Christmas came early for the Penn State football team on Oct. 23, 2010.
That’s when quarterback Matt McGloin came on in relief of injured freshman quarterback Rob Bolden in the second quarter of the Nittany Lions’ game at Minnesota.
With Bolden out, the Lions’ tenuous 14-7 lead and fragile ego borne of a 3-3 record both looked like they were about to be broken.
Not, as we learned over the next five weeks, with McGloin around.
Immediately following an interception by teammate D’Anton Lynn, McGloin ran onto the TCF Bank Stadium field and launched a long bomb to wide receiver Derek Moye for a touchdown.
The 2010 season was half over and yet this was McGloin’s first appearance in a game. And his first drive of the game. And, even though he was a redshirt sophomore, his first completion ever.
HE’S A BELIEVER
The redhead from Scranton believed.
He believed the 42-yard strike to Moye was going to go for a TD.
“Before the play, Matt knew he was going to throw it me,” Moye recalled after the season was over.
“So I told him to put it out there. And he did it. After the play he told me, ‘I saw that guy and what coverage he was in. I knew you had a touchdown.’ ”
McGloin believed in himself.
And over the next 36 days, McGloin proceeded to make all of us five-year-olds on Christmas Eve — believers.
On the message boards, across the commonwealth, around campus, inside the locker room, in the stands, on the field, in the huddle and in the end zone.
Believers.
“I think that’s a great thing about him,” said Moye, who caught six of his seven touchdowns in 2010 from McGloin. “It’s just something in his personality. He had the confidence and knew he had the abilities, even when he wasn’t out on the field.”
Believers. On defense.
“Matt obviously didn’t play the first couple of games,” said senior linebacker Chris Colasanti before the Lions headed to Florida. “So to come in and have that mindset – that he’s confident, he’s always collected and he makes good decisions – is really amazing. He’s never given up on that mindset in the couple of years he’s been here.”
GO TELL IT ON THE (NITTANY) MOUNTAIN
McGloin’s presence, his countenance, his cockiness, his leadership – they are what were so desperately needed by a team so devoid of leadership that near season’s end its co-captain slept through a pre-game meeting.
That is what McGloin gave the Nittany Lions. And in this case, it was better to receive than give.
He gave it to the Nittany Lions against Minnesota, won 33-21 by the Lions after McGloin and Moye later connected for a second TD.
He gave it to them on Halloween eve in Beaver Stadium, outdueling Denard Robinson and Michigan for a 41-31 victory, gaining 250 yards, 27 first downs and even more respect of his teammates.
Including teammates on Penn State’s defense:
“You look at our offense the first couple of games and we had a true freshman in there,” said linebacker Michael Mauti a few weeks ago. “Rob’s obviously a talented kid and he won the job in camp. He can make the plays, but when McGloin got it in there we really just saw a change in attitude.
“It definitely impacted us, too, since the offense started scoring points. When they’re scoring, it definitely gives us more motivation to get out there and stop the other team. He’s got that kind of swagger about him and there’s just pure confidence in that kid. It gives all of us confidence that we’re moving things in the right direction.”
A HIGHLIGHT OF JOE’S REIGN, DEAR
McGloin gave it to them in the Northwestern game.
A healthy Bolden started, and began the game 3 of 4 for 43 yards (giving him a superlative line of 14 of 17, 174 yards, 1 TD vs. Minnesota and Northwestern). Then Bolden was slammed on a sack and McGloin got his chance. Again.
McGloin didn’t click immediately, but Paterno believed in him, even as Bolden was in Joe’s ear, begging to get back in.
With Northwestern ahead 21-0 and just 50 seconds remaining in the first half, McGloin willed the Lions into the end zone. They went 91 yards in nine plays, five of them complete passes for 63 yards – including a seven-yard touchdown catch by Brett Brackett with three seconds remaining, to pull within 21-7 at the half.
