General Thoughts
The game was tight for a while. But the bottom line was Penn State just had too much talent and too many playmakers for Northwestern. I do think that Penn State lucked out when NU quarterback Mike Kafka went out of the game with an apparent hamstring injury. If he stayed in the game, the outcome may have been closer. Never the less, any win on the road in the Big Ten is a good win.
Key Play
After Daryll Clark's 53-yard TD strike to Derek Moye, any hope for a nail-biting finish for Northwestern was gone. It gave the Lions a little breathing room along with an obvious momentum swing as Evan Royster followed up on the next series with a 69-yard TD burst.
Game MVP
Moye was pretty much unstoppable. He is turning into a dominant receiver with his combination of size and strength, and is easily becoming Clark's security blanket.
What I Liked
Offensive distribution. There are obvious stars on this offense in Moye, Clark and Royster. But the fact that 10 different receivers saw the ball shows the balance this offense has.
What I Didn't Like
Too many missed tackles, particularly by the secondary.
Did You Notice?
Joe Paterno looks pretty quick on the sideline, side-stepping a couple plays that came close to him out of bounds.
And Another Thing
You better believe Ohio State is going to see what Kafka was able to do running early in the game. Terrelle Pryor is going to look to run early and often.
Visit Matt Hahn’s Monday Morning Fullback blog, which touches on a variety of topics, at this link.
-30-