Week Six Review
Penn State earned their first meaningful road victory of the season by defeating Purdue 20-6 on Saturday. I had originally predicted the Nittany Lions to defeat Purdue by a score of 16-9 in my article from the beginning of the summer, and modified this prediction slightly to 24-9 in my article last week. Both predictions were about the same accuracy.
The 20 points for the Penn State offense was their worst point total by 18 points this season. Missing their top receiver, Jordan Norwood, for a second straight game started to take a toll on the PSU offense.
Penn State had three receivers with over 30 yards receiving on the game but had no receivers with more than 53 yards. The lack of a go-to receiver hurt the PSU offense with regards to capitalizing on scoring opportunities, even though their yardage statistics remained impressive.
Daryll Clark threw for 220 yards on 18 for 26 passing but had no touchdown passes. He did have a QB sneak for a touchdown for the game’s first score midway through the second quarter.
Evan Royster continued his outstanding pace for the season by rushing for 143 yards on 18 carries, including a touchdown run in the third quarter to put Penn State ahead by a three-possession margin. Stephfon Green also had a successful game, running for 58 yards on only seven attempts.
Despite some impressive statistics from the offense, the Penn State defense was the highlight of this game by far.
The Nittany Lions did not allow Purdue to score a point until there were only six minutes left in the game, thanks in part to two Purdue missed field goals in the first half. PSU allowed less than 250 yards of total offense and fewer than 100 yards net rushing to the Boilermakers.
comments (9) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
Great article and I completely agree with you. Wisconsin is mostly a running offense, and our defense is great at stopping the run. I think our offense will show up and beat this pissed off, win hungry Badger team at home. I think it'll be close, but not too close. Michigan will hopefully be a blowout, and then the toughest game will be Ohio State.
from about 1 month ago
Great point about our defense stopping the run. Ohio State seems to be the only team that has really cracked our run defense in the recent past. If PSU wins this one then the excitement for the Michigan game for Homecoming next week will be incredible.
from about 1 month ago
I know. Its going to be crazy up there...I can't wait to be there. PSU better win this week, though.
about 1 month ago
I was at the Purdue game and actually came away very impressed with Clark. He's really cool under pressure and best of all he didn't turn the ball over or make mistakes, he took care of the football. Anytime you can do that, you'll give yourself a chance to win.
The guy doesn't throw games away like Morelli did. The defense looked good, though Purdue botched some chances to make it closer than it looked. I'm convinced Royster can run on anybody, he always finds the hole.
Only reason we didn't score more was because we played a pretty safe, plain offense, didn;t stretch the field and honestly, the offense wasn't on the field all that much as Purdue had some long drives that ended in missed field goals.
Still, Clark was very efficient. I was surprised, he really is a good passer who can also run, as opposed to a runner with a good arm.
from about 1 month ago
I absolutely agree with you. Clark has been the one guy that pieces all of the other parts of the offense together. Without him, they wouldn't have a chance of going undefeated. Royster is a machine and Clark and very smart and very talented.
about 1 month ago
I expect PSU to try and focus on stopping Hill, Clay, and the WI running game... therefore forcing Evridge to step up his game and beat the Lions.
This should be an interesting one, as Wisconsin has lost two heartbreakers in a row. It's going to be interesting to see which team shows up because of that, but in the dark at Camp Randall is a tough environment, and the Badger fans will be ready - and hungry. It's going to be an interesting game.
from about 1 month ago
Yep - probably a make or break game for the season. If PSU wins then they should go on to a Big Ten title and a remote national championship chance, but if they lose then they will probably also lose to Ohio State and potentially one more Big Ten game. I am excited, yet nervous, for the game.
from about 1 month ago
Me too to be honest - because even though Illinois is talented, as a fan, I was fairly confident they could take care of business at home. On the road at Camp Randall is a different story. The next three week stress is going to be nothing but nerves for PSU fans I would think, even Michigan, just because... they may be down, it's still Michigan and the Lions have the pressure of getting that monkey off their back.
about 1 month ago
It was announced today in the campus newspaper that Jordan Norwood will be back in his starting role at wide receiver this game for PSU. This is a huge help for the offense!
write a new comment