Oregon State Beavers Travel to Happy Valley To Face Penn St. Nittany Lions

Week two pits the Big Ten's No. 19 ranked Penn State (1-0) against Pac-10 Oregon State (0-1). 

While Penn State rolled over Coastal Carolina in week one winning 66-10, Oregon State struggled against Stanford and fumbled away their comeback hopes in the final seconds, falling 36-28.

Penn State has dominated Pac-10 opponents winning 22 of the 33 games contested. They've faced every other Pac-10 team throughout their storied history, but this will mark the first match up between the Beavers and Nittany Lions.

Coach Joe Paterno matched Bobby Bowden last week for the most collegiate wins at 373 and would need a win in week two to stay even.  Bowden's Florida State Seminoles play Western Carolina and most likely will walk out of Doak Campbell Stadium with their first victory of the season.

Paterno boasts a remarkable 373-125-3 (.747) record in his 43-year career at the helm, while coach Mike Riley has slowly built a respectable 47-39 (.546) record from the ground up in his eighth year as OSU's head coach. 

Riley has all but erased the memories of 28 straight losing seasons in Corvallis.

The Beavers have had a rough go in road games against non-conference opponents.  Boise State, Louisville, Cincinnati, and LSU have beaten OSU by an astounding combined score of 161-65.

The task won't get any easier, Penn State has won 32 of it's last 41 games, good for the seventh best record in the nation over that span.  Penn State's home record since 2000 is 39-15, however in the past three years the Nittany Lions have been virtually unbeatable in Beaver stadium, going 19-2.

When Coach Riley was asked if he had any connections with Penn State, he jokingly said that he wrote a letter years back asking to be considered for the Graduate Assistant job.

Riley and the Beavers have great respect for Penn State's history. 

"It's an honor to be playing Penn State, both very exciting and very daunting," Riley said. "It's a great situation and an ideal opportunity."

When asked about Coach Joe Paterno, Riley praised him stating, "He's a guy that makes us all very proud of our profession."

Oregon State will have to bring their A+ game if they hope to right the ship and improve to 1-1 with a win at Penn State.

The game will be televised on ABC/ESPN2 Saturday September 6th at 3:30pm ET.

Penn State Scouting Report

Offense

In a constantly changing college football landscape, Joe Pa, as he's lovingly nicknamed, has bought into the concept of the spread offense.  Not since 2005 and Michael Robinson has Penn State had such athleticism in the backfield. 

The return of Senior signal caller Daryll Clark brings speed and versatility to the newly renovated Nittany Lion offense. Clark looked good in his first outing, completing 11 of 14 passes for 146 yards and a 40-yard TD to Jordan Norwood.

Clark is a threat to pull the ball down and run at any time, however Penn State wanted to test their new passing game and Clark did not rush the ball.

Oregon State should be ready for Clark to add the rushing dimension to his game in week two.

Similar to Oregon State, Penn State has undersized veteran wide receivers.  All seniors, 5"11" 171lb Jordan Norwood, 6'0" 194lb Derrick Williams, and 5'10" 168lb Deon Butler combined for 148 yards on only eight catches.  Norwood had the only TD in the group.

The running back position was in question entering week one, and although against what proved to be a less physical Coastal Carolina, freshman Stephfon Green looked very good. He rushed 10 times for 89 yards (8.9 yards per carry) and found the end-zone twice.

Add in Evan Royster and Brent Carter, and Penn State's three-headed monster should produce good numbers all year.  Even though Oregon State gave up over 200 yards rushing to Stanford, Penn State should find it more difficult to run the ball this week. 

It will be interesting to see how they do against a more physical front.  I don't expect a number even close to the 334 yards gained on the ground last week.

Defense

Not too much can be gained from looking at last weeks game.  Defensively, Penn State was expected to man handle the undersized Chanticleers, and they did.

For all you asking, "what is a chanticleer?", it is the proper name given to a rooster in medieval fables. Write that down.

Coastal Carolina was held to 250 total yards of offense and only 52 of those were rushing.  Numbers that look intimidating, but given the circumstances with second team guys playing the second half, OSU won't find much more than schematic tendencies when the tapes are reviewed.

If there are any weaknesses it may be in the secondary.  Penn State gave up 198 yards passing on 31 attempts.  Again it is tough to gauge how that will translate over to major conference opponents, but it could bode well for OSU who gained 404 yards through the air last week.

Special Teams

Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of football is special teams.  While flashy 100-yard returns send fans into a frenzy, it's the consistent execution that benefits a team throughout a game. 

After Coastal Carolina scored to move within seven early in the second quarter, Penn State's Derrick Williams took the ensuing kick off 89 yards to pay-dirt.

Kicker Kevin Kelly made his only field goal attempt of 21 yards and the only punt of the night for Penn State went 46 yards.

Penn State's special teams will have to play well this week, Oregon State averaged 22.7 yards per kick off return and often found the offense starting around the 30.

Oregon State's Game Plan

First off, injuries.  Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers injured his ankle on the first play from scrimmage and played the rest of the game hobbled.  He is expected to be ready to go come Saturday.

Talented JuCo transfer RB Jeremy Francis is still nursing an injury to his knee that had surgery just a season ago. It is unsure whether or not he will be available.

Center Marcus Henderson and DT Mitchel Hunt are recovering from mono-like symptoms and are expected to be healthy by the sixth, however the time missed could create conditioning issues.  Either way, even in limited work, the return of the two should bolster the defensive and offensive line.

