Lions wary of Wolverines' quarterback duo

Jeff Rice

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State's first taste of Rich Rodriguez' spread offense was tough to stomach. For about a quarter.

AP photo/Pat Little

Penn State coach Joe Paterno speaks to the media on Tuesday about the Lions’ trip to Ann Arbor on Saturday to face MIchigan.

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Michigan marched into Beaver Stadium last October and knocked the Nittany Lions on their heels, piling up 190 yards of offense and 10 points in the opening period, then compiled 101 yards and seven more points over the final three quarters in a 46-17 loss.

When the No. 13 Nittany Lions (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) visit the Wolverines (5-2, 1-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, they’ll have to contend with two important additions to that offense — the guys taking the snaps.

Freshman quarterbacks Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson will lead the Big Ten’s top scoring offense (37.3 points per game) against the conference’s top scoring defense (8.7 points per game).

Forcier, a 6-foot-1, 188-pounder from San Diego, Calif., has completed 58 percent of his passes this season, averaging 147 yards per game while throwing nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s also carried the ball 61 times, more than any of the Wolverines’ running backs, and is finally healthy again after suffering a shoulder injury and a concussion earlier this season.

Forcier’s late-game heroics in the win over Notre Dame and the comeback against Michigan State (that eventually resulted in a Spartans win) have granted him national celebrity and given the Nittany Lions plenty to put in the game plan this week.

“He’s a kid that’s just got a little bit of something about him,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said Tuesday at his weekly news conference in Beaver Stadium. “Got that confidence, got that leadership quality. He comes from a family of football players. He goes to bed at nights thinking, ‘I want to be in this kind of situation.’ He’s a coach’s player.”

Forcier’s older brothers, Jason and Chris, play for Stanford and UCLA, respectively. Tate’s game is tailor-made for the spread attack Rodriguez used with Pat White at West Virginia, but the Nittany Lions also offered the blue-chip quarterback a scholarship.

“We knew about him but we didn’t really recruit him,” said Paterno, which came as news to more than a few recruiting junkies. “He didn’t have a lot of interest in us, I don’t think.”

Robinson, a 6-foot, 180-pounder from Deerfield Beach, Fla., has thrown just 19 passes but has averaged 5.8 yards on 47 carries.

“He’s like a wide receiver playing quarterback,” Penn State defensive end Jerome Hayes said.

Rodriguez said Tuesday that he will continue to rotate the quarterbacks “by feel.” The Wolverines, who lead the Big Ten with 235 yards rushing per game, are also likely to use heavy doses of tailbacks Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown in an attack that will test the Nittany Lions from sideline to sideline.

“It’s a very difficult offense to play defense against,” Penn State linebacker Josh Hull said. “The angles are different. It’s not a real downhill offense.”

Bumped-up back

Sophomore tailback Stephfon Green missed the second half against Minnesota after spraining his right ankle, the same ankle he broke in the Rose Bowl in January. Paterno wouldn’t necessary rule Green out for Saturday but described his ankle problem as “chronic.”

“It gets loose on him once in a while,” Paterno said. “He would be a ‘maybe’ kind of situation.”

Junior tailback Brent Carter (knee) is probable. Paterno said he’s comfortable with using sophomore Brandon Beachum and fullback Joe Suhey at tailback against Michigan, if necessary.

Mascot misstep

A video posted on YouTube shows Penn State defensive end Jerome Hayes on one knee in the end zone, saying his customary pregame prayer before the start of the Minnesota game.

It also shows Minnesota’s mascot, Goldy the Gopher, taking a knee next to Hayes and mimicking his motions. The player then ignores a high-five offering from the mascot before trotting back to join his teammates.

“He tried to shake my hand but I wasn’t having any part of that,” Hayes said Tuesday. “It’s part of the game, so whatever, we won.”

Hayes said he hadn’t seen the video but knew about it.

“A couple of the players have ribbed me about it,” Hayes said, laughing. “They said the Gopher got the best of me.”

Miscellaneous

Paterno said Ako Poti would start at right tackle for the third straight game but that Nerraw McCormack’s right ankle is “close” to 100 percent. ... Paterno said that he hadn’t decided on whether A.J. Wallace or Knowledge Timmons would start at cornerback on Saturday. “We try to keep that position wide open,” he said.

GAMEDAY

No. 13 Penn State at Michigan

When: 3:30, Saturday

Where: Michigan Stadium

TV: ABC/ESPN

Radio: WQWK 1450, WBUS 93.7