[September 9, 2006] #19 Penn State (1-0) at #4 Notre Dame (1-0)

[Irish Envy]

vs.

#19 Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0) at #4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0)
Notre Dame Stadium - Notre Dame, IN
September 9, 2006 - 3:30pm EST ​

Penn State Offense
QB #14 Anthony Morelli
TB #26 Tony Hunt
FB #34 Matt Hahn
WR #2 Derrick Williams
WR #3 Deon Butler
TE #88 Kevin Darling
LT #67 Levi Brown
LG #76 Gerald Cadogan
C #57 A.Q. Shipley
RG #65 Robert Price
RT #78 John Shaw

Penn State Defense
LT #13 Jay Alford
RT #92 Ed Johnson
RE #99 Jim Shaw
OLB #31 Paul Posluszny
ILB #20 Tim Shaw
OLB #40 Dan Connor
LB #45 Sean Lee
LCB #11 Tony Davis
RCB #1 Justin King
FS #6 Donnie Johnson
HERO #7 Anthony Scirrotto

How They Fared
For Penn State - Penn State fought off a fiesty Akron Zip squad for a 34-16 victory in their home opener. They were led by Anthony Morelli's 206 yards passing and 3 touchdown passes.

For Notre Dame - The Irish went down to Atlanta and beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 14-10 after trailing at the half 10-7. Darius Walker and the Irish offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage in the second half allowing for #2 ranked Notre Dame to get a victory and head back home to South Bend.

Current Weather Forecast
T-Showers, 72 degrees with 77% humidity

Penn State Resources
GoPSUSports.com - Official Athletics Website
Box Score - Penn State/Arkon

 

[lattedatte]

I'll be in SB guys, look for me... I'll be the guy throwing horse manure at all the PSU fans... to make them feel at home...

 

[KMac151993]

Got a lot of work to do before next...but at least we got GT under our belt...a tough road game should help our guys out for the next couple.

 

[wahoo]

The Nittany Puddy cats will be a good test for the Irish. Hopefully the offense can get sorted out,the team can eliminate the penalties and a reliable kicker will be found.

GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Irish Envy]

Got a lot of work to do before next...but at least we got GT under our belt...a tough road game should help our guys out for the next couple.

Well, if Penn State plays like they did against Akron, I'm very confident that we'll take care of Penn State, especially since they will be in our house.

We've already been tested and Penn State hasn't. That is a huge advantage for us IMO.

 

[mirertobrooks]

Good Signs

1. Brady Quinn's leadership- it's his team, the guy makes big plays
2. Travis Thomas being on the field the entire game- no explanation needed
3. George West- wow, speed
4. Darrin Walls- ok he got burned, but do you think he'll be intimdated again this year after going 1 on 1 with CJ
5. Special teams- these are the goalposts Carl's used to practicing on
6. ND stadium- hopefully it's a nice cool September game, our fans, our house
7. The preseason hype machine is over- we can now settle into the season
8. Duke- He looks awesome, what a hit on #21
9. Zibby- He just looks pissed, awesome!
10.The running game- Walker is the most complete back in the country, I can't wait to see what Munir can do
11. Conditioning of the the linemen- Got the first game under our belt, they've gotta be gassed, next week will be easier for them, less humid
12. Carlson and Freeman- who was our tight end last year? jk/ props to AF
13. Rhema and Shark- those catches in the 4th quarter were just a little preview of what the rest of the season will be like.

 

[guff]

Good Signs

4. Darrin Walls- ok he got burned, but do you think he'll be intimdated again this year after going 1 on 1 with CJ

I didn't think he got burned on that play. He was pretty much stride for stride with CJ and tackled him right after the catch. Walls was in position, if the ball isn't on the money then he could have made play. No one can single cover CJ.

Burned would have been CJ three steps ahead of Walls.

 

[mirertobrooks]

You are correct, I should have said he got owned by CJ, which is in no way a knock on the Deuce, I just think it's a great confidence builder, freshman, first game against probably the best wr in the country and your coach puts you out there on single coverage. I thought that was pretty cool. He'll be ready for Breaston and Williams and so forth. I don't think Deion Sanders could cover CJ.

 

[Irish Envy]

I didn't think he got burned on that play. He was pretty much stride for stride with CJ and tackled him right after the catch. Walls was in position, if the ball isn't on the money then he could have made play. No one can single cover CJ.

