William F. Yurasko

WWN PENN STATE POST GAME # 3

PENN STATE 40 Central Michigan 3

That is more like it! Overheard throughout Saturday evening I heard people saying “that’s they way Penn State games used to be.” How true.

SACKS APPEAL: Penn State defense shuts down Central Michigan – CDT

Boxscore – ESPN.com

DEEE-FENSE

Three points (on a short field), eight sacks, and 14 yards rushing (on 39 attempts)! I felt sorry for CMU QB Kent Smith, who got hit on just about every play. He kept his poise though.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME

This is kind of a toss-up, because you could make a case for Deon Butler, but in the end, I have to go with Mike Robinson, accounted for 4 TDs (3 in the air, one on the ground). For the first time ever, Robinson looked like a good major college quaterback. Over the last six quaters, he has thrown deep with an effectiveness not seen in Happy Valley since the mid 90s.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME

There were a lot of heroes on the other side of the ball. Based on his monster first half, I think Tim Shaw desrves to be singled out. He had nine tackles and two sacks in the first two quarters. Tamba Hali and the rest of the defensive line was outstanding too, applying constant pressure, despite being held all day long.

IT FELT LIKE BEAVER STADIUM AGAIN

It looks like the constant pressure we and other alumni applied on Intercollegiate Athletics paid off! Instead of constant hip-hop and metal between EVERY play, we got the Blue Band on every series and even *silence* between some plays. The result — a lively crowd. It is amazing how loud a crowd gets when it is not being outgunned by canned music. It felt like a Penn State game again.

MORE HIGHLIGHTS

Derrick Williams had a nifty 56 yard kickoff return. He also had two catches for 47 yards.

Tony Hunt got half of his 78 yards on one run. He made some nice spin moves to break tackles too.

Robinson only ran five times on this day, which will help keep him healthy.

Anthony Morelli played in the fourth quarter and was effective. He hit Ethan Kilmer on a TD pass in the fourth quarter. Apparently, Kilmer’s family was seated not far from us; there were four people with KILMER 43 shirts on.

The student section all made the safety sign in unison when the Lions had the Chips backed up. I had not seen that previously, though I have been known to do it myself.

AREAS OF CONCERN

CB Alan Zemaitis played very soft in coverage, allowing CMU to complete a number of passes for first downs on him. He also dropped an interception.

Paul Posluzny got flagged for roughing the quarterback in Penn State territory, which extended CMU’s drive and led to the Chippewas only points. It was a stupid penalty on his part.

The longsnapper had a bad day, sending them high on kicks. One of them cost Penn State an extra point attempt.

Calvin Lowry is still inexplicably the punt returner. He fumbled and called for an unecessary fair catch.

The field is not in great shape. During TV timeouts, the groudscrew was scrambling to fix huge divots all over the field. On the plus side, they did outline the yard numbers and end zone block letters in blue.

Today’s CDT reports that the field has been torn up and will be replaced this week.