Category: Football

Another great Fall (no pun intended) weekend of sports here at Penn State.

The football team romped over Illinois 63-10 after leading 56-3 at halftime. The win was Joe Paterno’s 350th at Penn State. QB Michael Robinson was responsible for 6 TDs in the first half (4 passing – 2 running) – he did not play in the 2nd half. Penn State controls its destiny in the Big Ten. If they win out, the claim at least a share of the Big Ten title and will be the conferences representative in a BCS bowl game.

The undefeated and #1 ranked womens soccer team knocked off Michigan 4-2 on Friday. On Sunday, they defeated Michigan State 3-0 to claim their eighth straight Big Ten soccer title. Tiffany Weimer scored in both games to tie then break Brandi Chastain’s NCAA record of scoring in consecutive games. Tiffany’s record is now 17 straight (unfortunately, Portland’s Christine Sinclair has also scored in 17 straight and she has a chance to extend it to 18 tonight). Tiffany also broke former PSU star Christie Welch’s Big Ten record of 82 career goals.

The men’s soccer team also won a Big Ten title this weekend by knocking off Michigan State 1-0 in double overtime, their third consecutive B10 overtime win. Like their female counterparts the men are undefeated and untied in Big Ten play. However, unlike the womens 8 titles, this was the men’s first B10 conference title. Of course, we are recent members of the B10 and while the men may not have had any B10 titles before they have won 11 national titles while the women are still looking for their first.

On Saturday, the sixth ranked women’s field hockey team won their 16th straight game setting a new Penn State record. The 2-0 win over Ohio State clinched at least a share of the B10 title for the women. The game featured a “Natural” type moment when Penn State was awarded a penalty shot on a foul by Ohio State. It was late in the first half and PSU led only 1-0. Senior Mallory Weisen is on crutches due to a stress fracture but coach Char Morrett called for her to take the shot. Dropping her crutches Mallory hobbled onto the field and lifted a shot over the Ohio State goalie to give PSU a 2-0 lead. The ladies will travel to second place Indiana on Friday to attempt to win the B10 title outright.

The third ranked womens volleyball team went on the road this weekend defeating both Iowa and 12th ranked Minnesota. The ladies remained unbeaten in B10 play and now hold a commanding two match lead over the rest of the conference in the race for the title.

That means over the weekend, out athletic teams went 7-0 in conference play, won two big ten titles outright, won a guaranteed share of a third, and remain in the drivers seat for two others (the combined conference record for the five squads is 33-1). A pretty good weekend overall.

There’s a ton of people going nutso because of our last second football loss to Michigan on Saturday but they are the ones who usually overreact to everything. Fortunately, I’m one of the few who keeps a broad perspective on things.

So. while the loss was heartbreaking, ending our winning streak at eight which was the third longest in the nation behind USC and Texas, and eliminating our changes to get to the National Championship game, there still much to feel good about the program. For one thing, at the beginning of the season I doubt that many fans realistically thought we would be 6-1 at this point. Secondly, we are still in first place in the conference and we control out own destiny when it comes to winning the league championship and getting to a BCS bowl. If we win out we will hold the tiebreakers on the other B10 schools.

Our others sports are still going quite well too. Friday night the 4th ranked women’s volleyball team beat Michigan 3-0 and then came back on Saturday to knock off Michigan State 3-0. UncleLar niece Kaleena Walters set a PSU career record for digs in the Friday match. Those two matches left Penn State atop the conference with an 8-0 record.

While the VB match was going on here in State College, the women’s soccer team were in Columbus beating Ohio State 1-0. The lone goal was scored by Tiffany Wiemer who has now scored in 15 straight game and has tied Brandi Chastain’s NCAA record. Earlier in the week, the women were voted the #1 team in the country, taking over the top spot from North Carolina. The women also hold down the top spot in the Big Ten conference with a 7-0 record and are the only undefeated team in the conference.

Saturday was a pretty full day for me. At noon, I went to watch our 6th ranked women play and knock off their archrival Michigan State 2-1. That was the women’s 14th in a row, one away from the team record. The win left the Nits undefeated in conference play and atop the league standings. Earlier in the week, UncleLar niece Natalie Berrena earned her second B10 Player of the Week Award for her 2 goal performance against Iowa.

Immediately following the field hockey match I travelled to Tussey Mountain, a small amusement area about five miles south of town. I got their in time to watch a friend of mine, Kevin Becker, finish the Tussey Mountain 50 Mile Ultramarathon. Kevin finished about 8:25:00 which placed him about 10th. I did one marathon once, which is 26.2 miles and it was painful. I can’t imagine running 50 miles but Kevin did and looked just fine. He was even able to join us later in the evening for beers to celebrate his finish. Kevin couldn’t have finished at a better time. The race started at 7AM so 8:25 got him done at 3:25 in the afternoon. I had just enough time to congratulate him and to hightail it home in time to catch the 3:45 football kickoff.

On Sunday our sports teams continued with their winning ways when the men’s soccer team duplicated their sister team’s effort by also knocked off Ohio State 1-0 in Columbus. The men, while not #1 ranked in the country like the women, are like the women in that they are undefeated in league play and sit atop the Big Ten standings.

So while we may have lost the big one, overall the weekend was a success with the five squads going a combined 5-1 with each of them remaining atop the conference and in good shape to win B10 championships.

By request, a photo from last night’s White Out.

The White Out concept was introduced last year for the Purdue game.
Here’s a shot from that game.

Another photo, this one a vidcap from a guy in the west stands.

Found a collection of photos, click here to view

If you didn’t see the game:

Check out this video of our QB.
The other player wound up with a separated shoulder when he woke up and is OK.

Plus our linebackers can tackle. Enjoy this video also. The tackler, Paul Pozluszny, was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row.

Today, PSU made its an appearance in the AP and USA Today top twenty for the first time in 3 years.

Look for ESPN to announce, either later today or sometime tomorrow, that Gameday will be headed to Happy Valley.
(Monday morning editors note: While the SID has yet to confirm the student paper has announced that ESPNs GameDay will be here Saturday. Plus ESPN’s TV schedule lists State College as the locale for the broadcast.)

On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated will name Penn State as the #1 tailgating locale in college football.

Happy days are here again.

Monday noon addition:

Students have already started getting in line to be the first in the stadium Saturday.

Paternoville

ESPN.com – COLUMNIST/FORDE – Forde: Something to shout about:
“STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — With the sun setting on a perfect football Saturday and the home team up 30 big ones, a familiar chant shook Beaver Stadium.

‘We are!’ bellowed one side of the stadium.

‘Penn State!’ roared the other side.

Back and forth it went. With feeling. And with good reason.

For the first time in years, being Penn State is something to shout about.

Being Penn State means being a player on the national scene once again. It means a 5-0 record for the first time since 1999, the end of an 11-game losing streak against ranked opponents, an impending national ranking, a ton of hype for Ohio State’s arrival next Saturday and happy chants echoing through Happy Valley. It means the Nittany Lions stand alongside Alabama, Nebraska and Notre Dame in the Resurgent Old Money Program department.”

Go to the complete article

The town was really jumping following our big win yesterday. One point the author failed to note was that Penn State now has the third longest winning streak in the country trailing only USC and Texas. We have quietly been lurking on the national scene this season and this win will alert many to us BUT the real test will be this Saturday when Ohio State comes to Happy Valley for a 7:45PM kickoff and an ESPN national audience. A win there will prove that we are really back.