Penn State Football: Week Two Review and Week Three Preview

Week Two Review

I’m not sure I ever really thought Oregon State could beat Penn State, but I definitely thought they would put up a better fight than they did last Saturday. The Nittany Lions dominated the Beavers in all aspects of the game for a 45-14 victory. 

In my article from early on in the summer, I had predicted PSU to beat OSU by a slightly narrower margin of 31-20. As with the first game of the season, the offense was better than I expected. The defense also gave up fewer points than expected, but I’m not yet ready to attribute that to our defense rather than the poor play from the Beaver offense.

Oregon State has a pass-heavy offense, and while quarterback Lyle Moevao had 250 yards passing, it didn’t really lead to any points. Oregon State’s most successful drive was centered around the running game, when Jacquizz Rodgers had a 12-yard touchdown run.

While the PSU defense’s ability to limit the passing attack was impressive, the vulnerability against the run is a bit worrisome, especially heading into the Big Ten season. It’s not too hard to remember how Ohio State ran all over the PSU defense last year in a night game at Beaver Stadium.

The Penn State offense was nearly flawless. 

Evan Royster looked like a superstar and continued to rack up his touchdown total from the previous game. His only flaw was a turnover on a fumble heading into the end zone. 

Darryl Clark continued to impress with his arm, supposedly the weaker skill in his arsenal. He passed for 215 yards and two touchdowns. Clark also gave a small glimpse of his running capability on five carries for 61 yards. This included an 18-yard run that ended with Clark carrying several defenders into the end zone.

Jordan Norwood had a career-high 116 yards receiving, along with a touchdown to continue his hot start to the season. Mickey Shuler also filled in wonderfully for tight end Andrew Quarless, who was determined to be innocent in the marijuana incident but still appears to be in the dog house.

Receivers Derrick Williams and Deon Butler continued to get off to a slow start statistically, but neither of them were needed to do much in this game. The offensive line looked as dominant as ever.

Week Three Preview

The Nittany Lions should have little trouble with their next two games, and have already begun to build a lot of excitement for their home game against Illinois under the lights on Sept. 27.

In my prior article, I had predicted for Penn State to have a slow start and only defeat Syracuse by a score of 24-17 this week. I still contend that PSU will get off to a slow start and may give up a score or turnover early, but there is no way that Syracuse will make a game out of this one. I predict the score will be more like 38-13 in favor of the Nittany Lions.

Syracuse has already gotten off to a terrible start this season with two blowout losses to very mediocre opponents. The Orangemen lost, 42-28, at home to Akron last Saturday. Syracuse also is coming off of a 2-10 season in 2007, so they have very little to be optimistic about coming into this game.

Most of Syracuse’s offensive success this year has come on the ground, so it will be good practice for PSU to fix up some holes in its rush defense. Once Penn State builds a decent lead, look for the team to get Derrick Williams and Deon Butler on track, as well as boost Stephfon Green’s confidence.

Green had a few carries against Oregon State with very little success. Hopefully, he will get a chance to show his speed and run the ball to the outside more this week.

Don’t expect Darryl Clark to show off much more of his running ability. Especially after he got shaken up a little bit last week after his touchdown run, the Penn State coaching staff will look to hide his talents as much as they can for use later in the season.