Gopher Football
Penn State’s last Big Ten home game resulted in a loss to then unranked Iowa. The Nittany Lions have never lost back-to-back home games against unranked Big Ten opponents. Gopher backers are hoping that bullet point comes to fruition Saturday afternoon. In addition, head coach Tim Brewster can exorcise his 0-7 trophy games record demons. The Governor’s Victory Bell is on the line.
We get a primer on Penn State from Philadelphia Inquirer beat reporter Joe Juliano.
GH: Put on your defensive coordinator’s hat … how would you scheme to contain Penn State’s offense?
JJ: I can only refer to the only defense to stop them so far this year — Iowa. The Hawkeyes got a good pass rush on quarterback Daryll Clark, mostly from their front four, and Clark developed a case of happy feet in the pocket. So making Clark hurry his throws probably is a good idea. As for Penn State’s running game, its first two opponents put an extra guy ““ a strong safety ““ in the box to stop their backs. Clark took advantage by rolling up two of his better passing games, but this strategy could work if you have a secondary strong in 1-on-1 coverage on the outside.
GH: Same question … how would you scheme to score against Penn State’s defense?
JJ: Now that one is difficult. Penn State’s defense has allowed five touchdowns in five games (none in the first half of any game). The Nittany Lions are eighth in the nation in total defense and sixth in points allowed. Defensive tackle Jared Odrick is one of the best in the country. The fact that he needs to be double-teamed constantly allows the linebackers to flow to the ball and make plays. Having said all that, the Lions have had to blitz to reach opposing QBs with their pass rush against their two Big Ten opponents. So quick throws against the blitz would help. Plus, the secondary still is a bit untested and finding Decker in 1-on-1 situations against their corners should be effective.
GH: I know Penn State has a few guys banged up … please take us through the injuries, and how much of a drop-off is there w/ the backups?
JJ: The Lions’ biggest injury this season has been to outside linebacker Sean Lee, one of the nation’s best, who sprained his left knee on Sept. 19 and has missed the team’s three games since then. Lee is being slowly worked into practice this week, and he is confident he’ll be back Saturday although Paterno is being extra cautious, and said the final call goes to the doctors. His backup, Bani Gbadyu, has been OK but he’s no Lee. Penn State also has injury problems at offensive right tackle. Senior Ako Poti became their third starter at the position last week. Paterno said Poti did well although he acknowledged Eastern Illinois did not have a speedy pass rusher to test him. Sophomore DeOn’tae Pannell, who started the first four games at the position, missed last week with a sprained ankle but should be back while senior Nerraw McCormack (sprained ankle), who started the Illinois game but got hurt that day, is doubtful. Cornerback Knowledge Timmons bruised his knee in the Eastern Illinois game and was sidelined but should be OK to go Saturday.
GH: Three-parts on Joe Paterno … how close did they come to making a move a few years back, where does he get all his energy, and how involved is he really?
JJ: I’ll answer the final two parts. Paterno can be irascible at times with his kids, as with the media, but he seems to really enjoy being around players and plotting and scheming for the next football game. He takes care of himself as far as diet and exercise are concerned. He likes to walk although he admitted getting more fatigued earlier in his walks following his hip replacement last November. He pretty much leaves the offense and defense up to his coordinators ““ Galen Hall on offense, with quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno (Joe’s son) as Hall’s right-hand man, and Tom Bradley on defense. He is involved with game-planning and getting in the face of players who mess up in practice but it’s safe to say he’s more like the CEO of this group rather than the master strategist on both sides of the ball.
GH: The Gophers will mix in a 3-4 look a fair amount, has Penn State seen that particular look in the last year or so, and if so, how did they handle it?
JJ: As I said above, I didn’t see any games last year. Through six games this season, they’ve seen a 3-3-5 (Akron) and 4-3’s from Temple, Iowa, Illinois and Eastern Illinois. I don’t know what defense Syracuse played (they beat them pretty handily) because I didn’t cover that game.