Burned would have been CJ three steps ahead of Walls.

Yep, I think that also shows the confidence that Minter and Weis have in the kid. Very few programs would have the balls to trot out a true freshman out on the field and line him up against CJ.

We not only did it, but Walls was stride for stride with him and brought him down after he made the catch. CJ would have made that catch against anyone in the country, but probably would have scored on a majority of the corners covering him.

 

[mirertobrooks]

Interesting stat to look for in this game.
Time of Possesion, ND held the ball for over 35 minutes vs GT, and really controlled the second half.

Akron had the ball for over 37 minutes vs Penn St.
I think PSU had only 86 rushing yards, and 44 of that was on 1 play, I like the idea of having the rookie QB being the guy that has to beat us.

One more thing, I know the offense hasn't been stellar in the past 2 games, keep in mind penalties have played a large part of this. I'm confident the O will be crisp soon, the good news is that ND hasn't turned the ball over in either game. Therefore, forcing some turnovers will obviously be huge in this game. Rattle A-Mo, and this could shape up to be a rerun of the Purdue game last year.

 

[maison bleu]

Well, if Penn State plays like they did against Akron, I'm very confident that we'll take care of Penn State, especially since they will be in our house.

I watched part of PSU-Akron, and it was raining so hard (remnants of Ernesto) that it was hard to tell how good PSU was.

 

[ralphwaldoemerson]

It was raining hard for Akron, too. Also the score was 34-16 I believe, not 36-14.

As for Walls, he got burned on the play. He didn't look back for the ball. The reason he didn't is that he was using all his speed and energy to chase Johnson.

 

[nshope]

It was raining hard for Akron, too. Also the score was 34-16 I believe, not 36-14.

As for Walls, he got burned on the play. He didn't look back for the ball. The reason he didn't is that he was using all his speed and energy to chase Johnson.

Have to agree with you here. CJ had a few steps on him and the ball thrown actually forced CJ to slow down and go up for it. That's when Walls got his hands on him...after he had slowed down to catch it. No big deal. It was the dude's first big play against a veteran receiver. At least he didn't give up a score. That would've been bad.

 

[mirertobrooks]

Penn St had some big plays, but their O-Line looked horrible, and when your QB goes 50%, and you can only rush for 86 yards vs a team from the MAC, you've got issues, I really don't care if it's the first game of the year or how hard it's raining. A good Penn St team realishes the rain, and runs for 250 yards. Their O-line is a weak link big time!

I'd like to get anyone elses opinions on positives and negatives for ND in this game. I'm a freak and it's all I think about. My grlfriend thinks I have a thing for Brady Quinn. j/k, seriously j/k

 

[A2McGowan]

I'll be there......always great to see JoePa come out of the tunnel with the floods on. Was there in '92 as well......one of the greatest games ever.

 

[Irish Envy]

Penn St had some big plays, but their O-Line looked horrible, and when your QB goes 50%, and you can only rush for 86 yards vs a team from the MAC, you've got issues, I really don't care if it's the first game of the year or how hard it's raining. A good Penn St team realishes the rain, and runs for 250 yards. Their O-line is a weak link big time!

I'd like to get anyone elses opinions on positives and negatives for ND in this game. I'm a freak and it's all I think about. My grlfriend thinks I have a thing for Brady Quinn. j/k, seriously j/k

Yep, I agree with this assessment.

 

[Irish Envy]

I'm hearing rumblings that Penn State is going to go back to the 4-3 for our game. They lined up in a 3-4 against Akron. More as I find out.

 

[guff]

For what it's worth - ND is opening as an 8 1/2 point favorite. I'll be interested to see if that line moves.

 

[rontdtarchala]

I too watched the psu game...was not impressed at all...same conditions for both teams akron moved on them. Zips (they have a frickin rabbit on there helmets) were able to do much more on both sides of the ball than I thought they would.

We have much to correct to say the least but then we actually played in a serious environment against a far superior team than the one psu played. If (I did say if) we correct our mistakes and the defense plays the way they did against gt we will put a first class woopin on psu.

 

[rontdtarchala]

I just realized a frickin skunk bear has more posts than me...whaaaaaaaat the !!!!!!

 

[leppycole]

Well, if Penn State plays like they did against Akron, I'm very confident that we'll take care of Penn State, especially since they will be in our house.

