Scouting the Nittany Lions

Offense
Penn State is led by QB Anthony Morelli, who is 59% for 1739 yards, 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Senior Rodney Kinlaw runs the ball and has 728 yards for six touchdowns. He ran over 100 yards in the games against Buffalo, Iowa and Wisconsin. Splitting receiving have been junior Deon Butler and junior Jordan Norwood, with 418 and 381 yards respectively.

This Season
The team is 6-2, 3-2 in the Big Ten. They have wins over Florida International, Notre Dame, Buffalo, Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana. They have loses at Michigan and Illinois. Penn State struggled in the Michigan game, not getting any touchdowns, but they hit three field goals and lost 14-9. At Illinois, Penn State had over 400 yards offense, but Morelli threw three interceptions and Illinois won 27-20. Kevin Kelley has only hit 73% of his field goals, with a long of 53, and he is only 2 of 7 past forty yards.

Scouting Report
Penn State averages over 400 yards a game, with an average of approximately 230 yards passing and 180 yards rushing. Penn State is a well coached team, that is capable of beating a lot teams, but the team has showed some weaknesses. In the Michigan loss, they had very little success on offense, and Michigan has not been a solid defensive team. In the Illinois loss, Morelli turned the ball over three times. In the Indiana game last week, the team survived a scare, due to the defense forcing four second half turnovers, but the score was still close 36-31. Off three of those turnovers, the team had to settle for short field goals, because the offense could not punch it in the red-zone. Indiana is doing well this season, and is one win away from being bowl eligible, but last I checked they are the same team that has allowed a lot of offense, including 52 points by Michigan State. If a game is close, their place kicker is not dependable past forty yards. Penn State has had trouble on the road, but they are a different team at home. It is difficult to win at Penn State. The overall defense for Penn State is ranked fourth in the NCAA (OSU is first.) The team only allows 79.8 yards rushing, 199.8 yards passing, and 15 points/game. If the Penn State offense struggles, the defense is available to stop the opponent and force some turnovers.

Coach
The legendary Joe Paterno has an incredible record of 369-123-3 in his 42nd year at Penn State. He has been at Penn State since 1966. Paterno has the second most wins in NCAA history, only one game behind the 370 of Bobby Bowden at Florida State. If Florida State continues to struggle and Penn State wins games, Paterno will move to his rightful place above Bowden. He is 80 and Bowden is 77. Paterno faced criticism a few years ago, but he has gone 26-7 since the beginning of the 2005 season. In that same time Bowden has gone 19-14. Bowden is feeling some heat from the local media and some alumni. One fan went to the trouble of placing a for sale sign in the front yard of Bowden last weekend.