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Hurricane passing tricks no Lion treat j
By TOM VERDUCCI
Daily Collegian Sports Writer
Halloween may be today, but the tricks and treats will come
tomorrow.
That’s when the Miami Hurricanes (4-2) storm into Beaver
Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. encounter with Penn State (6-1) in a
match-up of explosive offenses and defusing defenses.
“You’ve got two good offenses,” Lion quarterback Todd
Blackledge said, “and two good defenses. It could go either
way. It could be a low-scoring game or it could be a bang-bang
type game with a lot of points.”
Miami certainly has the capabilities to score points, due
mostly to its complicated pro-type passing attack, led by
quarterback Jim Kelly (60 of 117 for 833 yards and six
touchdowns).
. And since the Hurricanes’ leading rusher, Lorenzo Roan,
has just 273 yards this year, the Lions are expecting to see just
how complicated that attack can be.
"We’ve put more emphasis on pass coverage this week,”
said Lion defensive end Gene Gladys, the team leader in
tackles with 45. “We know that we’re going to have to stop the
passing game if we are to beat them. If we don’t, it could be a
long day. like it was last year.”
Miami shocked the Lions 26-10 in 1979 as Kelly threw for 280
yards and three touchdowns and according to Penn State
coach Joe Paterno, the Lion secondary “did some things that
were absolutely pathetic.”
The team effort last week at West Virginia was not much
better. In fact, Paterno called it “the worst game we have
played all year” and added “if we don’t improve tremendously
against Miami, we’ll get blown away.”
Of course, since the monsoon season came early this year in
Morgantown, W.Va., there wasn’t much that the Lions could
do; just as they were slowed by the rain two weeks ago against
Syracuse. The offense does have awesome potential, but it’s
not easy for a soggy firecracker to explode.
“I am disappointed,” Paterno said, “in that we have not had
a chance to play some offense in a football game to get better.
The last two weeks we have not done that and that’s gnawing
away at me a little bit.”
Paterno said he would like to get more productivity from his
passing game, which he’s kept mothballed this year. The
Lions’ best passing day was 123 yards against Nebraska and
the worst a mere 60 feet last week.
Kelly:
By RICH SCARCELLA
Daily Collegian Sports Writer
A single decision by. the Lion
coaching staff in 1978 discouraged
Miami quarterback Jim Kelly from
enrolling at Penn State and moved
him to sign a letter of intent with the
Hurricanes.
The Nittany Lion coaches planned
on using Kelly at linebacker a posi
tion that he had played only as a
junior in high school.
Such a gross case of miscasting
could only be compared to John
Belushi playing the lead role in
Macbeth.
Kelly showed the Penn State direc
tors last season that they had made a
dramatic error when he completed 18
of 30 passes for 280 yards' and three
touchdowns in his first collegiate
starring role to lead Miami over the
Lions, 20-10, at Beaver Stadium.
“It was a miracle,” said Kelly, a
red-shirted sophomore from East
Brady, Pa. “I was never that high
before. It was crazy.
“It was the greatest win in my life.
I never thought I’d be that happy.
Plus my family and friends were
there. That was great. I was always
looking forward to that because
nobody, gets a chance to come down
here since it’s so far away.”
At least his family and friends
didn’t have to spend two hours driv
ing to University Park or flying to
Miami to see Kelly complete 57 per
cent of his passes in high school for
3,915 yards and 44 touchdowns. East
Brady won 29 of 31 contests under
Kelly’s leadership and went unbeaten
in his junior and senior seasons.
“We made Kelly an offer,” Penn
Stale coach Joe Paterno said. “We
had him in camp. We liked Kelly. He
is a fine athlete. I think he’s got that
little something about him that peo
ple like. He’s not only a good passer
but he can run well enough to hurt
you. And he’s a tough kid.”
Maybe even tough enough to play
linebacker. But Kelly had other
ideas.
"Penn State and coach (J.T.) White
recruited me pretty good,” he said.
“He came to my basketball games
and everything. But he never told me
until almost the signing date that they
wanted me as a linebacker. I was
really thinking about going there as a
quarterback.”
Paterno, however, recalled that
Kelly bypassed the Lions because
another quarterback recruit, Frank
Rocco, had signed with Penn State.
"When Frank said he was coming, I
think Jim lost some interest in us,”
Paterno said. “I think that’s what
happened. Now that might not be fair
to Jim. He really didn’t have that
much interest in us.”
But Rocco’s signing affected
Kelly’s decision to forget about the
Lions about as much as the windfall
profits’ tax has had on decreasing
gasoline hprices.
