FOR A NEW AND COMPLETE RECAP OF THE GAME, CLICK HERE.
———-
Earlier coverage:
Well, it started out well enough.
On Penn State’s first possession of its 27-11 loss to Alabama on Saturday in Beaver Stadium, Evan Lewis kicked a 43-yard field goal.
The game was only 7 minutes and 28 seconds old. And look, the Nittany Lions were ahead 3-0.
Talk about progress over the previous 364 days: The three points equaled Penn State’s entire output in 2010, when they lost on the road to the Tide, 24-3.
Fast forward three-and-half quarters.
The next time the Nittany Lions got on the scoreboard, only 113 seconds remained in the game.
What happened in between was a whole lot of whupping by the visiting Crimson Tide, who last visited Happy Valley in 1989 — that was a win, too.
It wasn’t quite the Bataan Death March, but somehow the Nittany Lion defense kept fighting its way up and down the Beaver Stadium field. It was doing all it could to keep visiting Alabama’s multi-pronged offense from reaching the end zone.
The Lion defenders surrendered ‘only’ 27 points — three touchdowns and two field goals. It sounds a lot worse than the Lions’ defense played. In fact, the two field goals came when PSU stiffened on the one- and five-yard lines.
After all, the Penn State defenders knew that even if they stemmed the Crimson Tide, they soon would be back on the field.
For 10 straight drives, the Penn State took the field and then left without scoring a point.
Only at the very end — when Silas Redd found the end zone one a one-yard run and Rob Bolden added a two-point conversion- – did the Nittany Lion offense match the success it had at the every beginning. The final PSU score was set up by a hard-nosed nine-yard run by Bolden, and a 26-yard pass by Bolden to Shawney Kersey.
Bolden finished with 11 of 29 passing, for 144 yards, with one interception. Matt McGloin fared much worse, completing just one pass n 10 attempts, for zero yards.
And running back was the opposite story for the Nittany Lions. Instead of two or three backs getting the ball, Penn State only saw Redd. The sophomore had 19 of the Lions’ first 20 carries by a running back. On those 19, he gained just 58 yards — an average of 3.1 yards per carry. His long run — an oxymoron — was eight yards. He finished with 22 carries for 65 yards.
Not that the Lion defense was perfect. Perfect, no. Tired, yes.
With four minutes left the game, Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron was 19 of 31 passing, with 163 yards, and a touchdown pass. Trent Richardson carried the ball 26 yards for 111 yards, for two TDs, with a long of 22. Backup Tide back Eddie Lacy carried 11 times for 85 yards.
RUNNING BLOG:
THIRD QUARTER
Early in the third quarter, for Penn State, the third officials’ replay was a charm. So was the fourth.
It looked as if Alabama had intercepted a Bolden pass that sailed through the hands of a leaping Derek Moye. But, after an officials’ review, the throw was ruled incomplete.
On the very next play, another Bolden pass — this time intended for Justin Brown — appeared it was intercepted by Alabama. Again. After an officials’ review, it was ruled incomplete. Again.
Sandwiched between those faux interceptions were two stellar three-and-outs by the Nittany Lion defense. How long the Lion D can play without an offense remains to be seen.
When the Lions’ offense took the field, McGloin was back in at quarterback. And the Nittany Lions continued to throw near-interceptions. Twice. McGloin’s first two passes of the drive were almost McPicked off. On the third play of the drive, McGloin threw long along the left sidelines for Moye, who looked like he shrugged off a pair of Bama defenders for a 40-yard catch. But the ball hit the ground. Incompletion.
Penn State’s offense has been offensive. McG is 0 for 6 and Bolden is 6 for 17 passing, for a combined 55 yards. And Redd, after a quick start, has only 50 yards on 15 carries.
After the Lion offense stalled (we know: again), Bama’s special teams then made their mark, with Marquis Maze returning Anthony Fera’s punt 43 yards.
The Tide marched down the field after that, getting to the one-yard line before the Penn State defense stiffened, twice stopping Alabama from three feet out. Bama settled for an 18-yard field goal by Jeremy Shelley, to cap a seven-play, 50-yard drive that took 5:04 and gave the visitors a 20-3 lead.
Then the red Barron hit — Alabama free safety Mark Barron.
He picked off Bolden pass to halt a mini-hot streak of the Lions. Bolden, back in at QB, threw a 27-yarder to Moye and a 12-yarder to Brown, to get the Lions’ offense finally moving. The drive was short-lived, as Barron picked off a deep throw by Bolden, giving Bama the ball on its own 9.
Third quarter – Alabama 20, Penn State 3
———————-
HALFTIME – ALABAMA 17, PENN STATE 3
SECOND QUARTER
Bolden was 3 of 8 for 21 yards passing in the first quarter, giving McGloin a shot at QB on a truncated drive that started in the first quarter and quickly ended in the second, after two incomplete passes and a one-yard run by Redd. It was Redd’s 10th carry for 35 yards.
