Lion passing attack grounded by Gators

Watching the Florida defense completely stifle the Penn State passing game in the Citrus Bowl, it was hard to remember a time when the Nittany Lion air attack was actually quite good.

But rest assured, there was such a time.

Sure, when quarterback Mike McQueary was having record-breaking passing days, it was most often against lesser competition, such as Pittsburgh or Louisville. Even though those teams were probably half the team Florida was, McQueary did show a penchant for making the big play.

As the season progressed, however, the Penn State passing game slowly deteriorated as defenses found that Jurevicius was the only capable Lion receiver. Double-team coverages became frequent, and the Lions soon relied almost solely on their running attack, led by Enis.

It was clear once Jurevicius was taken out of the game, the Penn State passing attack was less than spectacular.

Against Florida, it was non-existent.

With Jurevicius booted from the team for poor classroom performance, the Lions were forced to rely on receivers without Jurevicius' experience or talent and McQueary had one of his worst passing days as a result.

Distributing the ball amongst receivers Joe Nastasi, Chafie Fields and Titcus Pettigrew and tight ends Brad Scioli and Cuncho Brown, McQueary completed just 10 of 32 passes for a measly 92 yards and three interceptions.

But Penn State coach Joe Paterno refused to place the blame on his graduating quarterback's shoulders.

"It wasn't Mike's fault," Paterno said. "He got rushed pretty good a few times, and we had some dropped passes."

The dropped passes could probably be attributed to the receiving corps' general lack of experience in pressure situations. All season, McQueary made it known that when third-and-long situations arose, he was going to look for Jurevicius. With his go-to receiver, not to mention Enis, out of the lineup, McQueary just didn't have anyone around him to make the big play when he needed it.

"We knew we were going to have some trouble getting the ball to the wideouts because we didn't think we could match speed with them," Paterno said.

Fields, who had been an occasional deep threat for Penn State throughout the season, could not break into the open against stifling Gator coverage. Even when he did, McQueary rarely had time to get him the ball.

Fields finished the game without a reception.

Pettigrew has shown promise early in his career, but only a sophomore, he didn't seem ready for a New Year's Day bowl appearance, making only one catch for nine yards. Brown was a surprise, making three catches for 25 yards, and the Lions looked to him on their second fourth-and-goal attempt in the second quarter. The pass was picked off.

"They have a tough defense with a lot of speed," said Lion tailback Kenny Watson. "They got a lot of push up front and I think that hurt us the entire game."

The Florida defense was by far the fastest faced by the Lions all season, and its cornerbacks and defensive backs kept blanket coverage on the Lion receivers all afternoon. McQueary, though, was downright self-critical after the game.

Not only did he sound disappointed with his performance that day, but with his play throughout the season in general. Obviously upset with how his career came to an end, he said he just didn't make all the plays he should have.

"When the guys were open," McQueary said, "I just didn't get the ball to them."