Thanks to Ali for her PSU wrap. Apologies for my tardy delivery of it.
Playing on the coldest Homecoming since JoePa’s been coaching, Penn State delivered its first shut out of the season yesterday, defeating Minnesota 20-0 to improve to a 6-1 record. It was the earliest snowfall on record in State College, and I was woken up entirely too early on Friday morning from the PSU text system telling me the grass lots would be closed for game day. Empty tailgate fields on a football Saturday is a strange sight in Happy Valley. But the weather didn’t seem to bother the Lions, who played their first turnover-free game.
The O-line opened some holes for Royster who accounted for 137 of the 177 rush yards on the day. He probably could have added to that if they gave him the ball more in the red zone instead of opting to pass. Daryll Clark had a good day, but the receivers made him look even better - especially Derek Moye. He hauled in a pass in the corner of the end zone with under a minute left in the first half, giving the Lions a 13-0 lead heading into halftime.
Sean Lee returned to the field for select plays after missing the last 3 games, contributing to another dominate performance by the defense. A.J. Wallace stepped up big covering star receiver Eric Decker, limiting him to just one reception. But the biggest play for the D came in the 4th quarter when they stopped the Gophers’ only threat at 4th and goal on the 1-yard line.
Even though announcements were made about not throwing snowballs, students continued to do it and continued to get kicked out for it. I saw one snowball come dangerously close to assistant coach Mike McQueary’s face, and the Nittany Lion was a moving target during one of his routines. The officials must have said something to the players about it because they were signaling to the students to stop. Eventually the students got more creative and built a snowman in the stands.
Next week the Lions head to the Big House to take on the 5-2 Michigan Wolverines for a 3:30 kickoff.
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/10/pe...
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October 20, 2009
