Joe Pa Coasts to Record: Psu Crushes Coastal 66-10

Before the game Saturday, the air surrounding Beaver Stadium was filled with questions; they floated in between the rows of RV’s and parked cars, tossed around amongst the tailgaters grilling food and drinking beer. “Which quarterback will show up to play?” “Who will replace Sean Lee?” “What in the world is the spread HD?” In beating Coastal Carolina 66-10, the team showed that while it has confronted some of these questions, some just aren’t ready to be answered yet.

From the first play on offense, a seven yard end around by Derrick Williams, the Lions alerted the nation that the coaches had every intention of using the weapons at their disposal. While the offense barely scratched the surface of the playbook against its Football Championship Subdivision (Formerly Division 1-AA) opponent, the plays that were run hinted at more dynamic and exciting opportunities to put the ball in the hands of impact players on the offense. An option reverse to Jordan Norwood, a screen to Derrick Williams, a botched hook and ladder attempt to Stephfon Green; each play run by the offense showed an absolute dedication to create space on the field for Penn State’s players best suited for taking advantage of an open field.

And there is no lack of depth in both the receivers and the backfield for the Lions. Thirteen different Nittany Lions caught the ball for 260 total yards of receiving yardage, with Jordan Norwood leading all wideouts (4 Rec-74 Yds). The biggest positive for the offense however, was the depth in the backfield. Four different players rushed for over fifty yards, and five averaged over 5 yards per carry. Starting tailback Evan Royster started off the season well carrying 8 times for 64 yards and 3 TD’s in limited time while relatively unknown Brent Carter also turned heads with an explosive 67 yards on nine carries. Freshman Chaz Powell excited the crowd of 106,577 by blowing past the Coastal Carolina secondary for a thirty yard score in the fourth quarter.

One of the biggest stories of the preseason was redshirt freshman Stephfon Green and his 4.25 speed. Penn State has not had a speed runner with this type of potential since Ki-jana Carter back in 1994, and how the offensive coordinators use this tremendous talent is a key to the success of the season, and in Saturday’s game the coaches proved a desire to get Green open space. He did not disappoint, averaging 8.9 yards through ten carries, scoring twice.

Another huge question hanging over the Nittany Lions as they entered the season was at quarterback. Both Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin are more than suitable replacements for now graduated Anthony Morelli, and according to reports from camp, pretty even in skill. Clark was given the nod to start on Saturday, and immediately it was clear this year the quarterback position would be different. On the second play of the first possession, Clark looked off the safety before firing a bullet to receiver Deon Butler for a fifteen yard gain, a skill Morelli was seemingly incapable of learning. Through the rest of the game, both quarterbacks played well (Clark 11/14 145 Yds, Devlin 5/8 for 83) and had some notable plays, Clark hitting Norwood on a post in the second quarter for 23 yards while Devlin’s first pass was a beautiful 40 yard toss to Norwood late in the second. Both quarterbacks also made mistakes. Clark didn’t notice a wide open Andrew Quarless streaking down the middle of the field on 3^rd and 6, while Devlin threw an ill-advised screen pass that was almost intercepted in the third. For Penn State, the quarterback question remains unsolved.

Defensively, there are very few teams that remain so consistently in amongst the top units in the nation, and that is a credit to Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley. His schemes and motivation are second to none, and it appears as though he has succeeded in fielding another Big Ten best defense, even with Captain Sean Lee done for the season with a torn ACL. The Defensive line, especially ends Aaron Maybin and Maurice Evans, had two steps on the Caroline O-line all day, resulting in 4 sacks for 19 yards, while Tyrell Sales stepped up and led the team with 7 tackles, 6 solo. The only question remark remains in the secondary. There was an improvement from last year already in the tackling, and it was a breath of fresh air to watch Tony Davis and Lydell Sargeant form tackle rather than dive at knees. But the secondary allowed 200 yards of receiving, and blew a coverage in the first quarter that lead to Coastal Carolina’s only touchdown of the game.

            Next Saturday, the Lions take on Oregon State (3:30pm ET, ESPN), a team that is returning 14 starters but lost its season opener 36-28 to Stanford. Penn State’s secondary will have to make some corrections against a team that threw for over 2500 yards last season, but all in all it’s looking to be an easier challenge then some might have expected.