“I heard about that (Rocco’s sign
ing) but I knew that I would have
The one that got away
Miami QB rejected State's offer
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'Coach White just told me that Penn State wanted me as a linebacker. That
changed my mind right away. That was the only reason i didn't go there.
Before that, it was my first choice. '
competition anywhere I went,” said
Kelly, who was also recruited by
Notre Dame, Tennessee, Kentucky,
Maryland and West Virginia. “Coach
White just told me that Penn State
wanted me as a linebacker. That
changed my mind right away.
“That was the only reason I didn’t
go there. Before that, it was my first
choice.”
After that episode, Kelly ac
climated himself to Miami and its
fresh oranges, swaying palm trees
and constant summer-like
temperatures.
“I went to Miami because of
(former) coach (Lou) Saban,” he
said. “It was also warm and and I en
joyed it down there. It was a beautiful
campus. Everything was just nice.”
Kelly visited another dreamland of
sorts when he mesmerized the Penn
State secondary in what the Miami
media guide calls last season’s big
gest upset in college football.
rts
“I don’t think we’re gonna get really good until we start
throwing the ball more,” Paterno said. “I’m not going to pro
mise anybody anything. We would like to throw 20, 22 times a
ballgame. I think that would be just the kind of attack that we
need.”
The Lions have already proven they can break a game open
on the ground, due mostly to Curt Warner (594 yards) and
Booker Moore (524 yards); witness their respective 4.5- and
7.1-yard averages. Warner has also brought his running skills
to the specialty teams as he will try to become only the fourth
man in college football history to return three kickoffs for
touchdowns in a season. He ran back his second of the year last
week.
But just running on and off the field against Miami is an ac
complishment. The Hurricanes possessed one of the top
defenses against the rush early in the season and have since
“slumped” to a 117.3-yard per game rushing allowance.
Points don’t come much easier against the Miami defense,
as it owns a 15.3 points-per : game average. In each of their four
wins, the Hurricanes did not allow more than one touchdown.
“They’re a bunch of tough kids and they’ve got some mean
ness to them,” Paterno said. “They try to intimidate you
physically. They’re not very fancy on defense, they challenge
you. They might be the best defensive team we will have
played so far, I don’t know, but they sure look good.”
And it’s important for the Lions to look good tomorrow, for
among the expected crowd of more than 84,000 will be scouts
from the Sugar, Fiesta, Gator and Garden State Bowls.
“It’s a big game for us,” Paterno said. “I would expect our
kids to know that. They’re not dumb; they know what a big
football game is.”
They’ve known this would be a big game since Nov. 3,1979.
“Everybody’s been thinking about this game for a long
time,” Gladys said. “They embarrassed us last year so
nobody’s been relaxing this week.”
NITTANY LINES: Injured Lions Terry Rakowsky (knee)
and Frank Case (knee) will not see action tomor
row. . . .Miami beat Louisville (24-10), Florida A&M (49-0),
Houston (14-7) and Florida State (10-9) in its first four games
but has since lost to Notre Dame (31-14) and Mississippi State
(34-31). . . .The Hurricanes were idle last week. .. .Warner
needs just 15 yards to become the first Penn State sophomore
to run for 1,000 yards in a career.
That new emphasis was on a pro
set offense, a field of study in which
Schnellenberger owns a master’s
degree. He was the offensive coor
dinator with the Miami Dolphins for
“For sure, I was surprised to start
last season against Penn State,” Kel
ly said. “I was going to the game
thinking No. 2 and I might get a
chance to play. A couple hours before
the game, coach (Howard)
Schnellenberger decided to start me.
I couldn’t believe it. I was flippin’
out.”
But Schnellenberger wasn’t when
he chose Kelly as the starting signal
caller. He wanted a precise plan that
would chart the Hurricanes’ future.
“At that point in our development
of the football team,’’
Schnellenberger said, “where we had
to do something to change it around, I
thought that changing the quarter
back, if successful, would give us a
new emphasis.”
Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge (
1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Beaver Stadium..
l %'
seven years, tutoring such greats as
Bob Griese and Earl Morrall, the
Hurricanes’ present quarterback
coach.
“That was a big plus,” Kelly said
about the Dolphin offense
Schnellenberger brought to the Hur
ricanes. “And coach Morrall is with
me all the time at every practice. He
teaches me everything, including
how to read coverages and who to
throw to and what plays to call.”
Even though Kelly holds no resent
ment towards Penn State, there still
is an added incentive to play well
against the Lions.
“It gives me an extra thing,” he
said. “I know a couple of players on
their team. I played in an all-star
game (Big 33) with them. I was so ex
cited to get to play there because we
don’t get too many fans down here.
