Review: No. 5/7 Penn State 28, Syracuse 7

The Big Ten fought hard this weekend, but failed to come up with the big wins needed. Penn State, while unimpressive, had no real trouble dispatching Syracuse in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions beat the Orange 28-7, rolling up a 21-0 lead going into the fourth quarter.

In today's game review, we'll break down Penn State's unit by unit performance.

Offense

• Offensive Line: The pass protection was once again outstanding, even with some extra pressure being sent by the Orange. But the run blocking struggled mightily, again. I don't care if there are nine in the box. Against teams like Akron and Syracuse, there is no excuse for such a lack of a ground attack. At one point, a bunch of the starters were taken out to try some other personnel. Penn State scored that drive on a 12-yard Royster run, the only rush touchdown of the game.

I'm not sure this problem will turn out as big as most fear. The coaching staff knows that if Penn State had to run the ball, it would happen. Syracuse and Akron have loaded the box on every series, and not all teams the Lions will face this season will do that. Eventually, someone will try to stop the pass attack. Good luck with that.

Stats: 2.2 yards per rush; 2 sacks (-21) allowed

• Receivers: When Daryll Clark wasn't being pressured into throwing early, the receivers played well again and made all the catches they should have. The unit wasn't nearly as dominant as it was against Akron. Graham Zug (6/79, TD) led all receivers, and I really liked the involvement of tight ends Andrew Quarless (3/35) and Mickey Shuler (1/1, TD).

Splitting wide RB Evan Royster (2/61, TD) will obviously give opponents another threat to worry about. His quick slant touchdown catch in the first quarter was a tough grab and a great run. It was a great matchup by the coaching staff, and worked to perfection. But outside Royster, the receivers overall were unremarkable this week.

Stats: 16 receptions, 167 yards, 2 touchdowns

• Running Backs: It shouldn't be forgotten that Syracuse does have some play makers on the defensive line, and stacking the line of scrimmage compounded Penn State's run game problems. The Lions' ground numbers were a bit skewed by the two sacks (-21 yards), but not enough to excuse the pathetic final ground total.

Evan Royster (12/41, TD) and Stephfon Green (8/26) were not able to find any holes up front. Even when the holes were there initially, Syracuse was able to close them quickly. Penn State's running backs did a decent job, considering those conditions along the line. So, as the offensive line goes, so goes the running production.

Stats: (RB/QB only) 34 attempts, 80 yards, Touchdown

• Quarterbacks: Daryll Clark (19-30/240, 3 TD, INT) faced a real pass rush for the first time this season. His numbers took a bit of a hit as a result. On the positive side, Clark was not sacked all day, despite the increased pressure. There were a few passes thrown into tight coverage. Clark needs to be careful not to press so much, but that will come.

Kevin Newsome (0-0/0) is a different story. In only his second game as a Nittany Lion, he was sacked twice and lost a fumble that was turned into the only Syracuse score. It did look like Syracuse was going to get after Newsome if it killed them, and it worked. The coaching staff has to work to get Newsome into the games earlier, because frankly, I don't yet know what to make of him.

Stats: 19-30, 240 yards, 3 touchdowns, INT, 2 sacks, fumble lost

Defense

• Defensive Line: Jared Odrick (6 tkl, 2 TFL, 0.5 sack, tip pass for INT) is on his way to the 2009 All-America team. Through two games, Odrick has made 10 tackles, 2.5 TFL, two half-sacks, and this week tipped a pass that was intercepted by Nate Stupar. But that only tells half the story, as Odrick has been a force in nearly every quarterback hurry, and sucks up two or more blockers on running plays. But you can't underestimate the effect of having a guy like Ollie Ogbu (3 tkl, 0.5 TFL) at the other tackle spot. Right now, Penn State has the pair of defensive tackles in college football.

Penn State's defensive ends also put together another nice day. Jack Crawford (4 tkl), Eric Latimore (tkl, TFL, 0.5 sack) and Kevion Latham (tkl, TFL) kept the pressure up on Syracuse QB Greg Paulus, and were key in limiting the Orange to 65 net rush yards.

Stats: 2.2 yards per rush allowed; 19 tackles, 4 TFL (-7), Sack (-2)

• Linebackers: Even with a surprisingly dominant defensive line in front of them, Penn State's linebackers continue to steal the show. Senior captain Sean Lee (13 tkl, 3 TFL, sack) had probably his half as a Nittany Lion. He was in on two of three stops, including a TFL, in Penn State's third-quarter goal-line stand, and came up with a huge sack in the fourth as Syracuse was driving towards the Penn State red zone.

Fan-maligned Josh Hull (11 tkl, INT) put together another fantastic day as the team's second leading tackler. Adding to Hull's quality day was Nate Stupar (5 tkl, INT), who was Johnny on the Spot intercepting a tipped ball and taking it down inside the five. Penn State's linebackers have been brilliant in pass coverage this season. Also getting some action was Bani Gbadyu (3 tkl), who seems to have planted himself as the first sub-in linebacker this season.

Stats: 32 tackles, 3 TFL (-17), Sack (-13), 2 INT

• Defensive Backfield: Aside from AJ Wallace (tkl) slipping and missing out on a sure interception, the secondary was very quiet, but did its job in workman-like fashion. Drew Astorino was money on run and short pass defense, coming up and making key open-field tackles all day. Nick Sukay (4 tkl) came up as the second tackler in the secondary.

Although right now it hasn't been an issue, it would be in Penn State's best interest if the secondary made a couple more impact plays during the game. But if nit-picking is all you can do here, then everything is really just fine.

Stats: 18 tackles

Special Teams

• Kicking/Punting: Jeremy Boone (50 ypp) was booming all day, with a long of 55, two inside the 20, and one downed at the one. In a game where Penn State benefited greatly from field position, Boone was key. On kickoffs and field goal kicking, Colin Wagner (no FG att) kept everything where it was supposed to be.

• Returns/Coverage: For another week, Penn State has failed to generate anything substantial on punt or kickoff returns. Royster slipped on his only punt return, while Zug took one for 10 yards. Devon Smith returned the opening kickoff for 19 yards. Syracuse's Mike Jones had some success on kickoff returns for the Orange, with Jones taking one out 39 yards before being stopped. I don't think this will be an issue as the season goes on, but it's something to keep in mind.

• Overall: Syracuse is night-and-day better than it was in 2008, on both offense and defense. Not many teams will move the ball on Penn State this season, but Syracuse did well enough going into a tough environment. What surprised me the most was Syracuse's ability to stuff, pressure and battle Penn State's offense. The Orange took full advantage of the Lions' offensive line problems, and came up with a huge fumble as Penn State was going into the end zone. Clark had much less time to throw this week, and Penn State could barely get anything going against Syracuse's eight and nine-man fronts.

Joe Paterno said last week that his players thought the game was over at halftime, so they got lazy in the second half. This week, Penn State was forced by Syracuse to play hard for nearly four quarters. It was the best thing that could've happened to the Lions this season. Penn State, not matter how talented the players are, is still a work in progress on both sides of the ball, and needed a challenge before the conference slate opens in two weeks, and Iowa just crushed Big XII member Iowa State 35-3.

• Did you notice...

Looks like our grievances were heard by the Penn State branding department. This week, the pumped in stadium music was drastically cut down, with the Penn State Blue Band prominently featured all game long. There was no I Like To Move It, Don't Stop Believin', or Sweet Caroline. It was refreshing, very refreshing. It felt like Penn State football again.

Thank you Penn State. You showed that you listen to your fans.

• Official Stats, via GoPSUSports.com:

Full Box Score

Post Game Quotes

Post Game Notes