Penn State Notebook: Lions follow Longhorns' blueprint
Share with others:
Texas offered the blueprint once, so maybe, just maybe, the Longhorns can offer it again.
In the offseason, several Nittany Lions coaches -- including quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno and offensive coordinator Galen Hall -- traveled to Texas for an open-book lesson on the Longhorns' playbook. Penn State hoped to borrow some elements: How Texas used quarterback Vince Young, how it incorporated the spread offense.
"[Texas coach Mack Brown] was gracious enough to allow me to send some coaches down and they went down there and visited," coach Joe Paterno said. "The Texas coach was very open about everything. We came back with some thoughts."
Now, the Lions, awaiting a Saturday game against No. 6 Ohio State, are relying on Texas once more. On Sept. 10, the Longhorns escaped Ohio Stadium with a 25-22 victory, handing the Buckeyes their only defeat so far this season. In that contest, Young scrambled for 76 yards and threw for 270, the most allowed by Ohio State this season.
"Obviously that's the game that you look at," Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson said. "Maybe we can borrow some things."
Or, better yet, maybe Penn State already is on its way. Yesterday, as Ohio State coach Jim Tressel reflected on playing Young, he suddenly switched subjects. "It's like Michael Robinson this week," Tressel said. "He's a guy last week [against Minnesota] who rushed for 100, threw for over 100. That adds a tremendous difficulty for defensive teams."
Quoting Joe
Paterno, asked yesterday about the football-related buzz in Happy Valley, assured listeners that he has larger concerns.
"For me to tell you that I have been downtown checking pulses, no. I have not been downtown checking pulses," he said. "I get up in the morning just checking to see if my heart is going."
This and that
The Big Ten named linebacker Paul Posluszny, after his nine-tackle performance Saturday, as its co-defensive player of the week. Posluszny is the first Penn State player to earn at least a share of the honor in consecutive weeks. "Especially this past week," he said yesterday, "I think that [honor] should go more to our defense as a whole instead of one particular player."... Penn State announced that its Oct. 15 game against Michigan will begin at 3:30 p.m.
First Published October 5, 2005 12:00 am