“I think I could be as successful
this year. I’m due for another big
game. I just hope it’s this one.”
another perfect day
By DENISE BACIIMAN
Daily Collegian Sports Writer
More sunshine thap. clouds. No i;ain.
Forty-two degrees. A gentle breeze out
of the south at about 8 mph.
According to. Miami coach Howard
Schnellenberger, that weather forecast
would make for a perfect day of football
for the Hurricanes at Beaver Stadium
tomorrow afternoon.
That is, of course, if the Hurricanes
return to Florida 5-2 instead of 4-3.
And with the theme in practice this
week being, “We did it before, we can do
it again,” the Hurricanes are confident
they can take a 5-2 record back home
tomorrow night.
But Schnellenberger is a bit more
cautious.
“It’s going to be a hard-fought football
game between two very fine football
teams,” he said. “It’s a game where one
big play or several big plays by either
team are going to determine the out
come of the game.
“They’re very sound m all aspects of
their football, and anything we’re going
to be able to get will have to be earned
and worked for. They’re in the same
league as Notre Dame, Florida State and
Houston.”
The Lions also realize they must earn
and work for everything they get, con
sidering the Hurricanes have posted
wins over Houston and Florida State.
Miami beat the Cougars, 14-7, and hand
ed the fifth-ranked Seminoles their only
loss of the season, 10-9, in what one coach
termed “the worst 10-9 whipping I’ve
ever seen.”
The 'Hurricanes ran into problems,
however, against No. 3 Notre Dame as
the Irish pounded the Hurricanes, 32-14.
The following week Miami suffered its
second setback, a 34-31 loss to Mississip
pi State.
Collegian Photo
Despite the two losses, including the
blowout against Notre Dame,
Schnellenberger has only been disap
pointed in the Hurricanes’ performance
once and it wasn’t against the Irish.
“We played well against a very good
Notre Dame team which executed very
well,” Schnellenberger said. “Our last
outing against Mississippi State, we used
a wishbone option attack and they
played well and our guys made some
poor decisions.
“But I’m confident our guys will get it
back together and play like they did
against Houston.”
Hurricane quarterback Jim Kelly
knows the Hurricanes’ potential and said
they should have one more win than they
" have.
“We should have beaten Mississippi
State,” he said. “Mental mistakes that
we had. . .You can’t take anything away
from Notre Dame. They have a great
team. We had to play almost a perfect
game to beat them.”
And that’s what it may take for the
Hurricanes to beat Penn State tomor
row, for Schnellenberger doesn’t foresee
another 26-10 whipping like last year in
his crystal ball.
“Penn State is certainly a much im
proved football team than last year,” he
said. “Their running ' backs, Booker
Moore and (Curt) Warner, give them
much deep speed, quickness and a
,tany Lions w'i;
Hurricanes shoot fori ■
. *
he running head-on into the Miami Hurricanes at
breakaway threat.
“We’re not used to seeing two backs: in
the. backfieid as'capable. I’m
they can only give the ball to them on£;at
• a time.” i »
Spearheading the Hurricanes’
defense, which is surrendering 117.3
yards rushing, 124 yards passing, and
15.3 points per game, will be middle
guard Jim Burt. Burt, an All-America
candidate, was named The Associated
Press National Lineman of the Week and
Sports Illustrated Defensive Player-of
the Week for his efforts against Florida
State.
Besides Burt, the Lions must contend
with linebacker Scott Nicolas, who s6i a
Miami single game record for tackles
against the Lions last year when' lie
made 26. k.
He’s been just as dominating this
season as he averaged more than *2O '*
tackles against both Notre Dame and
Mississippi State. > ’
When the Hurricanes take over oivpf
fense tomorrow, the Lions won’t be chas
ing receivers like they did 'last year
when Kelly picked the secondary apart
en route to completing 18 of 30
280 yards and three touchdown tosses.
Miami has just as potent a
tack as an air attack this season, averag
ing 153.3 yards rushing and 175.8 yards
passing per game. All total, the Hur
ricanes have compiled 1,055 yards injthe
air compared to 920 yards on the ground.
