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Not just Lion down
YSU holds its own in loss to nationally-ranked Penn State
By JOE SCALZO
University Park, Pa.
The streak ended in the unlikeliest of spots.
Facing a third-and-10 at his own 20, YSU redshirt freshman quarterback Kurt Hess took a shotgun snap, looked right and waited for senior wideout Dominique Barnes to slip inside for a middle screen.
It was a hit-or-miss play for the Penguins this summer and Hess was just hoping for an 101/2-yard gain.
But when Barnes caught the ball, the left side of the field opened and Barnes suddenly found himself jetting down the sideline, sneaking a peak up at the Beaver Stadium Jumbotron to see who was chasing him.
“I was just thinking, ‘Don’t get caught, don’t get caught,’” Barnes said.
As for Hess?
“I thought he was going to get caught,” Hess said, “but he didn’t.”
The 80-yard score was the Penguins’ first touchdown in the six games they’ve played against BCS teams since 2005. It also gave them their first lead.
Alas, reality soon set in as 19th-ranked Penn State broke the game open in the third quarter en route to a 44-14 victory on Saturday.
YSU led 7-6 until 1:20 remaining in the second quarter, but the Nittany Lions took control by scoring 17 points over a 90-second stretch spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second.
The big blow came on the opening kickoff of the third quarter, when PSU’s Chaz Powell’s 100-yard return gave the Nittany Lions a 23-7 lead and seemed to sap YSU’s confidence.
“Obviously we’re disappointed,” said YSU coach Eric Wolford, who made his debut. “We believed we could win that football game.”
Still, Barnes’ touchdown was one of many positives for the Penguins, who had been outscored 197-12 in the previous five games against BCS teams.
Other highlights were:
Hess’s performance.
In his first college action, Hess looked poised and in control, completing 21 of 25 passes for 189 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and just one sack.
“I was a little less nervous than I thought I would be,” said Hess. “We had a decent drive [early in the first quarter], I settled in a little bit and things started to slow down.”
Barnes’ performance
The preseason all-conference selection caught 11 passes for 134 yards — both game-highs — and looked ready to assume the No. 1 receiver position held by Donald Jones last year.
“Of course we wanted to win,” said Barnes. “But offensively, we showed we could move the ball against a top 25 team.
“We’re going to be all right.”
YSU’s run defense
The Penguins held the Nittany Lions to just 132 yards on the ground and were especially good against first team All-Big Ten running back Evan Royster, who had just 40 yards on 11 carries.
“We did a nice job of stopping the run,” said junior linebacker David Rach, who also had the game’s only turnover when he intercepted freshman Robert Bolden. “The score was a lot worse than what it felt like. We did some good things.”
The margin of defeat.
Although Wolford wanted to win, the 30-point margin was the best of the six BCS games. The previous-best came against Ohio State (38-6) in 2007.
Considering the Penguins were picked to finish seventh in their conference and Penn State is a top-20 team, there were reasons for optimism afterward
“I was encouraged there at the end of the game that we kept fighting,” said Wolford. “We put another touchdown on the board.
“Unfortunately, we just needed about four more.”