Bullish Beginning (from State College PA)

[72bull]

BULLISH BEGINNING

Penn State fights off South Florida

By Jeff Rice

jrice@centredaily.com

UNIVERSITY PARK  The yards on the stat sheet and the perpetual grin on Michael Robinson’s face Saturday evening conveyed the sort of feeling Penn State had been hoping would follow its long-awaited season-opener.

How the Nittany Lions earned those yards and the fresh, two-stitch cut above Robinson’s right eye told a much different tale.

On a picturesque September afternoon in Beaver Stadium, Penn State showed off its new offensive weapons and its old monster defense but, like the announced crowd of 99,235, knew its 23-13 defeat of South Florida wasn’t nearly as easy as it could have been.

“It was a struggle for us,†Robinson said. “Every special teams, offense and defense had to stick it in there and fight.â€Â

In his debut as the full-time starter at quarterback, Robinson endured many of those struggles as Penn State (1-0) broke in a retooled offensive line and brand-new receiving corps. The fifth-year senior was 9-of-15 for 90 yards and one interception, ran for 39 yards on 18 carries and scored Penn State’s final touchdown on a

4-yard run four minutes into the fourth quarter. He also was sacked three times and lost two fumbles.

“I think we definitely have some things to work on,†Robinson said. “There were some first-game jitters for a lot of people out there, myself included.â€Â

The Nittany Lion defense, which finished 10th in the nation in total defense last season, did not allow a first down until midway through the second quarter, scored Penn State’s first touchdown and set up its second.

“We put (the offense) in a lot of good situations and that helped them out a lot,†said linebacker Tim Shaw, who had 10 tackles in his first game on the outside. “If we can score points, that’s just a bonus.â€Â

The offense needed it. Penn State rushed for 264 yards, its highest total since the Akron game a year ago, but that number was bolstered by Tony Hunt’s 70-yard run and Justin King’s 61-yard run. Most of the time the Nittany Lions plodded ahead with quarterback keepers and quick gives to Hunt. Penn State’s 15 passing attempts was its lowest total in 19 games.

“Obviously we weren’t consistent, particularly in the passing area,†said Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, “but that will come, I think.â€Â

The Bulls (0-1) out-gained the Nittany Lions 279 yards to 224 after the first quarter. Trouble was, they trailed 17-0 just 21 seconds into the second quarter.

After a 9-play, 89-yard drive and 23-yard field goal from true freshman Kevin Kelly gave Penn State a 3-0 lead, South Florida quarterback Courtney Denson shook defensive end Tamba Hali and turned upfield  into the waiting arms of Shaw and middle linebacker Tyrell Sales, who popped the ball loose. Senior cornerback Alan Zemaitis scooped it up at the South Florida 16 and raced untouched into the end zone.

The teams traded punts before Pat Julmiste, in for Denson, threw an interception to safety Chris Harrell, who returned it 16 yards to the 13-yard line. Three plays later, Hunt dove over the pile for a 1-yard touchdown run. The junior tailback had just 4 yards on his first six carries but finished with a career-high 140 on 15 carries.

“To be fair, they gave us a couple of easy ones,†Paterno said. “It was a closer game than the score would indicate.â€Â

The Bulls got on the board when Julmiste (21-of-35, 200 yards) found Johnny Peyton on a fade route in the left corner of the end zone with four seconds left in the half. The 6-foot-5 Peyton out-jumped the six-foot King for the ball, and later beat 6-1 senior corner Anwar Phillips on the same pattern, a 4-yard score that pulled the Bulls to within 10 with 2:52 left in the game.

South Florida failed the two-point conversion try, though, and Penn State’s Ethan Kilmer recovered an onside kick to seal Penn State’s third straight win.

The Nittany Lions tried to show off highly touted freshmen Derrick Williams and Justin King early. Robinson’s first pass went to a streaking Williams, who was knocked off stride by South Florida’s Mike Jenkins. Jenkins was whistled for holding, and Williams had earned 10 yards for Penn State without touching the football. The drive stalled, however, when Robinson was sacked by Stephen Nicholas and fumbled the ball away.

King’s first contribution came on Penn State’s next possession. The sometimes-receiver, sometimes cornerback went around left end on a reverse and raced 61 yards down the sideline before Jenkins caught him from behind.

Williams finished with 38 yards on three catches, and King had two carries for 66 yards on offense and made one tackle on defense.

“I wanted to get those kids in the game as quickly as I could,†said Paterno, who had said during the week he didn’t want to put too much pressure on his young receivers. Kilmer, a former defensive back, started the game at the other wideout spot.

It was clear the Nittany Lions, who host Cincinnati next week, have plenty of work to do to integrate the new receivers into their offense. The offensive line, which welcomed new starters Lance Antolick and Robert Price, was also suspect at times.

Still, a team that has gone 4-7 and 3-9 in its last two seasons realized it isn’t yet in a position to be picky.

“For us to have a game like this early, it could benefit us,†said Robinson, who suffered his cut when his helmet was knocked off early in the game. “We didn’t perform the way we wanted to, but it could help us in the long run.â€Â

“A win is a win,†Shaw said. “A bad win is a lot better than a good loss.â€Â

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/12557737.htm

[smazza]

the play calling,the time when certain plays were called and the pass plays called by usf  will not be successful