14 I MONDAY, SEPT. 13, 2010 SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY Chloe Elmer/Collegian Joe Patemo (left) greets Alabama coach Nick Saban. oe Paterno (center) and members of the Nittany Lion football team stand on the sideline. The Lions committed four turnovers Saturday night in the loss to No. 1 Alabama Run game From Page 16. have to make plays for him," Green said of Bolden. "0 -line, they blocked their behinds off today. Just the skill guys, we have to make more plays than what we did Saturdayl." Right guard Stefen Wisniewski thought the offensive line was pro ductive this week But with a rush ing attack slipping in the yards per-carry category the failures 'of the Penn State rushers are due in part to a line still searching for consistency. Left guards DeOn'tae Pannell and Johnnie Troutman rotated at Lions From Page 16 the roster, and its stallion cut up Penn State's front seven for more than six yards a carry. Rarely was Trent Richardson tackled by one defender, too cool for that, so natural changing direction, knows patience yet wants to get upfield and deliver the blow. He dragged Chris Colasanti into the end zone on his one-yard touchdown run. No back in State College could simulate the combination of speed and power - He doesn't stop running," said Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley. "You see he keeps going, and we gotta knock him back, and we did too much arm tackling and didn't hit him in the mouth." Frankly, Alabama's offense worked at its leisure Saturday night, pound Richardson against a defense with no difference Absent From Page 16 position, Moye's hustle temporari ly kept the Tide out of the endzone. Moye was also one of Bolden's top targets as his 69 receiving yards were a game high. Defense: cornerback D'Anton Lynn The cornerback was up against one of the best wide receivers in college football and Julio Jones didn't completely have his way with Lynn. The junior limited Jones to four catches for 49 yards Affordable THE BEST DEAL IN STATE COLLEGE Suit 'TM, Packages Mon -Fn 70-8 Sat 10-6 Sun 12-5 1 S. Allen St. 814-287-5462 r Homemade e Pizza , ALL.. castimies ..s.,CAN 7 „..-_-......010 MONDAY' 6 01 Trivi a 'COIL. 'VI " Watch the $ -0. . 8 ..A G! , 40 ecome a Fan game here! -on Facebook! 1521 Martin St. 4.4 4 E , 1t 4 wm o 9 p oN i cou 9 Along the N Bus Route . www.thearenabarandgnll com EXPIRES:WO ~, ' (814) 237-8833 ' .• I , L ........ ii. iii.t. ' J The Nittany Lions traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, losing to the No. 1 Crimson Tide 24-3 in the teams' first meeting since a Lions victory in 1990 Penn State captains 011ie Ogbu (85) and Brett Bracket (83) walk onto the field of Bryant-Denny Stadium the position again. Pannell started the game, but Troutman took con trol of left guard at the end. The offensive line had the task of going up against a quick Crimson Tide defense. Alabama's blitz packages and pressure from the front-four defensive linemen translated into run stoppage and errant Bolden throws, several of which were low or in and out of defenders' hands or thrown for interceptions. "That is a really tough physical football team we played," Jay Paterno said. "I think they proba bly out-toughed us a lot in some situations." Royster has yet to break 80 yards combined in two games this maker, throw the ball to anybody and challenge a passive defensive backfield to tackle in the open field. It's got to be a sickening feeling for Bradley and his defense, a unit that prides itself on funda mentals, positioning, pursuit, tackling, to be outmanned. It was n't going to hold up over four quarters, not with humidity that felt like a hot rag on your fore head. No satisfaction The sweat was still dripping off Stephfon Green's face after a shower and change of clothes into his suit, topped off with a gold cross dangling from his neck "We got our behinds kicked, and it's unacceptable," he said. "As a whole team, we just need to get back in this film room, and somebody needs to step up. I'm not saying we don't have leaders, but somebody has to step up when we're down and make a play." and was also the Lions' leading tacker, making nine stops. But when the cornerback is the lead ing tackler, there are some con cerns with the front seven. Day to forget Offense: running back Evan Royster • The senior who has his sights set on becoming Penn State's all time leading rusher, failed to run for more than 50 yards for the sec ond consecutive week Royster finished the game with nine carries for 32 yards and caught just two pass out of the LION WRAP-UP season, and the most productive Penn State tailback has been true freshman Silas Redd, who aver aged almost six yards a carry in his first two games. Wisniewski spoke of the rushing attack comparatively and said he thought the Lions ran the ball bet ter against Youngstown, though the combination of Royster, Redd and Green averaged one less yard per carry on Saturday when com pared to the Youngstown State game. "I know we were moving them at times, opening some holes at