BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Lions crush the Orange easily, 55-13

September 13, 2008

Nate Bauer
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Editor

The Nittany Lions did not get off to a very good start for their first road game on the 2008 slate.

That said, the Lions were handed an easy day, racking up a 55-13 win against Syracuse this afternoon in front of 45,795 fans at the Carrier Dome.

After receiving the opening kickoff, Penn State redshirt junior quarterback Daryll Clark coughed up the ball on the second play from scrimmage. Scrambling to his left, Syracuse defensive tackle Nick Santiago popped the ball out of Clark's hands and into the waiting arms of Arthur Jones.

An amped up Syracuse crowd and team couldn't have been happier and showed it as they bounced in the stands and on the sideline.

For Penn State, with the Orange taking over at the Penn State 36-yard line, the thoughts of recent Lions' struggles on the road were overwhelming.

"I thought after we fumbled the ball that was one of the few bad plays Clark has made so far this year," Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said. "On second and one, he's trying to make something happen but get rid of it. Go to third and one and get the first."

Of course, it didn't take long to reverse those sentiments as Syracuse quarterback Cameron Dantley threw a backward pass to tailback Curtis Brinkley, who was split wide. Brinley couldn't make the reception, but being a backwards pass, the play was still live.

Penn State cornerback Lydell Sargeant recovered.

Like the reset button on a video game, the Lions once again had life, this time 10 yards better at their own 45-yard line. Dropping back to pass, Clark found senior wideout Jordan Norwood at the Syracuse 32-yardline.

Spinning to avoid the tackle, Norwood cut back inside and quickly found himself in the end zone, giving the Lions a 7-0 lead and in essence, the game.

Paterno gave his thoughts about his team's performance.

"I think we're a pretty good football team," he said. "I just don't know how good and I won't know until we've had some adversity."

The next series, Clark hit wideout Deon Butler for a beautiful diving 17-yard touchdown catch. In winding down the first quarter, the Lions scored again when fullback Dan Lawlor punched in a 1-yard dive into the endzone.

After a three and out on their next posession, Lions' redshirt sophomore quarterback Pat Devlin was given his own opportunity to shine.

Only three plays into his first drive of the game, Devlin found Butler again for a 15-yard touchdown on the sideline. The TD marked Devlin's first and Butler's 17th for his career, moving him into third place all-time at Penn State.

By the end of the first half, the Lions led 38-6 and wouldn't look back.

Even in mop up duty in the second half (all three of the Lions' starting wide receivers sat out for the second half) the Lions were able to produce, as redshirt freshman Stephfon Green scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, Collin Wagner knocked home a 43-yard field goal, and redshirt freshman wideout Derek Moye scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass from fifth-year senior quarterback Paul Cianciolo.

Penn State NEWS

[More]

Latest Headlines:

Resources:

FEATURED PRODUCT