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Sunday, September 02, 2001

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- There's no longer much doubt that Pitt has the top major-college football program in Pennsylvania.

The question is, has Temple moved up to No. 2?

Or perhaps Duquesne?

Maybe Penn State hasn't fallen that far, but it sure seemed like it last night when Miami blew into Beaver Stadium on Adam Taliaferro night and put a 33-7 licking on the Nittany Lions.

If Joe Paterno isn't embarrassed, he should be.

The talk that Paterno is hanging on too long and should consider the easy life of retirement certainly will intensify after this miserable performance by Penn State. There's never a good day to play powerful Miami -- Pitt probably will find that out Sept. 27 at Heinz Field -- but last night was about as good a time as the Nittany Lions could have found. The game was at home and at night. It was Larry Coker's first game as a head coach, the first game for his offensive and defensive coordinators in their roles. The crowd of 109,313 throbbed with emotion, especially after Taliaferro -- the Penn State defensive back who was severely injured last season -- led Paterno and the players on the field.

It's funny now, isn't it?

A lot of the Miami people worried about their coaches' inexperience, especially going against Paterno, who was chasing win No. 323 and Paul "Bear" Bryant in the record book. They worried about Penn State's emotional edge.

How long did that edge last?

About 5 minutes?

There was a long line of traffic trying to leave the stadium and escape Unhappy Valley by halftime. There really was no point to sticking around. Not after Miami scored on its first five possessions. Not after it outgained Penn State, 372 yards to 67, and built a 30-0 lead that could have been much, much worse if not for seven penalties for 60 yards and a dropped touchdown pass.

It was the Nittany Lions' worst halftime deficit at home in Paterno's 35-plus seasons.

It might have been their worst half of football in the Paterno era.

A lot of what happened is a tribute to Miami. The Hurricanes have tremendous talent and were faster, deeper and more experienced than the Nittany Lions. It's no wonder they came in ranked No. 2 and a nearly two-touchdown favorite. Heaven help the teams that play No. 1 Florida this season if the Gators are better. Paterno wasn't just blowing smoke last week when he called the Hurricanes one of the greatest ever to come to Penn State.

But what happened also is a reflection of how far Paterno and Penn State have fallen. We're talking about a program that has gone 5-11 in its past 16 games, one that has finished fifth in the Big Ten three years running. With a brutal schedule to come, it's fair to think the Nittany Lions will get Paterno the two wins he needs to break Bryant's record, but precious few more.

Penn State couldn't block a quick and ferocious Miami defense. That meant it couldn't run or pass the ball. Tailback Omar Easy was hit immediately after a handoff early in the game at the Hurricanes' 31 and lost a fumble, costing the Nittany Lions their only real scoring chance in the first three quarters. Late in the first quarter, Easy was stopped for a 1-yard loss on a third-and-1 play at the Penn State 40. As for the passing game? What passing game? These were the results of Penn State's first 11 pass plays: seven incompletions, three sacks and a scramble for no gain by quarterback Matt Senneca. The Hurricanes knocked Senneca out of the game briefly in the first quarter with a bruised right elbow, then knocked him out for good in the second quarter.

As bad as the offense was, it was absolutely brilliant compared to Penn State's defense. A defense that couldn't tackle and couldn't stop the run. Miami tailback Clinton Portis had runs of 34, 21 and 31 yards in the first half. The defense couldn't stop the pass and made quarterback Ken Dorsey, who threw for 344 yards, look like a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. So bad were Penn State's blown coverages that no defender was anywhere close to Dorsey's 27-yard touchdown pass to Ethenic Sands or his 28-yard touchdown pass to Najeh Davenport. On other occasions, the defensive backs simply couldn't deal with the speed of the Miami wide receivers. Miami's Kevin Beard ran right by cornerback Bruce Branch late in the first half, had him beat by nearly 10 yards and would have scored an easy, 61-yard touchdown if he hadn't juggled Dorsey's perfect pass. He juggled it so far backward that Branch made an interception.

The big crowd roared.

Paterno probably wanted to cry.

It's going to be a long season.

Paterno might be the most positive, resilient and energetic 74-year-old man in all of America, but he's also human. This one had to hurt him badly. It had to be enough to make him think nothing could be much worse.

Not even retirement.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.