Preview No. 10: Penn State
Right: Senior quarterback Daryll Clark is one of five starting offensive players returning for 2009. (AP Photo)
This is the 10th in a series of previews on all 12 of Ohio State’s 2009 opponents:
Penn State and legendary head coach Joe Paterno did something last season that the Nittany Lions have only accomplished twice before since joining the Big Ten in 1993, and that’s winning a conference title.
In 16 years as a conference member, Penn State has only won one outright Big Ten title (1994), and shared the league crown on two different occasions (2005 & 2008).
In 2009, the Nittany Lions are trying to do something they have never done before, which is winning back-to-back Big Ten titles.
Penn State has a solid core returning from last season’s squad that went 11-2 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten.
Five starters return on the offensive side of the ball, including senior quarterback Daryll Clark (6-2, 233) and junior tailback Evan Royster (6-1, 209).
Clark threw for 2,592 yards while completing 59.8 percent of his passes with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions. Royster rushed for 1,236 yards, good for fourth-best in the Big Ten, and scored 12 TDs.
The question is, who will Clark throw the ball to? The top three receivers from 2008, Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Derrick Williams are all gone. The top returning pass-catcher is backup tailback Stephon Green (5-10, 192), who rushed for 578 yards and four touchdowns while hauling in 15 passes for 268 yards and another score.
The top returning wide receiver is junior Graham Zug (6-2, 178), who caught just 11 passes all season for 174 yards and 2 TDs in 2008.
Penn State does have their two top tight ends returning, senior Mickey Shuler (6-4, 249) and senior Andrew Quarless (6-5, 253), but combined the combo only amassed 20 receptions for 237 yards and two scores, last season.
Just two starting offensive linemen return, which includes guard-turned-center Stefen Wisniewski (6-3, 302) and right tackle Dennis Landolt (6-5, 306) .
On the defensive side of the ball, only four starters return from a year ago, though that doesn’t include outside linebacker Sean Lee (6-2, 236).
Lee, a Butkus, Bednarik, Nagurski, Lombardi and Lott award candidate, missed the entire 2008 season because of a knee injury, this after starting in 26 consecutive games during the 2006-07 campaigns and was second in the Big Ten in tackles during the 2007 season with 138 total stops.
Other starters returning on defense are outside linebacker Navarro Bowman (6-1, 230), who led the Nittany Lions with 106 total tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss in 2008, along with Penn State’s second-top stopper, inside linebacker Josh Hull, who collected 75 tackles last season.
Other starters returning are defensive tackles, senior Jared Odrick (6-5, 206) and junior Ollie Ogbu (6-1, 292).
Outlook:
There are major holes to fill in the Nittany Lions receiving coprs and in the secondary.
While Penn State should have no problems against non-conference foes Akron, Syracuse and Temple, they will have some difficulty against Iowa in the Big Ten opener for both teams in State College.
While I expect the Nittany Lions to be 4-0 after four games, I predict they will suffer a setback against Illinois in Campaign on Oct. 3.
After that, Penn State has four very winnable games before they take on Ohio State at home, but I don’t see enough out of the Nittany Lions to warrant what would be an upset against the Buckeyes, even in State College.
To close out the season, Penn State travels to East Lansing to face Michigan State, so I expect the Nittany Lions to finish 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten Conference.
