THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Clark, Cousins ready for battle of top passers By Wayne Staats COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER If there's one thing Daryll Clark learned from mostly watching on the sidelines two years ago, it's that the point spread doesn't mat ter until the final snap. I\vo seasons ago, Penn State traveled to Michigan State and grabbed a 17-point third-quarter lead before a collapse led to a stunning defeat. "They had their thing going on offense, and we just weren't able to put on any more points and they ended up just taking over the foot ball game all together. I just feel like if we would've finished it, we definitely would've won that foot ball game, - Clark said during his Wednesday conference call. "They fight till the last whistle. And that's what they showed in 2007." Clark went 0-for-1 passing and ran for negative-2 yards in the game while his counterpart under center this weekend for the Spartans, Kirk Cousins, was red shirted that season and watched from the sidelines.. This time, the two signal callers rank Nos. 1 and 2 in the Big Ten in Even with win at MSU, Lions wouldn't deserve BCS bid By Wayne Staats THE race for the at-large spots in the BCS is like a beauty contest, and Penn State needs all the 10s it can get But in some ways this is beside the point. The Nittany Lions, who have MY OPINION lost to the only ranked foes they've faced this season, deserve to be no closer to a BCS bid than suddenly embattled Kansas coach Mark Mangino should be to an all-you-can-eat buffet. Of course, Penn State comes -- THE GRID Football Charleston Classic Friday and Men's Basketball Sunday Lady Lions Women's Volleyball Wrestling Men's Soccer NCAA National Women's Cross County Championships Garret Penn State Open 8:30 a.m. Sat Men's Fencing and Sun. Women's Fencing Garret Penn State Open Men's Swimming Women's Swimming Ice Lions lc RI : c i ._,_. ,-,,.. r .- (t :s-yr.r:Y.. ~..,.... ..,..c uro p i :•.,_ ~, , z 4,,•••;:. , ....- 3•:- 4,-7c , „fr.., . ..±,. ~,. e r $ /jam , ...._} 4. ..,,IPA, 11,7,... t.....• 1 /7' , ' :k.' N t J, r ' .-6: 4t .; 1 ' . -1 ... ...... ' °Hort Inn r,, . , y p , SYLVAN] -', .- <": '', '' 1 ,/f',,,, , : 22.4 t i -•'t. UNDA - : DULTS' ‘,..' NOV. 29th t* pursol,4 /II ( 6 TEENS Kids: FREEkc:,.„ 1004-4P,.....Li„ r eminder follow collegian twitter Stay up to date • on deadlines and promotions' 814 865 2531 ••• www.twitteccom/mycollegianad Penn State quarterback Daryl! Clark (17) throws a pass during the Lions' 28-7 victory over Syracuse Sept. 12 at Beaver Stadium. passing efficiency, with Clark's 19 deserves, but the coach took this touchdown passes pacing the notion one step further regarding league and Cousins tossing just other players in the Big Ten like five interceptions. Cousins. Penn State head coach Joe "I don't think some of the kids in Paterno has repeatedly said Clark our league have gotten the credit hasn't gotten the recognition he they should get, either the wide believes the quarterback outs or the quarterbacks," into this weekend at No. 14 in the BCS rankings, thus putting it in the final spot to be eligible for an at-large selection. Much of that comes from the lofty top-10 preseason ranking, the well-known Penn State brand name and the living legend that is Joe Paterno. Yes, the Lions will bus in or fly in thousands of fans to the Fiesta Bowl or Orange Bowl if picked and bring in top television rat ings. But the fact is the Lions don't deserve a bid win or lose this weekend if lowa wins its finale against Minnesota this weekend and if chaos doesn't ensue around the nation. Even center Stefen Wisniewski hinted at the problem of a Penn State-lowa showdown for the final at Michigan State at South Carolina at Purdue, Indiana 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday vs. Rutgers, Harvard and Sunday No. 15 Edinboro vs. Maryland or Loyola 1 p.m (Md.) Sunday vs. Navy vs. Virginia vs. Virginia Rowan University 10:15 p.m Sat .',.." . •--- k ''. ,:, I Af... slot. The only problem is, such a showdown already happened on the field when the Hawkeyes won by 11 in Beaver Stadium. For argument's sake, let's say lowa loses. But even then, that should still make no difference. Penn State has beaten three bowl-eligible teams this season, and not many probably envi sioned an 8-2 Temple being one of the more impressive resume boosters. When it comes to their defeats, the Lions have lost by a combined 28 points at home to the only ranked foes they've played. The BCS has four at-large spots. The SEC Championship Game loser will get one and TCU another barring an extremely unlikely collapse. So that leaves two more slots out of a pool TIME PLACE TV WHAT TO LOOK FOR 3:30 p.m Saturday 3 p.m Sunday West Lafayette, Ind, Bloomington, Ind. Binghamton, N.Y. 9 p.m. Fri., 3:30 p.m. Sat noon Monday Terre Haute, Ind 8:30 a.m. Sat. and Sun 6 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m. Sat. 6 p.m. N., 11 a.m. Sat Paterno said during his weekly press conference. Both