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Friday, July 30, 2010

psu football

November 21, 2009

Lions still in hunt for BCS bowl berth

Penn State needs road win today against Michigan State to remain in contention.

By Derek Levarse dlevarse@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

Penn State had just defeated Indiana. Tom Bradley was already hearing about East Lansing.

With a forgettable game against the Hoosiers in the books, Penn State’s defensive coordinator was asked about the Nittany Lions’ struggles at Michigan State – the site of today’s game.

“Gee, thanks for reminding me,” Bradley deadpanned.

Penn State remembers its last trip there. Bradley especially. His defense blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Spartans in 2007 to lose 35-31 – the largest Lions’ collapse in Joe Paterno’s 44 years as head coach.

Instead of a New Year’s Day game, Penn State was bumped down a tier to the Alamo Bowl.

This year, the stakes are higher for the No. 14 Lions (9-2, 5-2 Big Ten). A win would give them a shot at an at-large bid to a BCS bowl – likely the Orange or possibly the Fiesta.

A victory would also give Penn State its first undefeated record on the road since its 12-0 campaign in 1994.

The catch is that the Lions are just 4-8 all-time at Michigan State. All four of those wins have come since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993 and all four were by less than 10 points.

And though the Spartans enter the game at just 6-5, this will be the Lions’ trickiest road test by far, particularly with what’s on the line.

“They’re on the verge of being a really good football team. I hope they’re at least 10 days away,” Paterno joked. “But they’re good. Mark (Dantonio) is a good coach. They’re doing a heck of a job. It’ll be a good football game.”

Certainly the Spartans are hoping it will be. For them, anything would be an improvement on last year’s meeting in Happy Valley. Michigan State came into Beaver Stadium with a chance to grab a piece of the Big Ten title, only to be embarrassed 49-18.

To one Spartans senior, that word isn’t strong enough.

“We went to Penn State and we got our ass kicked,” senior defensive end Trevor Anderson told reporters in East Lansing this week. “You can’t say embarrassed. There’s a difference between being embarrassed and getting your ass kicked. We got our ass kicked. Period. All around the board.

“That’s not going to happen this Saturday. ... I just keep thinking 49 points – they wanted to run the score up. I keep it in the back of my mind, 49 points. I actually know one of their players. And their coaches, from what I heard, in the locker room at halftime said, ‘We’re going to put up 100 on them if we can,’ and I hope and I pray to God that that’s our offensive coaches’ mentality this week.”

Penn State figures to be in the same mindset again this year. The Lions would help their BCS hopes by earning some style points. They need to make sure they stick in the top 14 in the BCS standings in order to be eligible for an at-large spot when the invitations go out on Dec. 6.

They also will likely be up against Iowa for a better bowl bid, whether it be the BCS or the Capital One Bowl, the Big Ten’s next most prominent postseason game. So a strong final impression on poll voters and bowl committees alike will be important.

Like last year, the Lions’ offense will probably rely on the arm of quarterback Daryll Clark. The senior played the best game of his career in that 49-18 stomping, throwing for 341 yards and four touchdowns to put Penn State in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 14 years.

By the end of the game, the Lions had set a school record for passing yards in a game with 419.

Michigan State’s secondary hasn’t been much better this season. The Spartans rank 94th in the country in pass defense, allowing an even 245 yards per game. They’ve allowed 24 touchdowns through the air – only Idaho (26) has allowed more.

Regardless, Penn State’s season will again be defined by a game against the Spartans. In 2005 and 2008, the Lions clinched a BCS berth by beating Michigan State in their finale.

“Well, I think we’ve played well. Obviously, we would liked to have won another game or two,” Paterno said. “But I think for a young team – some key positions, people were young – I thought overall we did all right. As I said, I would have loved to have won another game or two, and probably could have had a shot at it. But we didn’t do it.

“So hopefully we’ve learned from some mistakes we made and we won’t make them again this week.”