With Week One in the books, it’s time to look back at Penn State’s 44-14 demolition of Youngstown State. With that in mind, we introduce our readers to Morelli OnLion’s Two-Minute Drill. We will also look ahead to next week’s showdown with No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. We will also have our No. 2 Moment of the Year in Penn State athletics.
Let’s start with a new feature.
Two-Minute Drill: Youngstown State
In this new feature, we will take a look at some quick hitters from the previous week’s game.
Game ball to … Rob Bolden
The true freshman QB played just about as well as he could have, completing 20-of-29 passes for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He threw one interception, an ugly pick on a bad read. Other than that, the kid was pretty impressive. He got more comfortable as the afternoon wore on, which is a good sign. It will be interesting to see how he fares next week when the Nittany Lions invade Tuscaloosa to play the No. 1 team in the nation.
What Was He Thinking? … Eric Wolford
Youngstown State had the Nittany Lions down 7-3, but first-year YSU coach Eric Wolford played things so close to the vest that he never gave his squad a chance to open the lead up. Why not go for it on fourth down? Or try a fake punt? Wolford will have to loosen up the reins a little bit if he’s going to make it with the Penguins.
Numerology … 40
That’s the amount of yards senior running back Evan Royster was able to tally on Saturday. Those numbers will have to improve if the Nittany Lions have designs on a New Year’s Day bowl game. Royster had a hard time finding daylight on Saturday, but the offensive line certainly wasn’t opening huge holes for the Heisman Trophy hopeful. Royster will get his yards this season. Saturday was just a bad day at the office.
Play of the Game … Chaz Powell’s TD
This is pretty much a no-brainer. Powell’s 100-yard kickoff return to open the second half sparked the Lions and opened the floodgates for more scoring. The 100-yard return was the longest since Rich Mauti returned a kick 100 yards for TD against Temple in 1975.
The Countdown
5. Brett Brackett — Co-captain appears to be Bolden’s favorite target. He hauled in eight balls for 98 yards and two touchdowns against the Penguins.
4. Collin Wagner — The kicker doesn’t have the most powerful leg in the world, but he’s accurate, that’s for sure. He nailed field goals of 44, 49 and 48 yards on Saturday.
3. Chris Colasanti — The linebacker made his presence known, racking up 13 tackles. Six of those were solo jobs.
2. The crowd — Way less than 110,000 for the opener on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. Where were ya?
1. Rob Bolden — The froshie was impressive, to say the least. If the first game is any indication, the QB is on his way to big things in Happy Valley.
Next Up … Alabama
The Crimson Tide (1-0) destroyed San Jose State, 48-3, on Saturday. Even without Mark Ingram, they appear poised for another run at the national championship. Saturday’s game at Tuscaloosa kicks off at 7 on ESPN.
Looking Ahead: Alabama
Despite the 44-14 pasting of Youngstown State, Nittany Nation has to be quivering with fear as Bama looms. Penn State is simply overmatched in this one and we’re guessing the Crimson Tide defensive unit is licking its chops at the chance to go after a freshman QB on national television. Stranger things have happened, but we don’t expect a repeat of Penn State’s trip to No. 1 Pittsburgh in 1982 or No. 1 Notre Dame in 1991. This one will be ugly.
Gantdaily.com prediction: Alabama 48, Penn State 14.
Moment of the Year No. 2: Fencing Takes a Title
The Penn State fencing team captured the 2010 NCAA national championship despite starting the final day of competition in third place and only winning one individual title. It was the fencing squad’s fifth national title win in the decade.
Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov has now led Penn State to 12 national titles and 27 individual titles. “It’s a great achievement, even when it was not expected,” Kaidanov said. “But today’s performances were flawless, they did a super job … It was a great day and another sensation was that the second-place team was St. John’s and that the favorite, Notre Dame, was third place. I think we are fortunate to have such outstanding fencers. I’m very proud.”
Chris Morelli is an award-winning writer/editor who lives in Centre County and covers 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. Also, be sure to check out Morelli OnLion on Facebook!