Iowa poses big test for Nittany Lions

Philadelphia Daily News

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — You’d have to figure that any team with someone named Suhey (that would be redshirt sophomore fullback Joe Suhey) would be concerned about a possible outbreak of swine flu among its ranks.

As it turned out, the unspecified virus that had 16 to 20 Penn State players hacking, coughing, sneezing and feeling lousy for much of last week was a less virulent bug than the international disease that has caused a number of deaths when left untreated.

“Your tendency is to think the worst with this swine flu thing going around,” said tailback Evan Royster, who admitted to having a fever of 102 degrees as recently as Thursday night. But the Nittany Lions’ leading rusher began to feel somewhat better by Friday, and on Saturday he provided a cure not only for himself but for much of what had been ailing his team as he rushed for a season-high 134 yards and a touchdown as Penn State turned back visiting Temple, 31-6.

The Nits’ running game had been somewhat sickly, in the figurative sense, in winning its first two games against Akron and Syracuse, teams that stacked the box with eight and even nine defenders in a blatant attempt to shut down the run. Of course, those tactics helped quarterback Daryll Clark put up Drew Brees-type passing statistics.

But against Temple, which employs more standard defensive schemes, Evans — buoyed in part by a return to reasonable health and in part by the sight of open running lanes that previously had been clogged — rushed for 119 yards in the first half alone (he had been limited to 102 total rushing yards in the first two games) before taking much of the second half off. He carried the ball only four times for 15 yards after intermission.

“With their two safeties back, it gave us more of a chance to get into space and make some things happen,” Royster said.

Not that the 105,514 spectators who filed out of Beaver Stadium should have reason to believe that Penn State (3-0) — which remained fifth in this week’s Associated Press poll — is actually as good as its national ranking.

Now coach Joe Paterno’s young, mostly untested crew — still a bit under the weather in terms of illness, a bit nicked up physically and with some problem areas still unresolved — move up from the preliminaries to the big time, with nemesis Iowa coming in for the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.

Not only is Iowa also 3-0, but the Hawkeyes, coming off an impressive, 27-17 throttling of Pac-10 opponent Arizona, are the team that broke the hearts of Nittany Nation with that last-second, 24-23 upset a year ago.