22A The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 16, 1999
Nittany Lions change offense plan
after close call against Pittsburgh
STATE COLLEGE (AP) - Penn State
needed long-ball passing to fool Arizona,
whack Akron and sneak by Pittsburgh.
Much as coach Joe Paterno would love to
return to consistent, Big Ten-style, smash-
mouth football, the Nittany Lions again
may end up using every last reverse, streak
and screen in their arsenal on Saturday.
While this is a team that usually starts
with the tailback, No. 3 Penn State's rush-
ing attack so far has been inconsistent, at
best.
And next up is No. 8 Miami (2-0). The
Hurricanes held Ohio State to 116 yards
and have three linebackers certain to crowd
the line of scrimmage.
Their defensive backs, on the other hand,
are largely untested, either by Ohio State's
new quarterbacks or Division I-AA Florida
A&M.
"We may have to throw the ball, we don't
know," quarterback Kevin Thompson said.
"It's just a matter of how Miami plays us. If
they put eight guys in the box, who knows?
Maybe we can break one loose."
Penn State (3-0) has done that so far, but
Paterno isn't one to rely on the big play. He
was especially concerned after the Lions
scraped together just 65 yards in a 20-17
victory over Pittsburgh.
"Obviously, we'll have to run the ball bet-
ter than that at times during the year,"
Paterno said. "I said prior to the Pitt game
that was one of my concerns, that we had
really fooled people with big plays and that
one of these days we weren't going to be
able to fool people. We were going to have
to go in there and earn it."
Penn State has been known to throw from
time to time - despite its reputation as
strictly a running team.
In 1982, the Lions became the first team
to win a national titleby piling up more
passing yards than rushing yards. In 1994,
Kerry Collins led Penn State to a 12-0 sea-
son by throwing for a school-record 2,679
.yards.
But both teams had great backs, toi:In
1982, Curt Warner averaged 5.3 yards per
carry. Ki-Jana Carter ran for 1I,539 yards in
1994 at 7.8 a pop.
This year, sophomore Eric McCoo has
been Paterno's go-to tailback more often
than not, but he has only 103 yards on 28
carries. Aaron Harris, Paterno's most expe-
rienced back, has 91 yards on 17 carries.
Paterno does not blame his experienced
offensive line, only his new offensive
schemes.
"We're in a lot of different sets, we're
playing a lot of different people, we've tried
to establish a little better passing game, a
little bit more wide-open football game,'
Paterno said. "We have not played with two
tight ends. We haven't done things we've
done in other years to make sure we can run
the football.
"You never get anything for nothing," he
added. "If you want to spread out a little bit,
then you don't run the ball quite as well."
That's especially true when teams crowd
eight or nine players in the box for much of
the game, as Pittsburgh did.
"It's tough to have a successful running
day when they do that," Mike Cerimele
said. "But we're going to'have to work to
get better because that's what we're going to
see the rest of the year."
AP PHOTO
The Nittany Lions eked out a 20-17 victory over unranked Pittsburgh last weekend. Penn State battles
Miami (Florida) on Saturday.
Around the country, fans will watch one amazing weekend
FOOTBALL
Continued from Page 18A
dogs of the Big Ten.
Purdue has Heisman hopeful Drew Brees
under center, and Brees is sure to pick apart
the Chippewa's defense. Wide receivers
Randall Lane and Chris Daniels should snag
at least seven balls apiece this game.
Don't look for an upset because the only
one who will be upset is you.
PURDUE 38, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 6
NORTHWESTERN (1-1) VS. DUKE (0-1)
Both teams wish their offense could score
points equivalent to their schools' average
ACT score. Duke and Northwestern both suf-
fered disappointing defeats the first game of
the season. Last year, the Blue Devils demol-
ished the Wildcats 44-10, and may thrash
Northwestern again come Saturday.
