|
|
|
You looked at the schedule, Saturday, Sept. 13, it read: Penn State @ Nebraska. And, be honest, you wrote "L". Just as you had written "W" the week before where the Nittany Lions hosted Boston College.
The less we refer to Sept. 6's 27-14 infamy, the better, thankyouverymuch.
But while many envisioned an angry bunch of Cornhuskers exacting some muscular revenger for the 40-7 thrashing they took at wild-eyed Beaver Stadium before a well-lit, record crowd of 109,000
last fall, the more pragmatic -- coach Joe Paterno included -- felt the Nitts would at least be able to make the No. 15 Huskers (3-0) know the road to their 33rd consecutive nonconference victory in Lincoln would be bumpy.
This despite yielding 337 rushing yards and a killer 2-1 possession time disadvantage to the N men.
But stubbornly, the Lions (1-2) refused end zone entry to their hosts on all but one of seven "red zone" visits, forcing Nebraska into field goal attempts...They actually led the red army at halftime, 10-9.
Unlike certain moments of the Boston College game and frequent funks in the last couple of seasons -- particularly 2001 -- effort was not an issue for the guys in the generic white uniforms.
"I thought we played hard," Paterno told one of college football's very best beat writers, Neil Rudel of Calkins Newspapers. "I see some areas where we're getting better."
The problem: Offensive output. Without 2,000-yard man Larry Johnson and several components of a talented 2002 receiving corps, quarterback Zack Mills and offensive coordinator Fran Ganter are still searching for a combination that can force enemy defenses back on their heels.
"We're not very precise on offense," Paterno summed up. "We couldn't sustain anything."
It promises to be a work-in-progress for the next few weeks, and thank goodness the name on the visitors' shirts this Saturday at Beaver Stadium will be Kent, although the Golden Flashes (2-1) are improved.
But one last look over the shoulder at Nebraska might sum up the Lions' early-season good intentions/bad results.
On a promising early drive, Mills scrambled and bought some time, spotting Tony Johnson open downfield for a potential sizable gain near midfield, threw a pretty solid strike, but the usually-reliable wideout dropped it.
Fourth down.
"The tone was set," Paterno told Rudel.
Nobody felt worse than Johnson, who in any era would epitomize Penn State's heart and soul. "Me dropping that ball on that third down is crucial," he told Rudel. "If we would have had that play, we would have had momentum."
Penn State fans, getting grudgingly accustomed to middle-rung Big Ten residency, have heard many such observations in recent years. But this season is far from unsalvageable. And without Michigan on the schedule, and with marginally talented Indiana, Northwestern and struggling Michigan State there, the Lions could still shoot for 7-8 victories and a decent bowl bid.
You'd hope...
INSIDE THE STATS...Here's an early-season comparative checklist as to how the various I-As (excepting the very marginally I-A Sunbelt and Western Athletic Conferences) are doing vs. nonleague opponents.
Listen up, John Boy Swofford, Atlantic Coast Commissioner. It ain't pretty for your poachers.
1. Big 12 (21-7)
2. Big East (12-6)
3. Big 10 (19-11)
4. Pacific 10 (13-8)
5. Southeastern Conference (16-12)
6. Conference - U.S.A. (13-13)
7. Mountain West (9-9)
8. Atlantic Coast Conference (6-8)
9. Mid-American Conference (3-14).
The Big East's numbers are skewed upward by future A.C.C.'ers Miami and Virginia Tech, but it might not be too bold a statement to say these stats don't lie.
COULD A WOLVERINE TEACH A BUCKEYE? Chris Perry grew up in rural North Carolina. Not sooo rural that he could escape the eyes of the Michigan coaching staff. He is, by all accounts, the consummate team player, doesn't have a screachy mother blowing in everybody's ear, and chooses his friends wisely. And would have been the perfect Buckeye for Jim Tressel's offense.
Every time this worn-out veteran eyeballs Michelle Clarett -- particularly that revealing photo op in front of St. John Arena last week just before her much-discussed/celebrated/denigrated wunderkind son Maurice Clarett would meet with Ohio State Athletic Director Andy Geiger -- the stomach churns, the heart burns, the teeth grind and the ol' b.p. jumps a couple of points.
It is part of Divine Law, a true Supreme Court (of one) that you do not get to choose your parents. But why am I not surprised Mrs. Clarett is estranged from Myke Clarett?
Why am I also not surprised she didn't do a very good job raising her young 'un, or protecting him from the wicked world of the streets of Youngstown?
And why am I even more not surprised she didn't teach him how to be much, much more selective in choosing his friends?
If Mrs. Clarett had spent more time being a truly loving mother, teaching her God-gifted son to stick with life's good citizens and approach life with a bit more open mind, we wouldn't be looking at these ridiculous daily headlines.
We wouldn't be reading such hugely respected columnists as Bob Verdi saying Ohio State should give back its national championship. We also wouldn't be hearing what a bunch of hypocrites coach Jim Tressel, Geiger, and the university hierarchy are.
Well, they aren't. All praise to former O.S.U. president E. Gorden Gee for taking Vanderbilt's athletic department and moving it over to the academic side. And all slam to the other Southeastern Conference schools for not following.
What a shock.
But Ohio State's people are as distressed as anybody over the Clarett situation. The solution? Grace, perseverance, benediction. It says here Tressel will guide the young man in any direction he goes.
And in the end, Ohio State (and, hopefully, college athletics) will learn a valuable lesson.
Which is...
Make your rules even clearer. Tressel is as good as just about any in laying down conduct codes, chasing players to class, etc. He inherited a somewhat academically slothful situation from John Cooper and has worked some instant miracles.
But some take longer and folks like Maurice Clarett, who despite all the bullchips, has still said he wants to graduate from The Ohio State University.
Right there is an admirable enough goal. The key now is to find out ways to make this happen, even if he never picks up a football again in his life!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