times," Wisniewski said. "We drove the ball well a lot." To e-mail reporter: bjmsl46@psu.edu Penn State reeked of frustra tion, and rightfully so, botching up three legitimate scoring drives inside the 30-yard line. Puzzled by his own coach ques tioning whether he prepared his team for what it walked into Saturday night, Green shook his head, insisting this team was ready. But how so? State looked a little unsure of itself, unsure if it knew it belonged on the field with the Tide. An offense capable of putting up points had a very raw Tide defense on its heels but folded when the stakes were raised. Not ready. Not yet. Strangely, it was the youth who clenched their fists and tried to pop the cork for the Nittany Lions. Si Redd tweeted a "Shock the World" hashtag earlier in the week to galvanize a program. Rob Bolden's poise never wavered, not when Nick Saban, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno met at backfield for a paltry -6 yards Defense: Defensive tackle 011ie Ogbu After making a strong impres sion in the opening game, the sen ior recorded just three tackles and was the anchor to a defensive line that couldn't stop Alabama's run game. Ogbu was spelled by Jordan Hill and the defensive line recorded just two sacks and could n't consistently pressure Tide quarterback Greg McElroy Did you notice? The Alabama fans were cheer ing like crazy for Joe Paterno as Bolden From Page 16 capitalized right away with a touchdown drive to go up by two scores. The Lions would never get any closer. Joe Paterno characterized Bolden's performance as "good and bad, which you expect with a tough crowd and tough football team." Senior receiver Brett Brackett, the offensive captain, said Bolden had no troubles managing the huddle or the hos tile environment. Brackett said the game could be a learning experience for Bolden, who midfield during pregame, not when he three Tide defender came bearing down on him, caus ing him to fling the ball up for grabs in a sea of crimson shirts on his second drive, not when he stuck his nose in to recover both fumbled snaps or when his best scoring chance was being returned 75 yards the other way. Maybe they don't know any bet ter, weren't aware the formula to knock off the defending champs wasn't a mistake-free, vanilla offense, as it was in Columbus in 2008 and years before. The satisfaction from Saturday night is knowing there's talent to contend with an SEC power, with an upper-echelon opponent. What then, is keeping the tran sition from happening, keeping a team flex its muscles and com mand a stage of its own? Green candid speak was refreshing. This is an offense of playmakers leashed from making plays. And you can look no farther he jogged off into the tunnel after giving ESPN his analysis at the half ... Gerald Hodges was hurt on the first play of the game and spent most of the night on the sidelines on crutches after sus taining what he called a bone bruise on his left leg. Hodges said his injury will keep him out a few weeks Extra Point Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden was on hand as an invited guest by Alabama. Bowden addressed the media before kick off and spoke about his relation THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Chloe Elmer/Collegian Darius Hanks (15) outruns the Penn State defense. "He did a great job handling the noise." Brett Brackett reciever made some easily correctible mistakes - You've gotta look back on the film and just try to learn from every little thing you can," Brackett said. thought he did a great job handling the crowd noise, handling the pressure and all that kind of stuff.- To e-mail reporter: ajcs23B@psu.edu than the two-minute postgame squabble by the coach with the short temper, the short leash, making his return to a town that loves the game as much as he does and isn't afraid to show it. A town where fans dress in a houndstooth hat, a white shirt and tie tucked into crimson slacks. A stadium where the starters are introduced over the loud speakers and really are present ed as the rock stars their state views them as. "It's all over now" "We came down here knowing how good they were, and we did n't rise up to it," Paterno said. "I'm not just blaming the kids. I thought our kids didn't play well, and I don't think we did a good job coaching. Period." Nate Mink is a senior majoring in jour nalism and is the football editor for The Daily Collegian. His e-mail address is npmso2s@psu.edu. ship with Paterno and compli mented the job Nick Saban has done as a coach. The three coaches, who com bine for six national champi onships, met at midfield before kickoff and received a strong applause from the crowd. Quotable Joe Paterno when asked why he said he was out coached: "Oh I don't know, I said it. I haven't got the slightest idea. Well tough, get a hearing aid. I'm not in any mood." To e-mail reporter: aass22o@psu.edu N RYA ••*•• • • • • • THE PAPER PLATE DINING GUIDE •••••••••• DELIVERY TAKE OUT DINE-IN GO TO PSUCOLLEGIAN.COM
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