Penn State At Notre Dame Game Report

Sorry everyone the game recap is so late. I've had a busy week at school and haven't had a chance to do a recap. John Imre made a recap, and he gave me permission to post it on here. Enjoy!

By John Imre from ND Irish Fans

Fourteen years in the making and it finally comes to a close. Since the great "Snow Bowl" of 1992, both the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions have gone through strong turbulence in their programs. Just as great teams of college football do, they both have managed to muster a comeback in their respective manner. The place? What greater place than when they last met, Notre Dame Stadium. No snowfall and no sleet this time around, just great early season weather.

After an outstanding 11-1 last season and a victory over Akron in last week's opener, the Penn State Nittany Lions visited the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The Irish marched downfield on the opening drive and cashed in on a field goal to give them an early three point lead. Clock management was one of the key Irish successes coming off of last season and it seems that some thing won't change. After consuming nearly 19 minutes in the first half, the Irish managed to put up a score of 20 -0. Brady Quinn threw 12 for 16 and 150 yards in the first half. The defense, after considerable questioning by the experts, kept the Nittany Lions at bay allowing their offense to do their magic. Make no mistake, Penn State quarterback, Anthony Morelli, put together some eye opening drives, but the Irish defense pulled together at critical plays and stopped Morelli and company from scoring until the third quarter. Morelli, who went 21 of 33 passing with one interception and a fumble, learned what it's like to play in a big game environment and learning wasn't easy to swallow. The Nittany Lion second half opening drive was quickly ended when Tom Zbikowski picked up a Maurice Crum, Jr. forced fumble on Morelli for touchdown. The day began to get longer for the Nittany Lions and they never seem to overcome their mistakes. The Irish, however, capitalized on these mistakes and closed the game as the fourth quarter neared. Brady Quinn ended the game at 25-36 passes, 288 yards and 3 touchdowns to Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight and Darius Walker. Coach Weis, as always, took advantage of the overlooked tight end position as John Carlson racked up big numbers, 6 receptions for 98 yards. Travis Thomas put the nail in the coffin during a punt fake play and darted down field for 43 yards, setting up his own 1-yard touchdown run.

Penn State moved the ball frequently, but never finished their drives until late in the forth quarter against a second team defense.

A botched field goal attempt, an interception and fumbles proved too much for the Nittany Lions to recover from and the Notre Dame faithful canned any questions lingering in their minds.“Notre Dame played very well and they did a great job coaching,” said Joe Paterno after the game. “They outplayed us and their coaching staff did a great job." Although the Irish didn't play #1 Ohio State or #2 Texas, they did knock off a ranked Nittany Lion team with a sound well-rounded game to include offense, defense and special teams.

After missing 2 field goal attempts last week against Georgia Tech, Carl Gioia redeemed himself by splitting the uprights early in the first quarter. Travis Thomas if finding out just how intelligent of a staff he's dealing with. Travis is making his presence known on both sides of the ball and followed up with a touchdown. Something he probably didn't expect as he is listed as a starting linebacker. Statistically, today, Brady Quinn has lived up to expectations. While his supporting cast dropped a couple balls, he is well ahead of where he was in the second week of last season. "I thought Brady Quinn was a great player coming in and he didn’t do anything to change my mind,” Paterno said. Darius Walker was fairly quiet today in the running game, but came through with a Brady Quinn pass for touchdown.

Side Notes:
Penn State is a tough competitor and they should have enough in them to make waves in the Big 10 conference again. While the score may show the opposite, Anthony Morelli put together some great passes and lead his team very well. An early season showdown with another team such as the Irish should be a learning experience for the young quarterback and I don't suspect he'll lose any confidence. The famed and respected Coach Joe Paterno is putting together another young team that should not be overlooked. (Following information obtained from www.gopsusports.com). Today Tony Hunt became the 16th Nittany Lion to surpass 2,000 yards rushing for his career. Hunt surpasses Franco Harris (2,002) and Jon Williams (2,042) to move into 14th place on the Penn State all-time rushing chart.