Duke quarterback Scottie Romine complet-
ed 19-of-40 passes last week for 231 yards,
but suffered a separated shoulder in the fourth
quarter against East Carolina. It is question-
able whether Romine or back-up Bobby
Campbell will play. Duke's receiving duo
Scottie Montgomery and Richmond Flowers
combined for 12 catches for 198 yards last
week.
The Wildcats are low on talent.
Quarterback Gavin Hoffman hasn't been a
mecca of accuracy, but did show promise dur-
ing last week's win.
The only bowl either of these teams will
participate in come January is the Quiz Bowl.
DUKE 27, NORTHWESTERN 10
KENTUCKY (1-1) VS. INDIANA (1-1)
Kentucky still grieves over the loss of
quarterback Tim Couch to the Cleveland
Browns, but sophomore Dusty Bonner has
put 28 points on the board in a loss to
Louisville and 45 in a win against
Connecticut. Kentucky has a strong defense,
anchored by linebacker Jeff Snedegar and
Marlon McCree.
Antwan Randle El is the Hoosier's danger-
ous quarterback and also a varsity basketball
player. So he's a two-sport player. As Shania
Twain would say, 'That don't impress me
much.' He has the speed, and he has the
touch. Don't get me wrong, yeah, I think he's
all right. But that won't keep Indiana alive in
this long, cold football fight.
Look for the Wildcats to win in a high
scoring, but close affair.
KENTUCKY 35, INDIANA 31
NO.9 WISCONSIN (2-0) Vs. CINCINNATI (1-1):
The Badgers have scheduled another cup-
cake for this week (big surprise). So the .
Badgers should easily pulverize the Bearcats.
Though Cincy had high hopes at the begin-
ning of the season, a loss toTroy State quick-
ly renounced any chances of a great year.
Wisconsin, powered by running back Ron
Dayne, should be able to run right through
the Cincinnati defense. With Dayne as a
major point of focus for Cincy, the Badgers
will be able to effectively use the play-action
pass and open up their air attack.
Cincinnati quarterback Deotney Kenner
heads the Bearcats, but the junior is intercep-
tion prone, with a vile 6-13 touchdown-inter-
ception ratio last year. Cincy's defensive line
was ranked 109th out of 112 teams last year.
This one will be ugly.
WISCONSIN 60, CINCINNATI 21
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (2-0) vs. No./ 4
NEBRASKA (2-0)
The fourth-ranked Cornhuskers should
breeze by the Golden Eagles this game.
Though defense wins games, Southern Miss
should take the opposite approach. While
Nebraska's defense has only allowed seven
points in two games, its defense is weaker
than its offense. Southern Miss has scored 98
points in its first two games and its only
prayer of winning is a scintillating offensive
attack.
Nebraska's running back DeAngelo Evans
recently quit the team, so it is unlikely he
will contribute for the Huskers. Eric Crouch
has been solid in Nebraska's wins over Iowa
and California. Nebraska's secondary fea-
:tures two great defenders, the unrelated Mike
and Ralph Brown.
Junior college transfer Cabel Davis,
Southern Mississippi's signal caller, has
more firepower than the Michigan Militia.
Running back Derrick Nix averaged over
five yards per carry last year and rushed for
1,300 yards as a freshman.
Southern Miss will play respectably and
surprise the Cornhuskers. But that doesn't
necessarily equal a victory.
NEBRASKA 37, SOUTHERN MIsSISSIPPI 25
TULSA (1-1) vs. No..7 TEXAS A&M (1-0).
While the seventh-ranked Aggies play the
Golden Hurricanes at home, they should play
the game at the Comedy Showcase, because
it's going to be a laugher.
This past week, Tulsa got violated by
Oklahoma State in a 46-9 loss. Tulsa's defen-
sive line is paper thin, with Chris Odom as
the only familiar face from a year ago. The
most important player for Tulsa will be
punter Casey Lipscomb. He will be on duty
often.
Texas A&M quarterback Randy McCown
will be able to take it easy this game, as most
of the load will be carried by fullback Ja'Mar
Toombs and running back Dante Hall.
This game will not be exciting.
TEXAS A&M 35, TULSA 6
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