Bouncing back is never easy. The Penn State football team had to bounce back from one of its toughest losses in recent memory, the
37-17 defeat at the hands of No. 1 Ohio State.
Penn State did just that on Saturday, posting a 26-19 win over Purdue at Beaver Stadium on Senior Day.
In this week’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll look back at Senior Day, look ahead to Saturday’s game at Temple and have our weekly non-rev roundup.
Let’s get right into it with a look back at Saturday’s big win.
(Anthony Morelli played one of his best games of the year on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated.)
Looking Back: Purdue
It certainly wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but the Nittany Lions got it done — again.
Penn State trailed 16-13, but got a couple of late scores and hung on for a 26-19 win over the Boilermakers to improve to 7-3 overall, 4-3 in the Big Ten.
It was Senior Day at Beaver Stadium, so let’s take a look at Morelli OnLion’s three stars of the game, senior-style, of course.
1. Anthony Morelli — The much-maligned senior QB had another solid afternoon.
Morelli completed 22-of-35 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown. He took just one sack and did not throw an interception. He also ran the ball well on several scrambles, carrying the ball six times for 20 yards in the Nittany Lions’ 26-19 victory.
After the game, Penn State quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno reflected on Morelli’s afternoon.
“That throw he made on third down (to Derrick Williams) was a big time throw. He had two guys bearing down on him, ready to blast him. He hung in there and stuck it right where only Derrick could get it. I thought he had an amazing day,” Paterno said.
Morelli couldn’t pick out one play or one throw that summed up his afternoon. But in a season that’s had its share of ups and downs, Morelli was certainly happy to leave Beaver Stadium with a victory.
“To go out with a win, it means a lot,” the senior quarterback said.
“We want to win the rest our games and go to the best bowl we can.”
The way things are shaking out, the Lions could still get a New Year’s Day bowl — either the Capital One Bowl or the Outback Bowl. Of course, that is contingent on Penn State winning at Michigan State in the season finale.
2. Dan Connor — The senior linebacker moved into first place on Penn State’s all-time tackles list, passing his former teammate Paul Posluszny. The record-breaking tackle came when Purdue tailback Jaycen Taylor took a handoff on third-and-1 from the Penn State 18-yard line, and forged ahead for 2 yards and a first down.
Connor made the stop and his fifth tackle during his final home game at Beaver Stadium gave him 373 tackles for his career. Connor finished the day with 11 tackles.
He pushed his career total to 379, seven more than Poz.
“Senior Day, the last game at home, that’s a neat way to go out,”
Connor said. “I wouldn’t have minded doing it next week back home in Philadelphia at Temple. I wanted to do it here, in the last game and go out with a win. This is a great experience for me right now.”
It’s been a long and winding road for Connor, who was in coach Joe Paterno’s doghouse early in his career.
My, he’s come a long way.
“It’s definitely neat. I mean, Linebacker U.,” he said. “That’s where you go out of high school if you want to play good football at the middle linebacker or outside linebacker positions. To have this record, it’s a great feeling.”
Connor is the 13th first-team All-American to play for Paterno.
After the game, the iconic coachreflected on his senior ‘backer.
“He’s just a good football player,” Paterno said. “He and I had our disagreements, let me say, early. He had a little bit of an attitude about some things and to his credit and his family’s credit, when I decided to do some things they took it in stride and he kept working.
Obviously, he’s an outstanding football player, really outstanding.”
3. Rodney Kinlaw — Despite a fumble, Kinlaw had a solid afternoon, carrying 12 times for 84 yards. He averaged 7 yards per carry. His longest run of the day went 25.
(Dan Connor broke Penn State’s all-time tackles mark against Purdue.
Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Looking Ahead: Temple
Not much of a game this week. Temple is playing better under head coach Al Golden, but the Owls still aren’t on Penn State’s level.
This will be a good opportunity for Daryll Clark to get some quality time — Paterno should play him the entire second half to get him ready for 2008.
The game is on ESPNU, which means many won’t be able to see the game.
Guess what? It’s really not a big deal. This one will be over after the first 30 minutes.
Gantdaily.com prediction: Penn State 48, Temple 7.
Non-rev roundup: Women’s Volleyball
Penn State volleyball coach Russ Rose is hoping that history repeats.
Eight years ago the Penn State women’s volleyball team reached No. 1 in the national rankings. That year, the Nittany Lions also captured the 1999 national championship.
If things continue to go well for Rose’s squad, history may be primed to repeat itself as the Lions returned to the top spot in the national polls, grabbing the No. 1 position in the most recent edition released by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
“It is very exciting to be No. 1 in the polls, however, that can change at any time based on other team’s wins and losses,” said Rose.
“We look at it as a good place to be on paper, but the reality of it is, it’s how we train every day that is more of an indication of where we really are compared to the rest of the teams in the country.”
The Lions reached the top spot after resounding 3-0 wins over No. 22 Minnesota and Iowa on Oct. 26 and 27.
Against the Gophers, Penn State dominated from start to finish, taking an early lead in the first game and holding off several Gopher rallies to finish with a 30-21 win. Penn State had a battle on its hands in the second game with Minnesota tying it at nine, 19 and 24 points apiece. At that point, Penn State took control behind two Nicole Fawcett kills, a Megan Hodge putaway from the back row and a Walbridge kill, all of which combined to give the Nittany Lions a 28-24 lead.
Penn State briefly gave up possession on a service error, but a Fawcett kill and blocks by Fawcett and Melissa Walbridge ended the game at 30-25. Penn State did not give Minnesota any hope in the third game, opening up with a 13-3 lead and finishing the Gophers off, 30-15.
“A 3-0 victory over Minnesota is not easy,” said Rose. “It is very hard to win 3-0 on the road in the Big Ten, let alone in Minnesota.
Right now, our passing is very good and this allows us to be a very good side out team. Because our offensive distribution is better, and the ball is being spread to more of our hitters, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for our opponents to focus on only one or two key players.”
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.