Starting Senior Safety Al Afalava is also returning after his one game suspension for an off season DUII/Hit and Run incident.

Finally, Guard Jeremy Perry was on the practice field in full gear Monday.  A good sign, Perry has All-American potential and is a monster in the run game. 

The return of numerous starters could boost confidence for the Beavs heading into a raucous 110,000 person Beaver stadium.

Offensive Attack

With the success in the passing game, it is safe to say that OSU can score, and score quickly.  OSU threw for 404 yards on 54 attempts and looks to match or come close to those numbers.

54 passes to 28 rushes did not provide balance for OSU on offense.

"We would like to get back to being balanced," Riley said on Tuesday. "Getting some consistency in the ground game will be big for us." 

Such youth in the backfield and on the offensive line caused Riley to steer away from the run game in the second half.  The highly touted Jacquizz Rodgers only gained 55 yards on 14 carries, again, hobbled with a twisted ankle. 

Ryan McCants, believed by many to be the next great OSU running back, saw very limited time racking up only 14 yards on four carries.  He will have to factor in and provide physical inside running for the Beavers to be successful at State College.

The one shining spot for the OSU ground game was the continuation of the fly sweep's success.  James Rodgers looked good, side-stepping tacklers to gain 49 yards on only five carries.  Again, the fly sweep was abandoned in the second half.  Rodgers should touch the ball at least 10 times a game for OSU to be successful.

OSU's offensive line only gave up two sacks in 54 passing attempts, great by any standards. What makes it even more impressive is that at one point, when Seniors Andy Levitre and Adam Speer went down with cramping, the line consisted of one Junior, three sophomores, and one red-shirt freshman.

With the return of Henderson and possibly Perry, OSU looks great on the offensive line. Their young guys proved they can pass protect.  Improvement in run blocking is what the coaching staff is looking for.

The game plan going in will be balance, balance, balance.  Questions about Lyle Moevao's arm and abilities were answered with his great performance.  Oregon State is at their best when the run game is working and the play action is honored, opening up the deep thirds of the field.

Defensive Attack

Tackle, tackle, tackle.  You learn it from pee-wee football on; dip, rip, and wrap up.  OSU did a horrible job of tackling. 

The position most in question is at linebacker.  While often times in the right position, they failed to bring down Stanford running back Toby Gerhart and paid for it in the end.

Mike Riley likes to rotate players and get quality game time experience for his back ups.  Many times back ups were in during crucial times and gave up big yards on the ground. 

When asked about the possibilities of a rotation this week Riley said, "We need to play guys, and we expect them to do their job."

Confidence in your team is very import, but at what cost? 

The much anticipated arrival of DT Simi Kuli, a five star JuCo recruit, will have to wait at least another week.  He is not on campus and will not be available for the game Saturday.

In the secondary OSU will look to blanket the quick PSU receivers.  The return of hard hitting safety Al Afalava provides more depth and experience to the defense.  Not only will he be a factor in the passing game, he is a monster when flying to the line of scrimmage against the run.

OSU played a fairly conservative game last week and will more than likely come at Penn State with more blitzes.  If you can compare the UCLA victory over heavily favored Tennessee to this match up, pressure spelled victory for UCLA and could for OSU as well.

Special Teams

OSU seems to have replaced Lou Groza Award winner Alexis Serna fairly well.  Justin Kahut booted two field goals (23,27) and was perfect on extra points.

Freshman punter Johnny Hekker started off rough with a blocked punt.  The miscue did not translate into points, but Hekker was clearly bothered the rest of the game, averaging only 32 yards per punt (blocked punt not considered in yardage).

Returns were good and one block away from going the distance in some cases.  James Rodgers averaged just under 23 yards a return. 

Punt return average was decent with the return of Sammie Stroughter.  His final return cost him 12 yards while trying to make something happen late in the game.  Stroughter will have his time to shine, it's just a matter of time.

Keys to the Game

As any winning program knows, taking care of the ball is most important.  If OSU can limit turnovers and run to set up the play action they have a good chance of winning.

It's amazing that OSU still had the opportunity to tie the game versus Stanford after giving the ball away four times, having a punt blocked, being called for 100 yards in penalties, and not forcing a turnover on defense.

Oregon State has an extra two days to prepare for the Nittany Lions after their Thursday night showdown with Stanford. Penalties, turnovers, and mistakes need to be addressed and improved upon.

Offensively the Beavers need to work the running game.  Even if it is slow from the start, Penn State must honor the run game in order for the passing game to develop. 

The key match up will be Penn State's great defensive ends versus red-shirt freshman Mike Remmers. Remmers did not give up a sack against what were highly regarded Stanford DE's.

Penn State's best player could be the 12th man. 110,000 fans decked out in all white will be loud and fired up.  Oregon State has played only one other time under such strenuous circumstances in recent years—in 2004 at LSU. 

Coach Riley and staff have the Beavers practicing on silent counts and whisper counts that only the guards and center are able to hear.  They will also mix in crowd noise through the Reser Stadium PA system later this week.

Prediction

With questions still to be answered on defense and a suspect running game, Oregon State may have trouble stopping the run and running the ball.  Two factors that play big into upsetting teams on the road.

Oregon State loses this one 31-24 and is still searching for answers.  Luckily next week OSU returns to the comfort of Reser Stadium and hosts a Hawaii team that lost 56-10 vs. No. 5 Florida.