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 READ DAILY SPORTS. IT'S MUCH BETTER THAN LECTURE. YhW1 r1Y.rr hb Y I! I M Yi