Penn State Football: Week One Review and Week Two Preview

Week One Review

There isn’t much to be said after a 66-10 victory over an overmatched opponent.  In my article a few months ago, I predicted that Penn State would defeat Coastal Carolina by a score of 48-6.  It looks like I had the right idea, but the offense was a little better than expected and the defense was slightly worse.

The lone touchdown for Coastal Carolina came off of a severely blown coverage in the secondary. 

Based on the most recent seasons and the ineptness of the Coastal Carolina offense, I was much more interested in how the offense performed for this game than how the defense fared.

I expected Daryll Clark to have the starting QB job, which he did.  However, Pat Devlin still received significant playing time in the first half.  Clark looked great in all of his passing opportunities and wasn’t given the opportunity to show his running ability.  Pat Devlin did make a very good pass in his first play in the game but wasn’t given much opportunity beyond that.

Coming into this season, everyone knew about Penn State’s two great running backs:  Evan Royster and Stephfon Green.  However, a third talented running back showed up against the Chanticleers.  Brent Carter doesn’t have the speed of Royster or Green, but his running style looks to be similar to Tony Hunt, Penn State’s running back from 2003 to 2006.

All three backs averaged well over seven yards per carry for the game, helped by an offensive line that dominated the opposing defensive line.

The receivers played little meaningful action, but a strong performance from Jordan Norwood and the kickoff return for a touchdown from Derrick Williams is enough for them to build on for now.

Week Two Preview

Oregon State will provide a much tougher test this week for the Nittany Lions.  The strong passing attack of the Beavers will look to exploit several vulnerabilities that Penn State showed in the secondary last Saturday.

Oregon State had over 400 yards passing against Stanford in their first game, led by quarterback Lyle Moevao and receivers Shane Morales and Sammie Stroughter.  Morales and Stroughter each had over 150 yards receiving.

In my previous article, I predicted Penn State to defeat Oregon State by a score of 31 to 20.  I still maintain that as my prediction.

The Oregon State defense gave up several big running plays to Stanford, and Penn State will look to their trio of running backs to break some big runs this week.  Expect Royster to get much more of a majority of the carries this week, but both Green and Clark could have crucial carries as well.

Also, expect some plays for Clark to run from the quarterback position this week.

In other notes, the Penn State football team (except for Pat Devlin) received good news Wednesday that Daryll Clark will be granted eligibility to play next season. 

However, they received some bad news yesterday, as Joe Paterno suspended three players for the game this week after marijuana was found in their apartment.  Maurice Evans, arguably the best defensive end in the country, along with the talented but often in trouble tight end Andrew Quarless, are both big losses for the team this week.