quarterbacks may be in the running for conference hon ors, but Clark is more intent on helping the offense put together a complete performance. In its last two victories, Penn State has scored 20 total first-half points as it trailed Northwestern and was tied with Indiana at the half before scoring a combined 45 points in the second half to pull away in both contests. Clark said one reason for the slow starts is the correct guessing by the defenses. When this happens, it comes down to making adjustments throughout the game before com ing out of the locker room for the second half with basically a new game plan. "The main thing is not to panic," Clark said. "Just make sure whenever you get the chance to execute when there's a gap or when there's an opportunity to put some points on, make sure you get that done. Because on the road at a tough place like out there in East Lansing, the opportunity may not come as much." including by lowa, Wisconsin, Boise State, Oklahoma State, Penn State and possibly the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh loser if both win the game prior. lowa, with wins against Arizona and Wisconsin, should be a shoo in based on common sense even if Penn State hopefuls look past the head-to-head victory. An undefeated Boise State team could be another as its win against Oregon is more impressive than anything Penn State's done. But then again, no one would be surprised if an unbeaten Broncos team from the WAC gets passed up in favor of a two-loss Big Ten team for the second straight time, like Ohio State last season. When it comes down to it, the Lions have one final chance to East Lansing, ABC/ESPN With a potential BCS berth at stake, the Lions will look Mich. to top the Spartans and keep the Land Grant Trophy. Charleston, S.C. ESPN U Cdumbia,S.o Jeffrey Field Greenberg Ice Pavilion White Building White Building McCoy Natatorium McCoy Natatorium Greenberg Ice Pavillion "WHERE BACON IS AN HERB" Mon -Wed I I 45A,M BPM I Thu Sat I I 45AM 9PM 132 W. College Ave. 238-0200 etre r w ' 's FRIDAY, Nov. 20, 2009 I The senior reasoned the incon sistency is natural considering a primarily new cast at the line and with the wideouts this season. Of course, now that it's the final game of the regular season, those new guys have basically a full sea son under their belts. Ironically, the slow starts that have hindered the Nittany Lions in recent weeks weren't present in the two losses this season, as, instead, the Lions were shut out in the second half against both the Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes. But this weekend, Clark hinted that playing just one half of solid football would end more like the lowa and Ohio State games than the Northwestern and Indiana games. "When you're playing against a quarterback such as [Cousins], he'll definitely make some things happen and definitely put us in a big hole," Clark said. "I'm sure our defense has been working hard on their side of the field this week and we've been doing the same thing on ours because they have a good defense." To e-mail reporter: wmssol2@psu.edu put up an impressive perform ance and then sit and hope for teams ahead of them to fall dur ing the long layoff before bowls. If Penn State gets the breaks it needs and takes care of business against the Spartans, it should thank its lucky stars for the shod dy performances taking a back seat to its big name in the eyes of the human voters who make up two-thirds of the BCS formula. Then again, the Lions' oppo nent may be thanking those same stars for matching itself up against a team that has failed to get passing grades in this beauty contest that is the regular season. Wayne Staats is a senior majoring in journalism and history and is a Collegian football reporter. His e-mail address is wmssol2@psu.edu The Nittany Lions face their first true test of the season with two nonconference games at neutral sites. PSU hopes to win the battle of freshmen centers as the Lions' Nikki Greene takes on the Gamecocks' Kelsey Bone. With one win the Lions can clinch their seventh-con secutive Big Ten Championship and their 13th overall. The No. 19 grapplers seek their first road win and first victory against a ranked opponent. The Lions look to carry their undefeated regular season home record into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. A two-game sweep of the Midshipmen would give the Icers a 10-game winning streak going into the break. The women are aiming for a top 10 finish, while enter ing the race ranked No. 11. Sophomores Aleksander Ochocki and Miles Chamley- Watsonl look to continue their success from last season. Junior foil captain Doris Willette officially begins her quest to become a three-time national champion. The Nittany Lions get back in action after a three week long hiatus. The Lions return to competition against another strong ACC opponent after three weeks off. The Ice Lions look to rise above .500 for the first time since the first game of the season.
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