The Penn State football team is still savoring the sweet success of winning the
Capital One Bowl. We are just a couple of weeks removed from the Nittany Lions’
thrilling 19-17 win over LSU and already fans are starting to look forward to
the 2010 season.
In the coming weeks, we’ll look ahead to the 2010 season
and see what lies ahead for the Nittany Lions. In today’s edition of Morelli
OnLion, however, we’ll take one last look back at the Capital One Bowl and the
performance of QB Daryll Clark. We’ll also check in with the Nittany Lion men’s
basketball team.
Let’s start with Clark.
Daryll Clark’s legacy was on the line in Orlando.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Defining Moment
At
every bowl game, a theme develops. It might take a day or two, but it usually
develops during the build-up to the big game.
In the week leading up to
the Capital One Bowl, a theme definitely developed — and it involved Penn State
quarterback Daryll Clark.
Clark was adamant that this bowl was not about
him, not about his legacy. In the final news conference before the game itself,
Clark appeared to have heard enough.
“I just hear it from everybody. I
mean, I hear it from people from home. I get phone calls about it. I hear it on
ESPN, so it’s kind of hard to get away from it. I even hear it from people
that’s on Twitter,” Clark said. “I just can’t stress enough how unfair it is to
the rest of the team. You know, everyone else is listening to this, so it’s
like, ‘who are we playing for now?’ Are we playing to win or are we playing to
cement Daryll’s legacy at Penn State? And that’s not what this is all
about.”
But the more Clark talked, the more vociferous he became, one
thing became very clear.
This game was definitely about Clark’s
legacy.
Going into the bowl game, Clark had amassed a 21-4 record as a
starting quarterback at Penn State. But try to name a big win on Clark’s resume.
Sure, you could go back to Oct. 25, 2008, when the Nittany Lions won the
Horseshoe for the first time since 1978. However, in that game, Clark was
knocked out with a concussion. Truth be told, that victory belonged more to the
Nittany Lion defense than it did Clark or former backup Pat
Devlin.
During the Lions’ 11-2 campaign of 2008, Clark led the Lions to
wins over Coastal Carolina, Oregon State, Syracuse, Temple, Illinois, Purdue,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State. The Lions closed that season
with a 38-24 loss to USC at the Rose Bowl, in a game that was out of Clark’s
hands when the PSU defense gave up 31 first-half points.
This season,
Clark added to his resume with wins over Akron, Syracuse, Temple, Illinois,
Eastern Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Indiana and Michigan
State.
Find me a signature win on that resume. You can’t, because there
isn’t one. That’s not necessarily Clark’s fault. He didn’t make the schedule for
the two seasons he was the starter. His losses — Iowa (twice), Ohio State and
USC — are respectable, though two of those losses came at home.
So Clark
entered New Year’s Day with a final shot at a signature win.
When the
Nittany Lions took over trailing by a point at their own 31-yard line with 6:54
to play, Clark’s legacy was definitely on the line.
After a pass
interference penalty against LSU that moved the ball to Penn State 40-yard line,
Clark took over. He completed three passes for 33 yards on the drive, including
a 4-yarder to Graham Zug on third-and-3 from the LSU 41. He also ran five times
for 13 yards and nearly scored on a 7-yard run to the LSU 2. Then, with 57
seconds left in regulation, Collin Wagner booted what would be the eventual
game-winning field goal.
It was Clark’s first win against a ranked team
all season.
“I’m more overjoyed than satisfied or relieved,” Clark said.
“I put the team before myself at any given time. I made it clear this team did
not come down here to win for Daryll or to cement Daryll’s legacy.”
But
the more Clark talked, the more you had to believe this team slogged through a
monsoon to make their senior leader proud.
“He went out there and showed
what he’s about. He’s quieted some of the people out there saying he can’t win
the big game. This was a big win for us and a big win for him,” said wideout
Derek Moye.
In the end, it became pretty clear — Clark beats LSU and he
is remembered fondly. Lose to the Tigers, and Clark would be remembered as
another Penn State quarterback who couldn’t win the big game.
No one is
saying it’s fair, but that’s just the way it is.
Hopefully, Clark made
things easier for the next quarterback, whoever it may be.
“We bonded
together to get a big-time win for this program,” Clark said, “and springboard
some confidence for the young guys next season.”
Ed DeChellis has the Nittany Lions headed in the wrong direction.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Men’s Basketball: Sad
State
If you were one of those Penn State basketball fans so starved for a
postseason appearance that you hopped aboard a bus and rode to New York City to
see the Nittany Lions compete for the NIT championship last spring, I hope you
enjoyed it.
Because that’s as good as its going to get for some time in
Happy Valley.
In case you missed it, the Nittany Lion basketball team is
off to an 8-7 overall start. Worse yet, they are 0-3 in the Big Ten. That hole
is pretty deep. Based on the way this team is playing, it’s going to be awhile
before they’re able to climb out and dust themselves off.
The losses of
Jamelle Cornley, Stanley Pringle and Danny Morrissey appear to be too much for
these young Lions to overcome, even with the dynamic Talor Battle playing at a
high level.
What this is really about, though, is the fact that Ed
DeChellis simply cannot compete with the big dogs in the state (see: Temple,
Pitt) when it comes to recruiting in-state talent. There’s talent in the
Keystone State. The problem is that none of it is coming to Penn
State.
With the facilities and the resources that Penn State has, that’s
simply not acceptable.
DeChellis has a long way to go before Penn State
can be a Big Ten powerhouse. Here’s hoping you enjoyed last year’s NIT title
run. It’s probably going to be quite some time before the Jordan Center hoists
another banner.
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.