Lions romp over Hoosiers

Bring on Northwestern!

Never thought you'd hear that one, did ya, outside of maybe a physics bee or a theater competition? But this year, that rallying cry has been extended to the gridiron, and it may be heard swirling about the Penn State Nittany Lion practices this week.

After losing seven or more games in every season since 1973, the Wildcats beat Illinois 17-14 Saturday to extend their winning streak to six, plant themselves among the best teams in the land at No. 6 and continue one of the most magical stories in college football in years. And with the Lions' 45-21 defense-dominated dismantling of Indiana at Beaver Stadium Saturday reestablishing them as one of the Big Ten's best, quite a little showdown has been set up between the two squads next weekend in Evanston, Ill.

"We're going to be ready for it," Lion defensive end Todd Atkins said. "We're going to have to go out there on a little road trip and really play our best ball game all year. After today, I think we'll be ready for that."

A little bit of luster would have been smudged from next Saturday if the Lions had fallen prey to an Indiana upset bid Saturday. But Atkins, Terry Killens and the rest of the defense made sure that didn't happen in a game where the only thing keeping 96,391 Homecoming fans awake was the pelting of hail stones and frequent changes of coats provided by Sybil posing as Mother Nature.

The 45 points Penn State (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) posted deceptivly make it look like the offense had another great afternoon, much like the one they had in a 41-27 triumph over Iowa last Saturday.

Most of the scoring came from a defensive onslaught that scored two touchdowns, held the Hoosiers without a point until the fourth quarter, sacked the quarterback nine times, caused three fumbles, recovered two of them, forced six punts and picked off three passes. Killens alone blocked a punt for a touchdown, forced a fumble and made four sacks.

"We looked quick, we were aggressive, and that's all you can ask for," Lion Coach Joe Paterno said. "You're never really a good defense until you get some turnovers. I think if you can create some turnovers, that puts your defense at another level."

If that is the case, then Indiana (2-6, 0-5) has made most of their opponents this season look like the '85 Bears. Coming into the game Saturday, the Hoosiers were the worst in the Big Ten and 105th out of 108 Division I teams in the nation in turnover ratio, having given the ball away 22 times while the defense has taken just 10 in return. It was much of the same Saturday, as the Lions didn't turn the ball over once.

"If we keep going, we'll set a whole new Big Ten record," Hoosier Coach Bill Mallory said. "One I can't be very proud of."

The Indiana turnover woes peaked in a first-half stretch with the Lions leading 7-0. Hoosier quarterback Chris Dittoe threw interceptions on three of four possessions, and on the other, he fumbled and Atkins recovered. Outside linebacker Aaron Collins returned one of those interceptions 80 yards for a touchdown, and the other three miscues gave the Lions field position at the IU 34, 20 and 31-yard lines. All of a sudden, Penn State had opened a 24-0 advantage.

It was the Lions' best defensive performance since they allowed just 237 total yards to Texas Tech in the season opener. Since then, a porous pass defense was picked apart in four games, faced a lot of the blame for the two Penn State losses and plunged to the bottom of the Big Ten rankings. But middle linebacker Gerald Filardi said the Indiana game is a sign that those days are likely passed.

"I feel defensively-wise we're getting back to where we should be," Filardi said. "We're making some things happen out there."

Offensively-wise, it could be a different story. The Lions did march for touchdown drives of 72 and 68 yards, but they also squandered gift-wrapped field position earned by the defense. In the first half, the offense was able to score just three points on three consecutive possessions that started at the Indiana 20, the Indiana 31 and the Lion 46.

"When the defense gets the ball for you, in that kind of field position that we did have in the first half, it's always a plus to take advantage of it," quarterback Wally Richardson said.

Richardson's continuing struggles were the primary reason the offense did not really click Saturday.

For the second straight week, he completed less than 50 percent of his passes, going 9-of-19 for just 96 yards. And he frequently failed to notice open receivers downfield, again showing a penchant for not looking past his No. 1 target.

"You're not going to be on every week, and that's something you've just got to fight through and continue to work on," Richardson said, "and that's what I'm going to do."