Alabama took over at the 44, and promptly started marching down the field. Again.
After being bottled up in the first quarter — five carries for 12 yards — Richardson broke open a 22-yard run that took the Tide to the 10-yard line. On third and five from the 5, Alabama called a timeout. When play resumed, McCarron tried to pass, and with his receivers covered he ran for a yard, short of the fourth down.
Alabama settled for a 22-yard field goal by Shelley to cap its 10-play, 52-yard scoring drive and up its lead to 10-3.
To this point, McCarron is 7 of 11 passing, for 73 yards and a TD. Richardson has eight carries for 43 yards.
Penn State’s next drive was barely a drive. The Lions went three yards on two Redd carries — he now has 12 carries for 40 yards — and McGloin’s third incompletions (in three pass attempts). In 25 plays, Penn State has four first downs, three completions and 64 yards.
Penn State’s defense regained its composure, and forced Alabama to lose three yards on its next three plays. Key was a five-yard sack of McCarron by Devon Still. The Lions’ defensive line is getting penetration on the Tide O-line, and the Lions’ linebackers are active all over the field. Take away Richardson’s 22-yard run, and he has only 19 yards on 10 carries — less than two yards a rush.
When Penn State’s offense got back on the field, at its own 29, Bolden was back at QB. He quickly staked his claim, hitting Brown across the middle for 15 yards. But an incomplete pass to Derek Moye — remember him?! — to the left and Smith to the right, set up third and 10.
Bolden went back to the air, and back to the middle, hitting tight end Kevin Haplea on a crossing route, but…
…Haplea fumbled and turned the ball over to Alabama (as was confirmed by an officials review).
The Tide quickly took advantage of the game’s first miscue, using three crucial third-down plays — a six-yard McCarron pass to Kevin Norwood, beating Chaz Powell of PSU; a seven-yard reception by Richardson; and a 12-yard catch over the middle by Norwood that knocked off the helmet of Nick Sukay of Penn State.
Richardson capped off the drive with a three-yard TD run up the middle. Alabama went 50 yards in 10 plays in 4:06, to go up 17-3.
End of second quarter – Alabama 17, Penn State 3
FIRST QUARTER
Joe Paterno was in the press box to start the game, for the second straight week. He wasn’t taking part in the Whiteout, opting to wear a blue sweater.
You had to wonder If he wasn’t taking part in the game management either.
Whether it had to do with whether Paterno was on the field or not, the Nittany Lions burned two timeouts in the first 181 seconds of the game. Hard to think that would have happened the last time PSU beat the Tide in Beaver Stadium, 19-17, in 1985.
Penn State went for the big play to start the game, with Devon Smith streaking down the right sideline. Perfect pass from starting quarterback Bolden. Imperfect drop.
A mixture of passes by Bolden (the biggest a 15-yarder to Brown) and six runs by Redd led took the Lions to the 30-yard line on a fourth 1, with 9:23 left in the first half.
Another timeout, Penn State’s third of the game.
On fourth down, Bolden rolled out left, looking to pass, but pulled the ball down and hustled to the left sideline, making the first down by a slim margin to continue the drive. The Lions eventually stalled at the 27-yard line, following a drop by Brown, to set up a fourth and 7 from the 26.
Much-maligned Lewis — he missed two field goals and an extra point last week vs. Indiana State — came on to make a 43-yard field goal. That capped a drive that was 16 plays, 54 yards, 7:27 and three timeouts in the making.
The Nittany Lions certainly worked for a 3-0 lead, taking up almost half of the first quarter to take the lead.
Alabama’s offense took over at the 25 after the ensuing kickoff. The Nittany Lions defense quickly made work of the Crimson Tide, holding an initial run by Richardson to three yards and forcing McCarron into two incompletions.
The stadium is rocking. Literally.
And swaying.
Penn State took over its 37-yard line after Brown fair-caught a Bama punt. A great catch and run by Redd on a screen was negated by a Penn State penalty. Poor incomplete passes by Bolden to Kevin Haplea (behind) and Smith (over his head) stopped the shortened PSU drive.
The Penn State defense tried to return the favor, thanks to defensive Jack Crawford, who knocked down McCarron’s attempt at a flare pass to Richardson.
The Tide faced a fourth and 1 from the 40, and looked ready to punt. But Bama long snapper Carson Tinker hiked the ball to blocking back Brad Smelley, who — barely, by three inches — ran for the first down.
After that, the Tide just rolled down field, using a 29-yard pass over the middle from McCarron to Maze to open things up. Alabama scored on a five-yard touchdown pass from McCarron to tight end Michael Williams, to take a 7-3 lead.
End of First Quarter – Alabama 7, Penn State 3
3:15 P.M. (15 MINUTES UNTIL KICKOFF)
WHITEOUT UPDATE
The student section is almost totally full — with a total Whiteout. Throughout warm-ups, they were singing along with the music over the Beaver Stadium speakers and cheering every time the Nittany Lions moved on to a new drill.