I don’t know if you’ve seen Paterno’s transcript from today (Tuesday) but he talked about Minnesota having a “œvery malleable” defense. “œThey do an awful lot of blitzing and things that keep you off-balance,” he said. “œThey change up a great deal. It’s a team that’s not going to stay in one position and you can say, “˜Okay, here’s where we’re going to get on every down, we ought to just tie our offense down to half a dozen running plays, five or six pass plays.’ You can’t do that with these guys. You got to practice a lot of things because you don’t know what you’re going to get.”
GH: The Gophers have arguably the best KR in the Big Ten in WR Troy Stoudermire, and their PR, Bryant Allen, is also dangerous … how is Penn State coverage-wise, and do they have a good punter and kickoff guy?
JJ: Penn State has done a poor job of kickoff coverage this season. They were 100th in the country at one point this season in kickoff return yards allowed and now they’ve risen all the way to 93rd. Their kicker, Collin Wagner, usually hits the ball down to between the 5- and 10-yard line. Paterno has no problem with him. He said earlier in the year one guy would always be out of position on kickoff coverage, leading to a good return by the opponent, but he’s been happier with the unit lately. The Lions also are next-to-last (119th) in the nation in kickoff returns, and just haven’t been able to get anything together there. Their punter, Jeremy Boone, is one of the best in the Big Ten. He nailed Illinois inside the 10 twice in their game. The blocked punt he suffered against Iowa was a case of a teammate whiffing on a block, leaving the Hawkeye defender to come in free and clear. But Boone is a good one.
GH: As one of the premiere teams in the Big Ten, does PSU feel some sort of responsibility to schedule tougher teams in order to boost the national perception of the conference?
JJ: The only responsibility Penn State seems to feel is to the 28 other intercollegiate sports they sponsor. Their four non-conference games this season were all at home, against Akron, Syracuse, Temple and Eastern Illinois. Yes, all four are overmatched and the fans yawned throughout, but with more than 100,000 per game coming through the gates, it’s a nice payday for the school and their athletic programs. The university likes to point out it doesn’t have to ask the state for one single cent to support athletics because of the money they make on football. Next year Penn State will start a home-and-home series with Alabama but quality opponents have been few and far over the past several years. And that doesn’t seem to bother them.
GH: The Gophers have allowed 15-sacks through six games (10th in conf.) … PSU is 1st in the conference with 20-sacks, albeit against lesser competition … but do you see this area as a huge advantage for the Nittany Lions?
JJ: It depends on Minnesota’s offensive line. The Penn State pass rush wasn’t as overwhelming against Iowa and Illinois as it was against its four non-conference opponents. The only way they could get effective pressure against Iowa and Illinois (at least, while that game was still a game) was to bring in linebackers on the blitz. Defensive end Jack Crawford and defensive tackle Jared Odrick are their two best pass rushers but they were more quiet against the two Big Ten opponents. They may try to use more blitzes against Minnesota but if Decker burns them in 1-on-1 situations, they might reconsider that strategy.
GH: Penn State has yet to allow a first-half TD this year … impressive, or a byproduct of the team’s they’ve played?
JJ: Good question, probably a little of both. But as mentioned earlier, this is a quality defensive team. They gave Iowa and Illinois the same type of first-half troubles as their non-conference opposition. And it’s even more impressive when you consider their two best linebackers, Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman, have not played together on the same field except for the first series of the season opener against Akron. Bowman aggravated a groin strain in that game and missed the next two. The game in which he came back (Iowa), Lee sat out because of a sprained knee sustained the week before.
GH: Who wins, and why?
JJ: I give Penn State the edge because they’re home and I feel they can move the football against the Minnesota defense. Two areas that scare me are special teams, particularly the Gophers’ return game, and Eric Decker, especially if the Nittany Lions have to rely too much on the blitz and are forced to cover Decker 1-on-1. But that might not be as much of a concern if Penn State stops the Minnesota running backs (that rushing average of 114.5, even against the high-quality schedule they’ve played, isn’t impressive) and can play pass for much of the game. And the Lions have more of an advantage if they can rush effectively and keep the ball away from the Gopher offense. If I had to pick a score, I’d go 31-21, Penn State.
Talk about the Gopher ““ Penn State matchup on Brew’s Crew message board.