We've already been tested and Penn State hasn't. That is a huge advantage for us IMO.

Agree with your comments, ND defensive line should have a field day.

 

[maison bleu]

I just realized a frickin skunk bear has more posts than me...whaaaaaaaat the !!!!!!

I've been a member for over a year longer.

 

[Irish Envy]

Agree with your comments, ND defensive line should have a field day.

We can only hope. If we can't beat up on their line, then we see some red flags.

 

[GChild]

Negatives:
-3 WRs who all burn. If given time, they could find open space in our secondary.
-Best LBs in the nation. If they decide to incorporate some GaTech schemes a few times, let's hope our guys can react better than last week.
-Please, please, please don't come down to a game-tying/go-ahead FG by us.
-No matter what we really see/hear, our secondary wasn't exactly challenged all that much last week. We made a very good showing, but I'm not ready to say that I'm completely confident in our back 7. That said, I'm turning the corner. (I hope Walls plays alot this weekend...showed some talent and determination)

Positives:
-We probably played about as badly as we could have offensively and still won. We didn't play nearly as badly as some people say, but I truly believe we should have one of the best-clicking O's in the nation, and we weren't clicking last week.
-There is NO way that we commit as many penalties this weekend. Minimum 10 points off the board due to penalties last week.
-Conditioning. We wore down GaTech last week, and if PSU gave up 37 mins of possession to Akron you better believe Weis is thinking of that. Be prepared for plenty of Darius and WR screens, keep their D on the field. Mendoza has worked wonders with our guys.
-McKnight played so-so and still topped 100. Also, PSU tends to play more man than GT, and with 75% new secondary I like our odds of finding slots. Look for Grimes and the TE's to emerge a bit more.
Stopping the run. This is strictly based on their poor showing against Akron, but if PSU rushes that badly next week, I REALLY think the game could get out of hand. That would mean no biting on the play-fake, no respecting the run and thus more Morrice Richardson and Abiamiri around the outside. Morelli showed very little poise when any heat was applied.


Sorry about the length.

 

[Dannyboy Ayers]

It was raining hard for Akron, too. Also the score was 34-16 I believe, not 36-14.

As for Walls, he got burned on the play. He didn't look back for the ball. The reason he didn't is that he was using all his speed and energy to chase Johnson.

CJ has at least 5 inches, 4 years of experience and is the best WR in the nation. Walls was right on his hip if the ball is thrown any other place than Walls breaks it up the QB put it were it was either CJ or incomplete. burned my ass completed on yes. how many TDs did CJ have.

 

[mirertobrooks]

Positives:

Stopping the run. This is strictly based on their poor showing against Akron, but if PSU rushes that badly next week, I REALLY think the game could get out of hand. That would mean no biting on the play-fake, no respecting the run and thus more Morrice Richardson and Abiamiri around the outside. Morelli showed very little poise when any heat was applied.


Sorry about the length.

Couldn't agree more, if ND stuffs the run it's going to be a long day for Morelli. Good point.

and don't worry about the length, I drink too much sometimes and ramble on for hours.

 

[guff]

Sorry about the length.

That's what I said to my wife.

Back on topic - DW will be the key to this game. As much as I love the pass gaming ND needs to pound the ball. ND needs to make PSU shift focus from stopping Quinn and Co. to stopping DW. If they can do that it won't be close.

The O Line has to do something it really hasn't done and that's dominate the line of scrimmage.

One item to watch for: Weis is going to throw a lot of quick hits to Justin King's side of the field. He didn't tackle well last week and Weis will make him prove that he more than just a fast cover corner.

 

[LuckoftheIrish86]

"(they have a frickin rabbit on there helmets)"
I thought it was a kangaroo?

"That's what I said to my wife."
LOL oh wow. too funny

This game to me is all about exposing Penn State's Oline, If the crowd makes some noise to draw some false starts and we bring some pressure, ND should be in great shape.

 

[Irish Envy]

Gameday is HERE!

 

[irishfan81]

I hope Brady throws 6 TDs and 400 yds. The Shark catches 4 of those and Rhema gets 2. Darius puts in 2 of his own. I think putting Walls on CJ was a smart move thats just a clue that Charlie is going to make a move to make Darrin the starter. I just hope for a nice little offensive performance.