“We’ve had a balanced attack so far,' - *
Schnellenberger said. “We’ve been
relatively successful with what we.’.ve
done offensively, but we’re still not On
top of all aspects of our game. ■*
“But if we find that they are shutting
any base of our offense, we’re
deviating from our game plan.” . *
. However, should the Lions shut down
the Hurricanes’ starting running backs
halfback Smokey Roan (73 carries,
273 yards) and tailback Chris Hobbs
(52-201) it might not be that easy jsor
Miami to strike back in the air this tigie
around. *
Preseason All-America candidate
wide receiver Pat Walker, who led the
nation in average yards per reception
(26.4) last season, has been hamperpd
with an ankle injury this year. i
The Hurricanes were dealt a double
setback in practice on Wednesday when
starting flanker Jim Joiner and backup
receiver Larry Brodsky suffered
hamstring pulls. Their status for tomor
row’s game is questionable. '
If they are not healthy it would deflate
Miami’s passing game tremendousfy,
considering Brodsky (12 receptions,
yards) and Joiner (12-238) are the Hur
ricanes’ Nos. 1 and 2 receivers,
respectively. ! |
“I would feel as confident about joiir
passing game as I do about the groufid
game,” Schnellenberger said, “i’f; I
didn’t have some injuries. And withlthe
changes that coach Paterno has
the secondary, and the return of their
fine cornerback (Pete Harris;), they pqke
much more of a problem.” rj
4 J
But right now, is
more concerned about starting the 1 je
cond half of the Hurricanes’ seasorKpff
with a victory.
i;
Friday, Oct. 31 j 6
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Lions look to
times at home meet
Host Coaches Championship
By RON GARDNER
Daily Collegian Sports Writer
There is always room for improve
ment, even for the nation’s second
ranked men’s cross country team.
That’s the philosophy that Penn State
coach Harry Groves hopes that the team
will carry into the Coaches Champion
ship race at 11 tomorrow morning on the
Blue Golf Course.
The Lions, still riding high after their
victory at the Central Collegiate Cham
pionships last week, will square off
against Massachusetts, Rutgers, George
Mason, West Virginia and Cleveland
State in the 5-mile meet.
The meet may not be as competitive as
some of the contests Penn State has been
involved in so far this season, but with
the District II National Collegiate
Athletic Association meet only two
weeks away, there’s no time to slack off.
“Each of them has been doing well in
their own local areas, but I don’t think
they have guys as heavy as ours all the
way down the line,” Groves said.“ This is
not as tough as some of the meets we’ve
had.”
The Lions will also have a chance to
see how they have improved since the
Eastern championship on
the line for lady harriers
When competitive pressure gets thick,
pride can get heavy. So heavy that it
may feel like a milestone is hanging
from your neck.
The women’s cross country team will
carry a heavy load as it puts its pride on
the line at 11:45 tomorrow morning when
the Lady Lions defend their top spot at
the Eastern Association for Inter
collegiate Athletics for Women Cham
pionships at Indiana, Pa.
Penn State has won the Eastern cham
pionship since the race’s institution. The
Lady Lions will be going for their fifth
Eastern.
“Penn State has won since the start,”
Peggy Cleary said, “and we are confi
dent and ready to go.
“I admit I am a little nervous. Not
scared, but nervous though; maybe ap
prehensive. No, anxious is a better
word.”
Cleary, who was injured before the
triangular meet with Tennessee and
The Daily Collegian Friday, Oct. 31, 1980—7
improve
beginning of the season by comparing
tomorrow's times with earlier perfor
mances on this particular course.
“What our people are mostly shooting
for are improvements over what they
ran in September on the same course
and trying to improve themselves as a
team,” Groves said.“ Our guys have a lot
of learning to do all of the time, but it’s
easier to learn up front than it is in the
back.”
Groves said he is pleased with the
team’s performance so far this season,
particularly with the way the team re
bounded after losing to Arkansas at an
intersectional meet two weeks ago.
“I’m pleased, except that Michigan
and Arkansas are as good as some of the
teams we’re going to face at nationals,”
he said. "We still have to make
improvements.”
The Lions will be going with regulars
Alan Scharsu, Larry Mangan, ,Tom
Rapp, Jeff Adkins, Rick Garcia, Dwight
Stephens, John Zishka, Barry Enright
and Mark Haywood in the meet.
One highlight of tomorrow’s meet may
be an attempt by Alan Scharsu to break
George Malley’s course record time of
23:54.7, set in 197 G.
Virginia, said she will be running injury
free with “maybe a blessing from the
sky.”
Penn State.coach Gary Schwartz said
the team has been training hard and is
ready to combat a very hilly course.
“It is going to be a close match-up bet
ween us and Maryland,” said Schwartz.
“We have to cut down the time of the
first seven runners and move them up.”
Schwartz said he figures the individual
championship to be a battle between
Penn State’s Heather Carmichael and
Maryland’s Mary Walch and Jean
Whiston.
He also 'said that Lady Lion Mary
Rawe and Vermont’s Judy St. Hilar
Should be running close to the front.
Patty Miirnane, Magda Kubasiewicz,
Doreen Startare and Natalie Updegrove
will join Carmichael, Rawe and Cleary
as Penn State’s representatives in the
meet.
—by Peter Waldron