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2007 PSU Football
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Penn State vs. University of Buffalo Recap
Nittany Lions Run the Bulls, 45 - 24
Article and Photo By: Mark McConnell
Penn State overcame yet another sluggish start, downing the Buffalo Bulls 45 - 24.
Last week on the opening drive, Nittany Lions quarterback Anthony Morelli threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. This week, Austin Scott coughed up the ball early. The Bulls converted one of Scott’s two fumbles for a field goal putting them up 3 - 0 early.
Scott, however, would redeem himself with a rushing touchdown in the third quarter.
“It’s hard when it’s just you making that mistake, but you’ve just got to come back, put it behind you and not let it affect the rest of your game,” said Scott of his fumbles.
Morelli went 20 for 27 totaling 202-yards and a career high four touchdowns. He now has 3,252 career yards passing, moving him to no. 11 on the all time list at Penn State. He also has 281 completions ranking seventh on 506 attempts, which is ninth on all-time list at Penn State.
On the opposite side, Drew Willy had 339-yards passing completing 29 of 41 attempts with one interception. Anthony Scirrotto had a big defensive game recovering Willy’s only interception all game, as well as recovering a fumbled ball out of the air.
Complimenting the attack was Rodney Kinlaw, who rushed for his first 100-yard game totaling 147 all-purpose-yards, 129-yards rushing on 23 touches.
“That speaks to the talent of the team, a guy like Rodney [Kinlaw] can come off the bench and have a game like he had today,” said wide-out Deon Butler.
“It just felt great to get out there, get the ball and just be able to run,” said Kinlaw. Returning to the field was Andrew Quarless, who made an impact immediately with his only two receptions in the game coming as touchdowns. He finished with 25-yards on the day and has caught at least one touchdown pass in each of the last three games he has played in.
“He expects the ball when he is open and I can get it to him. It’s as simple as that,” Morelli said of Quarless.
Quarless sat the sidelines for the first two games of the season due to an underage drinking citation. “I made a mistake,” said Quarless. “I worked really hard to show Coach Paterno that I wanted to be on the team.”
After the half, Penn State’s offense picked up speed putting up 28 points in the second half. However, the Bulls rallied late putting up 21 points of their own in the fourth quarter. Their defense proved too tired to hold the Lions late in the game.
“Overall they played fairly well,” said Paterno of the Bulls. “I think they got a little tired.”
Both Conner and Sean Lee had 12 tackles, including one tackle-for- loss each. Conner leads the team with 29 tackles and 4.5 tackles-for-loss. Lee is a close second with 23 tackles and 3.5 for a loss.
The win gives Penn State a 3 - 0 start on the season giving them a total of six-in-a-row dating back to last season.
They make their first road trip next week to Ann Arbor to begin Big Ten play battling the Michigan Wolverines at 3:30 pm.