Maloney said. "The snap was good, the timing right ,and ( placekicker Dave) Jacobs was ready. He's just an incredible football player that Clark, a super athlete." Modest too. Just take the case of the blocked punt in that same quarter when Clark allowed Millen to touch the ball in 'the end zone for a touchdown when he could have easily touched it himself. But when Clark heard footsteps behind him, he thought the man charging in was Mickey Urquhart, the one who blocked the punt. "He (Urquhart) deserved the touch," Clark said. "Then I saw it was Thun- Second Quarter onday. Oct. 23, 1978-12 1,000 yards on receptions and now ranks eighth with 55 career receptions. His two touchdown receptions Saturday gave him 10 for his career, tying the Penn State record held by All- American Ted Kwalick and Chuck Heriliti Matt Bahr also set a record a personal one, ,at least. Bahr's 50-ya'rd field goal at'the end of the'first half was the longest of his career. , Saturday's attendance of 77,827 established a new Beaver Stadium record, breaking the old record of 77,704* for the Southern Methodist game this year. Finally, Penn State extended :its winning streak to 15 games, longest of the nation's major colleges. The LiQns have scored in 135 consecutive games: for 23; Wilson 16 for 22; Warner 2 for 22; Matichak 4 for 5. Morris 4 for 2. Penn State Fusina 15 of 27 for 29.1 yards and four touchdowns (one interception): Caporzoll It of 2 for 0. Syracuse Wilson 6 of 20 for 76 yards lone interception), Warner 0 of 3 for 0. Monk I of I for Pass Receiving Penn State Fitzkee 4 for 112 yards. Bassett 2 for 67; M. Suhey 2 for 49, Pankey 2 for 26, Guman ( 2 for 22; Moore 2 for 14, Scovtll 1 for 3. Syracuse Monk 4 for 34 yards, Williams 2 for 22; Jones 1 for 2,5, Penn Slate Futzkee 6 for 36 2 average, Jones I for 47 0 ' Syracuse —Goodwill 7 for 46 8 average, Team I blocked. dermouth (Millen). Afterwards, Ma# came up to me and said, 'Thank you, Bruce.' I told him he better thank me." 'Meanwhile, Maloney watched in disgust. "We would have walked in at halftime with a seven-point lead if: it wasn't for the specialists today. You have to be flawless when you play, a great team like Penn State and we were the farthest thing from it. We're very inexperienced." If that's the case, the upcoming Penn State-Maryland game (November :40 ought to be a real classic. Both teams are experienced, both are undefeated:(7- 0) and both have given Maloney migraine headaches. "On offense, Penn State's a better football team than Maryland," Maloney said. "They're stronger at quarterback and have a much better passing attack. The two teams' running games art comparable. "Defensively, both teams are solid. I can't give an edge to either. Maryland might hold a slight edge in kicking, but all things considered it should be a great 'patch up." Monk agrees. "Penn State will have kilt warm-up game for them next week (West Virginia), but the week after that could very well decide their whole season. I'll say one thing, though, if Penn State continues to play the way they have been, no team is gonna beat them;. they'll be No. 1 for sure. All they have t6AI do is keep winning."
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