Clark shows off arm in rout

Jeff Rice - jrice@centredaily.com

Monday, Oct. 12, 2009

Daryll Clark wasn’t sacked once during Penn State’s 52-3 pasting of Eastern Illinois. The Nittany Lions’ senior quarterback really wasn’t even bothered by the Panthers’ outmatched defense. But the lack of pressure didn’t take much away from the degree of difficulty of several of the throws that Clark converted into yards and touchdowns with the help of his wide receivers.

Seven of Clark’s 13 completions, including the 51-yard bomb to Chaz Powell for one score and a 25-yard toss to Derek Moye for another, went for 18 yards or more, a sign of both the accuracy and touch the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder has added to his game.

CDT/Michelle Bixby

Penn State's Chaz Powell (2) tries to block the tackle of Eastern Illinois' Adrian Arrington (1) during 1st quarter of the Eastern Illinois at Penn State game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. CDT/Michelle Bixby

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“He’s been a strong-armed guy his whole career,” quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno said. “But he’s really developed where he can kind of find those spots and lay it in there timing-wise, like Zack Mills was so good at. I think it’s a lot of reps, read concepts, seeing where people are.”

The conditions are ripe for a shootout this Saturday when Minnesota, led by quarterback Adam Weber and wide receiver Eric Decker, visits Beaver Stadium at 3:30 p.m. The Golden Gophers (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) pass the ball nearly twice as often as they throw it, while their defense is allowing nearly 220 yards per game through the air.

The Nittany Lions (5-1, 1-1) have already turned their attention to Minnesota. They shouldn’t have too much to correct during practice this week after a thorough annihilation of the Panthers.

The Good

• Balanced diet. Penn State achieved a 52-48 run-pass split with excellent blocking up front, clean connections between Clark and his wide-open receivers and diverse playcalling that left the Panther defense in a daze. The Nittany Lions must stay two-dimensional against the bigger, stronger and faster defenses of the Big Ten.

• Front and center. Jared Odrick and the starting defensive line were dominant, as they were expected to be against a Division I-AA offensive line. But true freshman defensive tackle Jordan Hill showed he has the frame, athleticism and explosion off the ball to contribute and bolster Penn State’s thinner-than-usual tackle rotation.

• Forcing the issue. The defense made the big plays that Joe Paterno had asked for but hadn’t often received during the early part of the season. A.J. Wallace made his second interception of the season, Ollie Ogbu stripped a ball that Navorro Bowman huffed, puffed, and took 91 yards to the end zone and Andrew Dailey recorded the second blocked in punt in Beaver Stadium in as many games — this one for the home team.

The Bad

• With the exception of linebacker Chris Colasanti, who got to the return man on nearly every play, the Nittany Lions’ kickoff coverage team was once again in a generous mood, allowing three different Panther returns of 27 yards. A possible solution — backup punter Ryan Breen smoked a line drive out of the back of the end zone in on his only kickoff of the afternoon.

• Jury still out. The Nittany Lions looked better against the Panthers than they did against their first three non-conference opponents, but the fact remains that Penn State has played six games and faced only one team (Iowa) that’s shown a pulse after halftime. It’s still tough to say exactly what sort of stuff this Penn State team is made of, but the coming weeks should help.

The Rest

Penn State stayed at No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and dropped one spot to No. 13 in the USA Today poll. … Bowman’s 91-yard return for a touchdown on a fumble recovery was Penn State’s longest such return since the NCAA started permitting fumble returns in 1990. … Clark has 31 career touchdown passes, tying him with Anthony Morelli for sixth in team history. … Right tackle Ako Poti became the Nittany Lions’ 17th first-time starter of the season.