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Notebook

Moye’s TD grab opened floodgates

By Derek Levarse dlevarse@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

EVANSTON, Ill. – It had worked so well for Daryll Clark last week that he kept an open mind again Saturday.

Against Michigan last week, it was tight end Andrew Quarless who got in the quarterback’s ear, letting him know he was getting open against the linebackers that were covering him.

This time it was wideout Derek Moye, who noted to Clark that Northwestern defenders were trying to jump his routes all game long, anticipating curls and out patterns.

Clark and the Nittany Lions took advantage of it to break their game with Northwestern wide open en route to a 34-13 Big Ten victory Saturday.

Shortly after taking a 20-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, Penn State forced a three-and-out and got the ball back near midfield.

That’s when the call came in – a deep bomb to Moye, who put a double-move on Justan Vaughn and ran under the pass for a 53-yard score. That put the Lions up 27-13, ending any hope of a Wildcats’ upset.

“We noticed there were a couple of voids in the defense, and we knew it was just a matter of when it was going to be called for us to run it,” Clark said. “We got that call. ... We saw something in the corner that he was doing all game, and he bit on a double-move, so that was clutch for us.”

“Moye’s tough,” coach Joe Paterno said. “He’s got more speed than you realize. He’s got those big, long arms and you take a shot at it.

“Sometimes when you’re on defense, you’re moaning a little bit to yourself about how (the game) has changed, and I think that was a good call and a good time to throw it.”

Lee back in his old spot

Linebacker Sean Lee made his first start since Week 3 against Temple, a game in which he suffered a sprained knee. He sat out three games before playing the last two contests almost exclusively in the nickel package.

Against the Wildcats and their perpetual three- and four-wide formations, he was out on the field plenty, recording a game-high 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops.

Infirmary report

Tailback Stephfon Green made the trip to Evanston but did not play, sitting out his second consecutive game with an injured ankle. Brandon Beachum again served as Evan Royster’s backup and scored the touchdown that put the Lions ahead for good early in the fourth quarter.

Ako Poti started his fourth consecutive ame at right tackle, though Nerraw McCormack returned to see his first action since injuring an ankle against Illinois. He also saw time in that spot.

Jerome Hayes also started at defensive end ahead of Eric Latimore, though both men saw time at the spot.

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WR Zug struggles

After a career game against Michigan, hauling in three touchdowns, the bounces weren’t nearly as kind to Graham Zug against Northwestern. He finished with three catches for 28 yards and was plagued by two tough drops.

Penn State started the game off with great field position after Jack Crawford recovered a fumble at the Wildcats 23.

Clark looked for Zug on the first play after that, firing a pass in between a pair of defenders in the end zone, but Zug couldn’t hold on for the score.

He also had a drop on a long pass at midfield, in the final minute of the first half. That allowed Northwestern to get the ball back and kick a field goal to take the lead into the locker room.

Kicker swap

For the first time this season, Penn State did not bring freshman kicker Anthony Fera along on the travel roster.

Instead, walk-on David Soldner came along as the backup to Collin Wagner.

Fera was one of the top-rated high school kickers in the country last year, and the plan is to redshirt him this season. Wagner has one more year of eligibility.

Mattes returns

Northwestern tackle Kurt Mattes, a senior from Wyoming Valley West, made his way back on the field after sitting out the past two games with ankle problems.

He did not start at right tackle, as he did the first six games of the season.