It was a tough weekend if you are a Penn State football fan.
The Nittany Lions suffered another gut-wrenching loss in Ann Arbor on Saturday, falling 14-9 to the Wolverines. It was the ninth consecutive loss to the Wolverines, the worst-ever streak against one team in the Joe Paterno era.
In this week’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll take a look (ugh) back at the loss to Michigan, look ahead to Illinois and take a look around the University Park campus to check out some of the non-revenue sports.
(Joe Paterno and the coaching staff’s gameplan doomed the Lions in Week Four.
Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Looking Back: Michigan
Make no mistake about it, Saturday’s was an ugly loss. The Penn State offense failed to generate a touchdown, but the defense kept the Lions in the game. But once again, PSU came up short.
So what were the problems? Well, there were plenty. Let’s take a look at the top three areas Penn State had problems with against the now-.500 Wolverines.
1. Turnovers — Put the ball on the ground, and it leads to problems. A source close to the football program said before the game that the team would be OK if could hold onto the football. Well, Anthony Morelli fumbled, leading directly to Michigan’s first touchdown.
Austin Scott fumbled in the Red Zone, thwarting a Penn State drive.
The Lions had a big interception in the Notre Dame game and two Austin Scott fumbles hurt against Buffalo. On Saturday, the turnovers doomed the Lions.
2. Play-calling — Not sure what the offensive gameplan was, but it was a mess. Penn State’s first three plays? A Scott run that resulted in no gain, a Matt Hahn run that resulted in a yard gain and a Morelli scramble that netted zero yards. The Lions were forced to punt, and the tone was set.
The Lion coaching staff saw tapes of the Appalachian State and the Oregon games, yet they refused to adjust and came out trying to run the ball. As a result, Penn State got exactly what it deserved.
Penn State’s second drive of the game lasted just one play — the Morelli fumble.
3. Pressuring the QB — Although the defense kept the Lions in it, they failed to get a lot of pressure on Michigan freshman Ryan Mallett. While he didn’t have a stellar day, he did just enough to lead the Wolverines to the win. Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley probably wanted to blitz more, but the defensive line was getting pushed around by Michigan’s men in the trenches.
(Ron Zook will lead an upset-minded Illinois team against Penn State this week.
Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated.)
Week Five: Illinois
Penn State heads to Champaign looking to rebound. They faced a similar task in 2005. After a heartbreaking loss to Michigan (27-25), the Lions went to Illinois and whacked the Illini, 63-10.
It won’t be that bad this time around. QB Juice Williams is a tough competitor, but Penn State did a decent job on him last season.
A trap game? Perhaps, but it says here that the Lions will bounce back.
Gantdaily.com prediction: Penn State 27, Illinois 13.
Non-rev Roundup: Women’s Soccer
Katie Schoepfer was Penn State’s second-leading goal scorer last year and although it took the sophomore forward a little time to get in the scoring column this year, her timing couldn’t have been any better.
Schoepfer recorded her first score of the season by driving home the game-winning goal against James Madison early in the soggy second half of Penn State women’s soccer team’s 1-0 win on Sept. 14 in the opening game of the Penn State Invitational.
Two days later, Schoepfer helped her team come from behind to tie No. 5 Texas A&M by knocking in her own rebound with less than five minutes to go in the game and forcing it into overtime. The win and tie moved No. 17 Penn State’s record to 3-2-1 on the year and earned Schoepfer Big Ten Player of the Week honors from the conference as well as a spot on last week’s Soccer America Team of the Week. After the game Schoepfer credited the boisterous, record-setting Penn State crowd of 2,216 for keeping the team in the game.
“It’s amazing,” said Schoepfer. “It makes such a difference when you have a huge crowd and turnout. The energy and the enthusiasm just makes you want to do something to make them cheer louder.”
Penn State’s focus late in the game against a top five team impressed first-year head coach Erica Walsh, who said her team showed the right type of character against the Aggies.
“It was huge,” said Walsh of her team’s second-half showing. “Seeing a team that can dig it out in the later part of a game shows tremendous courage. It is something Penn State has been built upon. The blue-collar mentality is something we saw today.”
Penn State returns home Sept. 26 against Colgate before opening Big Ten action at Jeffrey Field against Illinois on Sept. 30.
Volleyball
No. 3 Penn State pushed No. 2 Stanford to its limit last Sunday, but the Lions were not able to upset the Cardinal in the Yale Classic final, falling in five games on the neutral court in New Haven, Conn.
Stanford took the first game but Penn State, behind 10 kills from Nicole Fawcett, won the second game, 30-23. Fawcett kept it on in the third game, tallying seven kills and leading her team to a 30-27 victory and a 2-1 margin in the match. The fourth game featured 19 ties and five lead changes but Stanford ultimately tied things up before taking the fifth game, 15-9.
The loss dropped Penn State’s mark to 8-2 while the Cardinal escaped with an unblemished 10-0 mark intact. Junior outside hitter Fawcett led five Penn State players in double-digit kills with 28 as sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge recorded 20 kills. Sophomore setter Alisha Glass dished out a career-high 69 assists and produced her sixth career double-double with 16 digs, just shy of her career high. Junior libero Roberta Holehouse led Penn state with a match-high 17 digs as Hodge tallied her 16th career double-double with 13 digs.
Men’s Golf
The men’s golf team had better luck in its trip east, finishing second in last weekend’s Hartford Hawks Invitational at the par-72 Oaks Course at the International Golf Club in Boston, Mass. On the final day, the Lions posted a third-round score of 293 — the lowest third-round team score of the 13-team field — but only gained one stroke on eventual-champion Old Dominion.
The Nittany Lions trailed Old Dominion by seven strokes entering the final round, but Old Dominion held on, firing a 294 to win the 54-hole tournament by six strokes. No Penn State golfer finished lower than 17th place in a field of 67 players.
Redshirt freshman T.J. Howe and senior Robert Rohanna led Penn State individually, both tying for seventh place at 4-over par. Howe, appearing in his first collegiate tournament, fired rounds of 76-70-74 (220) while Rohanna shot rounds of 71-77-72 (220).
In addition to writing for gantnews.com, Chris Morelli is the editor of Blue White Illustrated, a sports publication devoted to Penn State sports. He is also a regular on “Front and Center,” which airs on ESPN Radio in State College and Altoona. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com.
