Moving through the air
So what if Penn State's running game isn't as fixable as everyone seems to think it is? What if the Spread HD offense that was designed for balance continues to be heavily tilted toward the forward pass? What if the fundamentally sound, traditionalist Nittany Lions everyone has become accustomed to during Joe Paterno's 44-year coaching reign are inexplicably morphing into Texas Tech East?
Two games do not a season make, or even a significant trend, but there is at least the possibility that what we've seen thus far of fifth-ranked Penn State might be what we'll continue to get. If the status quo holds, quarterback Daryll Clark will shatter school passing records and the powerful rushing attack that once was taken for granted in Happy Valley will at least be put into storage temporarily.
Even Paterno, who admits to "being stubborn" in continually returning to an ineffective run game in last week's 28-7 victory over Syracuse, admits that if opponents keep leaving themselves exposed in the passing game, he might have no choice but to go with the flow.
"We're going to do what we can to win, OK?" Paterno said Tuesday during his weekly session with media interrogators. "If we win by one point because we did something that was 'imbalanced,' fine. We're out to win the football game."
Junior center Stefen Wisniewski, the anchor of an offensive line that thus far has been much more effective at pass blocking than opening holes for tailbacks Evan Royster and Stephfon Green, also concedes that it's usually best to stick with what's working.
"If we can win a big football game by passing for 80 percent of our yards, then sure, I'm all right with that," Wisniewski said when asked for reasons why the Lions' running game has disappeared. "But I'm not sure if that's doable. I don't know if we can beat Ohio State or Iowa by just passing the ball."
The sputtering rushing attack does not seem to have dissuaded voters in The Associated Press and USA Today polls, both of which have Penn State ranked fifth. Maybe that's because there are a number of good teams — Texas Tech and Brigham Young come to mind — that fling early and often, and have for years. But for Penn State to be mentioned with those Wild West outfits is about as improbable as rocker Rod Stewart singing George Gershwin standards. Uh, you say raspy Rod has already done that?
Saturday's game with habitual punching bag Temple (0-1) in Beaver Stadium might represent the last, best chance for Penn State (2-0) to set things right before Iowa — the same pesky Hawkeyes who dealt the Nits their only regular-season defeat in 2008 — heads to University Park to begin Big Ten play.
Oh, sure, the Owls are improving under fourth-year coach Al Golden, a former Penn State player and assistant, but the North Philadelphia school hasn't beaten the Lions since 1941 and has come up short in the last 26 meetings.
If Temple somehow can do what Akron and Syracuse did, which is to again make Penn State's running game a nonfactor, what thus far has been a minor annoyance could begin to look like a major crisis.