The dam burst in the second half, as the Lions ran off four more touchdowns – with three more TD passes by McGloin – to give Penn State a 35-21 win and Joe Paterno his 400th victory.
It was the Nittany Lions’ biggest comeback victory in Beaver Stadium under Paterno. Ever.
Talk about presence. And presents.
Merry immortality, Matt. Joe, Joe, Joe.
“It was huge when Matt came,” said senior guard Stefen Wisniewski. “I think we started clicking as a team and the offense got rolling. The defense was seeing a bit of the momentum we had on offense and things started working out for all of us.”
NAUGHTY AND NICE
The next week, things didn’t work so well.
At the Horseshoe in Columbus, there was a 14-3 first half, with two touchdown passes by McGloin. That was followed by a 35-0 second half, with two times pick six by McGloin, as Ohio State won 38-14.
McGloin earned the start the next week against Indiana at FedEx Field, near Washington, D.C. He threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns in an uneven 41-24 victory. It was the Lions’ fourth win in five games, and the common denominator in them all? McGloin.
Believe it.
In the final game of the regular season, McGloin threw and threw against Michigan State, completing 23 passes in 43 attempts for 312 yards. He threw for a pair of scores, with an interception. The numbers were good, but were built on a fourth-quarter flurry.
Still: McGloin? Believe it.
A 28-22 loss to Michigan State two days after Thanksgiving took a little luster off of McGoin’s sparkling season, and dropped Penn State’s record to 7-5.
Here’s what some Grinches pointed out:
“Bolden’s the better athlete, he has a bigger upside, he’s the future, he’s still the guy.”
And…
“McGloin played well against the pansies, but what about the big guys?”
On that second one, Mr. Scrooge, you may be right. But not by as much as you think.
Bolden had to face the pass defenses of Alabama (ranked 12th in the nation at regular season’s end), Illinois (54th), Iowa (55nd) and, surprisingly, Temple (12th). But you also have to factor in Youngstown State’s pass defense, which ranked 112th in Division I-AA. Overall, the teams Bolden faced an average national ranking of 51st in pass defense.
The six pass defenses McGloin faced in 2010 had an average ranking of 64th. That includes Michigan (111th), Indiana (92nd), Michigan State (60th) and Ohio State (4th).
(To be fair, we figured Minnesota (33rd) and Northwestern (87th) in the averages for both quarterbacks.)
IT’S A WONDERFUL MATT
Still, every Who down in Whoville has to be fairly happy with McGloin’s final numbers, especially for a backup:
Four starts, three wins. Six appearances, four wins.
McGloin had a final regular season stat line of 101 of 174, for 1,337 yards, with four interceptions and 13 touchdowns. In the six games in which he played significant minutes, he averaged 223 yards passing. He had passing games of 225, 250, 312 and 315 yards.
He played so sparingly overall that he didn’t meet the NCAA standards to be ranked nationally as a quarterback. That required McGloin to appear in 75 percent of his team’s 12 games. He was a game short, playing in only eight contests.
Had McGloin appeared in that ninth game, if only for a snap, he would have ranked 30th in the nation in passing efficiency, at 142.65. Pretty darn good. Two spots ahead of Southern Cal’s Matt Barkley.
But McGloin was more than numbers.
He was, said Wisniewski, the team MVP.
“I think I might have to go with McGloin,” Wisniewski said.
“I think our offense fired best when we had a quarterback who was really playing well and making completions,” he said. “And Matt has done that. With him, we really moved the ball and scored a lot of points. And I think he has had an impact off the field, too.”
A GIFT FOR THE WISE MAN
When Penn State fans look back on the 2010 regular season, after a passing reference to Evan Royster’s rushing record, they’ll remember two things:
Joe’s 400th and McGloin.
Without the latter, the former would have never been so wonderfully memorable.
And the truth about that incredible resurrection against Northwestern?
It will forever be Matt McGloin’s gift to Joe Paterno.
Believe it.
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