After Penn State’s 21-10 loss to Iowa, many wondered how Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark would react to just his third loss as a starter. Well, the last couple of weeks have answered that question.
In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll take a closer look at PSU’s starting QB, look back at a lopsided win over Eastern Illinois and look ahead to Saturday’s homecoming clash with Minnesota.
Don’t Doubt Daryll
A t the conclusion of Penn State’s 21-10 loss to Iowa on a rainy September night in Happy Valley, Daryll Clark sat alone on the Nittany Lion bench looking much like the poster child for Cymbalta.
Was he down? You bet. Was he out? No way.
After the kick to the gut that the Nittany Lions took back on Sept. 26, you just knew that Nittany Nation would be outraged. After all, this was a game the Nittany Lions were going to win. A home night game. A Whitehouse. Everything, it seemed, was in Penn State’s favor.
Then, as they seem to do every year, the Hawkeyes crashed the party. After the loss, much of the blame fell on Clark, who threw three interceptions in the contest.
In the days that followed, Clark took a beating on Internet message boards. Certainly, Clark had seen or heard about the message board mobs who were calling for his head after another discouraging loss to the Hawkeyes.
“He threw three picks. He lost the game,” some cried.
“I wish we still had Pat Devlin,” others wrote.
“Give Newsome a chance,” some moaned.
Clark kept his chin up, however, and let his game do the talking. He responded with a monster effort at Illinois. Through the air, he completed 17-of-25 for 175 yards and no interceptions. He also had his best ground game of the season, carrying seven times for 83 yards and two TDs.
Come Sunday morning, the critics were gone. Nothing like a big performance to quiet the mobs.
The 35-17 win over a struggling Illinois team gave the Nittany Lions a much-needed win that evened their record in the Big Ten at 1-1. It didn’t matter that Illinois is having another down year. This was a road game in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions held a 7-3 edge at halftime and came out in the second half and took it to the Fighting Illini. While the resurgent ground game certainly helped (338 opportunity to survey the field and make some good decisions. When his receivers were covered, he dumped the ball off, or he simply tucked it and took off. His completion percentage of 68 percent was almost double what he had against the Hawkeyes.
Of course, it also helped that his receivers didn’t let the ball slip through their mitts and into the hands of the opposition — something that happened twice against the Hawkeyes.
Despite the lopsided victory in Champaign, Clark wasn’t celebrating. In fact, the senior signal caller was doing everything in his power to make certain that his squad kept its focus.
“We spoke to the team already and let everyone know what we did (against Illinois) was good for this football team. It let us know where we are,” Clark said. “We want to build off that and we don’t want to take any steps backward.”
Clark refuses to look back. Instead, he only looks ahead.
After last season’s heartbreaking 24-23 loss to the Hawkeyes that swept the Nittany Lions right out of the national championship picture, Clark made sure that the squad refocused and took care of business against Indiana and Michigan State as the team captured its second Big Ten title in four years and earned a berth to the Rose Bowl.
Now, it’s more of the same as Clark has his Lions moving forward. With Saturday’s win over their final non-conference opponent of the year, the 5-1 Lions can focus on the remainder of the Big Ten schedule.
It appears manageable. Home dates with Minnesota, Ohio State and Indiana remain. There are still road trips to Michigan, Northwestern and Michigan State. Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State appear to present the biggest challenges for Clark and his teammates.
If Clark and Company can somehow roll off six more wins, there could be a return trip to Pasadena at the end of it all. It seems unlikely. But with Clark at the wheel, anything is possible.
Looking Back: Eastern Illinois
The Nittany Lions can’t take much from Saturday’s 52-3 win over the Panthers. Sure, they played well, but one has to consider the level of talent on the opposing team.
Eastern Illinois had no business playing in Beaver Stadium, and it would have been easy for the Nittany Lions to not show up. But they did. The offense clicked on all cylinders. And the defense — despite playing without linebacker Sean Lee — continues to improve.
If anything, the win was a nice tuneup for the remainder of the Big Ten schedule.
Looking Ahead: Minnesota
The Penn State secondary will get a stiff test this week when Minnesota wideout Eric Decker comes to town. He is one of the best receivers in the Big Ten if not the country, so that’s a matchup to watch.
Head coach Tim Brewster has done a good changing the mentality in Minneapolis. However, the Nittany Lions appear to be back on the right track and it’s hard to imagine they’d fall at Beaver Stadium on Homecoming.
It won’t be a rout, but it won’t be that close, either.
Gantdaily.com prediction: Penn State 31, Minnesota 19.
Chris Morelli is the award-winning editor of Blue White Illustrated, a weekly publication devoted to Penn State athletics. He is also a regular on “Sports Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com. This column does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of BWI’s writers or publisher.