The conventional wisdom says that Ohio State’s football game against Penn State on Saturday will be a battle of defenses.

So, are the people saying that insightful observers or just masters of the obvious? Even the players involved aren’t sure.

The evidence is pretty strong in favor of a game dominated by defense.

Penn State ranks No. 1 in the country in scoring defense at 9.3 points a game and Ohio State is No. 6 at 11.7 The Nittany Lions are fifth nationally in total defense and OSU is sixth.

Last year, Penn State won 13-6 in Columbus in a game where field goals outnumbered touchdowns four to one.

“It could be a defensive struggle but you never know how a game is going to turn out,” Ohio State linebacker Ross Homan said earlier this week. “You always want the goose egg, zero points. But whatever happens, we have to outplay the other team’s defense.”


Click here to read the full article – By Jim Naveau of Lima News

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Half of Joe Paterno’s 44th season coaching Penn State is in the books, and yet it’s still difficult to draw many conclusions about his 14th-ranked Nittany Lions, who have five convincing wins over opponents who offered little resistance and a sound loss to an undefeated but less-than-dominant Iowa team.

Fans, pollsters and even Paterno himself want to see Penn State defeat a team of substance.

Saturday’s opponent, Minnesota (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) may or may not fit that bill, but will the Nittany Lions be ready if they do?

Paterno got his first hint of an answer during an encouraging Monday practice.

“It’s only Tuesday and I may change my impression after a couple more days, but I got the impression kids understand what we’re talking about, what it takes to be a really good football team,” Paterno said. “We have not been a really good football team. We have the prospects of being a really good football team, but we have not gotten there yet.”


Click here to read the full article – By Jeff Rice of Centre Daily Times

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On its best rushing afternoon of the season, Penn State ran twice as many times to the right as it ran to the left, and more times to the right than to the left or up the middle combined.

The good news for the Nittany Lions is that Saturday’s 338-yard performance was a confidence builder for the entire offense and an important step forward for right guard Lou Eliades and right tackle Nerraw McCormack.

The bad news is that Penn State could be without half of that side of the line this week.

McCormack has missed the bulk of practice this week and is likely to miss Saturday’s game against Eastern Illinois with a right ankle injury. Sophomore DeOn’tae Pannell, who started the first four games of the season at right tackle but has also been limited by an ankle injury this week, is splitting first-team repetitions with senior Ako Poti.


Click here to read the full article – By Jeff Rice of centredaily.com

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Convinced you’ve seen the same Penn State game three times so far this season? You’re not alone. As Penn State cornerback Knowledge Timmons said Saturday afternoon, ”This is our last exhibition game. The season really starts this week.”

There’s no way to get a good sense of Penn State’s progress through its 3-0 start. Two years ago, the Nittany Lions took apart Florida International, a bad Notre Dame team and Buffalo on their way to an 8-4 regular season and a trip to the Alamo Bowl.

With their 31-6 win over Temple on Saturday, Penn State improved to 3-0 by outscoring opponents 90-20. Now ranked No. 4 in the USA Today coaches poll, the Lions host a revenge game Saturday, when Iowa (3-0) visits Beaver Stadium to open Big Ten play. ESPN’s College GameDay and a sold-out, whiteout crowd will, as Timmons said, mark the official opening of the season.

Click here to read the full article – By Mark Wogenrich of fox43.com

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A trio of Penn State’s All-Big Ten performers have been named to the Watch List for the 40th Rotary Lombardi Award.

Junior linebacker Navorro Bowman (District Heights, Md.), senior linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) and senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Lebanon) are among the candidates for the prestigious award, which is limited to down linemen and those defensive players who line up within five yards of the football.
Penn State’s three Rotary Lombardi Award candidates lead all Big Ten schools. The 2009 Rotary Lombardi Award recipient will be announced at a December 9 dinner in Houston, which benefits the American Cancer Society.

Click here to read the full article – By of GOPSUSPORTS.com

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