The other sections — not so much, especially when it comes to making noise. There us a dappling of re through the stadium, save for the upper decks of the south end zones, where there are club seats occupied by more of the well-heeled Penn State fans.
THE TIDE AT THE BEAV
Alabama is 3-2 at Beaver Stadium, with wins in 1981 (Bear Bryant’s only trip to Happy Valley, when he tied Amos Alonzo Stagg’s all-time major college coaching record), 1987 and 1989 (a 17-16 win in Bama’s last appearance at Penn State). Penn State won games in 1983 and 1985 — by six and two points, respectively.
2:45 P.M. (45 MINUTES TO KICKOFF)
NO JOE
No sign of Joe Paterno the field during warm-ups — the second consecutive week.
THE SPREAD
While I was in the Penn State coaches booth taking a photo from Paterno’s seat (see the accompanying photo), there were three members of the Alabama party sitting around. I asked them what they thought of the 10-1/2 spread.
‘We don’t know anything about spreads,’ one smiled.
‘Well,’ I replied, ‘it’s 10/12.’
‘We’ll have no problem doing better than that,’ the Tide guy quickly replied.
WHITEOUT
It is not going to be your father’s Whiteout.
Beaver Stadium is about half-full, and a surprising numbering of the shirts are red. That’s especially true in the upper deck of the north end zone, which is filled up with about 80 percent red shorts. They’re ready. Around 1 p.m., a couple hundred Bama fans were already in line to get into the stadium.
Penn State’s student section brought its A — anti-Alabama — game. It looks about 99.95 percent white, and several sections are already packed.
2:30 P.M. (1 HOUR TO KICKOFF)
BLITZ, BRADLEY, BLITZ
Look for PSU defensive coordinator Tom Bradley to send waves of his linebackers after Alabama’s inexperienced quarterbacks.
When Kent State blitzed him in the Tide’s 48-7 win last week, Tide QB A.J. McCarron completed just two of 10 passes, with two interceptions. Otherwise, he was an outstanding 12 of 13, with a touchdown pass.
HERBIE: OVER/UNDER FIRST DOWNS
When asked on Saturday’s edition of ESPN’s ‘College Gameday’ about Penn State’s offense and Jay Paterno’s statement that having two quarterbacks is a good thing, Kirk Herbstreit said he was ‘not buying it.’ Herbie also said he is taking the under on the over/under of 8 or 9 first downs for the Penn State offense.
PENN STATE KICK GAME
Look for Anthony Fera, suspended for the season-opener for underage drinking, to do the kickoff duties for Penn State. That’s a given. The Lions’ Evan Lewis missed two field goals (from 38 and 47 yards) and an extra point last week, so it hard to believe Fera won’t be the placement guy as well.
Fera spent a good portion of warm-ups on Saturday punting the ball, so there is a very good chance he’ll be handling the punting duties as well. Fera was the Lions’ No. 1 punter last season, averaging 41.4 yards, with just one block. Alex Butterfield handled the punting duties last week, averaging 38 yards on three punts, with one nearly blocked.
1:30 P.M. (2 HOURS TO KICKOFF)
Kickoff for the Penn State-Alabama football game is at 3:30 p.m. in Beaver Stadium. Skies are clear, temperatures are in the 70s and I have already heard ‘Roll Tide’ 217 times!
The game will be televised on ABC-TV by the crew of Brad Nessler, former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge and sideline reporter Holly Rowe. Look for an in-game feature of Blackledge’s ‘Taste of the Town.’ He visited The Waffle Shop in downtown State College — hope he didn’t have to wait in one of those legendary lines that winds along the sidewalks of College Avenue. And did he order a No. 2 or 3?
PENN STATE VS. TOP 5
Neil Rudel of the Altoona Mirror is the dean of the sportswriters on the Penn State beat, having covered the Nittany Lions since 1977 — with the exception of one season.
Rudel passed a great stat, uncovered by Matt Herb of Blue White Illustrated: Since and including the 1995 season, Penn State has been 1-12 against Top 5 opponents. The victory was a 41-7 victory over preseason No. 4 Arizona to open the 1999 season. That year began with such promise — Penn State won nine straight games and rose to No. 2 before dropping three straight contests.
For context:
–Under Joe Paterno since 1966, Penn State is 11-20 vs. Top 5 opponents.
–Penn State’s best streak was in its biggest heyday, from 1981-86. They were 8-3 against Top 5 teams during that time. Four of those games came when Alabama was ranked fifth or better, and the Nittany Lions were 2-2 in those games.
–During Penn State’s 31-game unbeaten streak from 1967-70, it did not face a single Top 5 opponent. From 1968-74, the Lions played one Top 5 team — hence the rap that PSU was a weak Eastern power.
Related content
