More Questions Than Answers

By Michael B. Sisak 3d
mike.sisak@collegeblitz.com

The messenger from Pennsylvania Dutch country delivered questions in a shrill.

“What is wrong? Who the hell is calling the plays? Other than two defensive plays, they lose the game? When are we going to get a real quarterback since we got two great wide receivers?"

He was asking about Penn State, a 22-point favorite which built a 17-0 lead and then let South Florida hang around before eluding embarrassment by 23-13 in what was to be the showcase game for the new model Nittany Lions. But the messenger had answers.

“First play of the game, Michael Robinson throws the ball 60 yards -- only the receiver went 30 yards. Without a cab, he couldn’t have caught the ball! Robinson fumbled twice and was intercepted once. He’s a great wide receiver, a great running back, probably a great defensive back, but Robinson is no quarterback. Penn State was supposed to win by 22 points! That was a disgrace. When Joe Paterno loses the next one to Cincinnati or someone, he’s done. They have a chance to lose to someone by 30 points, when they are favored by 20 points.”

Then he added: “I gave up when Tony Hunt ran 61 yards and got caught from behind! Penn State soured me.”

Tuesday, Coach Joe Paterno had some answers: “You can’t make some little mistakes. When you have a chance to put the game away, you don’t put it away.... I don’t want Michael Robinson ever to think that we don’t feel he is the guy that can’t get the job done. Anthony Morelli is a player, and I want to be careful we don’t play him 10 plays and lose a year or put him in at the wrong time when he can’t have some success. ... I think Michael did a good job.”

So Robinson remains the quarterback and Morelli, the quarterback of the future, waits. Freshmen Jason King and Derrick Williams also wait for another chance to show their full potential.

“There are a lot of things we do in practice that you haven’t seen yet,” Paterno said. “We got ahead 17-0 and I wasn’t about to have anybody make mistakes. I wanted to win the game.”

Another question concerns Dan Connor, the linebacker who had a sensational freshman year but has been suspended from the team because he made early morning prank calls to retired assistant coach Joe Sarra. When a visitor quipped that he was marketing the “Joe Sarra Calling Card,” a Penn State athletic official responded sternly, “That’s not funny around here.”

Little things, like dialing a cellphone, meant a lot to other big-name programs during the Labor Day weekend.

• At Florida State, Miami was 0 for 10 on third downs before finishing 3 for 14. Miami allowed nine sacks, including four in a row. In 11:53 of the third quarter, the teams combined for five timeouts. “A crazy, crazy, crazy game!” Westwood One analyst Fran Curci said. Miami went on a 20-play drive from the 3 and then fumbled the snap for a 28-yard field-goal attempt that would have tied the score. Instead, the 10-7 victory left Coach Bobby Bowden 2-0 this season, counting the victory when the Seminole tribe said the university mascot was politically correct. “When you win a game like that, your confidence level grows,” Bowden said. “We haven’t had it in the last five years. To have the kind of year you want to have, something has to happen that you can’t explain why it happened. Something had to happen that you can’t coach.”

• Outmanned by a Steelers-like Notre Dame line, Pitt could not rush the passer at Heinz Field. So the new Notre Dame coach, Charlie Weis, who mentored Tom Brady to three Super Bowl trophies, unleashed the newest member of his Brady Bunch, Brady Quinn, and romped by 42-21. That prompted Keith Jackson to predict that Lloyd Carr and his Michigan staff would be burning a lot of candles during the week.

• Oklahoma did not regroup after its humiliating 55-19 B.C.S. championship loss to Southern California and was upset at home by Texas Christian, 17-10, showing that Coach Bob Stoops might be overhyped. That’s a two-game losing streak for the Sooners, folks. If Heisman-winning Jason White was that good a quarterback, why is he a retired N.F.L. rookie?

• Southern California showed some weakness in its defensive middle but overcame them by overpowering Hawaii, 63-17, as Reggie Bush took the lead in the Heisman race. Jerry Glanville made his debut as the Hawaii defensive coordinator and should never have given up broadcasting. Pass defense is missing from his playbook.

Now a week to prepare for the messenger’s next questions.