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[ Monday, Oct. 19, 1998 ]
Home sweet home
Offense, defense find niche en route to Homecoming victory
By VITO FORLENZA
Collegian Staff Writer
With just under six minutes remaining in the second quarter Saturday, Penn State gave a glimpse of the national championship team it is predicted to feature in years to come. And many of the 97,034 Beaver Stadium faithful acknowledged that peek into the future with a standing ovation, as the No. 10 Nittany Lions (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) clicked on both sides of the ball for the first time since appearing on their home turf five weeks ago. The defense kept that illusion intact much of the game en route to Penn State's 31-13 Homecoming victory over Purdue (3-4, 1-2). "I'd say late in the second quarter when we had them pinned, and they were out in three (plays)," said defensive end Brad Scioli, giving his opinion as to the game's turning point. "We just felt whatever they did we could stop them."
PHOTO: Shawn Knapp
Defensive end Penn State’s Courtney Brown rushes in to sack Purdue quarterback Drew Brees for a 14-yard loss to force the Boilermakers to attempt a field goal in the opening quarter of Saturday’s game at Beaver Stadium.
The Lion offense had just marched 80 yards on 11 plays in 4:49 -- capped by quarterback Kevin Thompson's 12-yard touchdown pass to Eric McCoo -- to give Penn State a 14-3 lead. McCoo gained 61 of those yards, with all but the touchdown pass coming via the rush, as the often-struggling offense began to complement a defense that has been solid throughout the season.
It was the second in as many possessions that the offense had put together a significant scoring drive -- the first being a 96-yard odyssey to put Penn State ahead 7-3 on its initial series. That 13-play journey took 5:53 and concluded with Thompson's 1-yard touchdown plunge.
The defense, aided by a swarming pass rush, continued to shut down Purdue's high-octane passing attack. The 13 points were the Boilermakers' lowest scoring output since 1996 when they posted nine points against Michigan. The Lions knocked Boilermaker quarterback Drew Brees around the Purdue backfield on many of his pass attempts, registering six sacks, with defensive end Courtney Brown leading the way with three.
"I thought they were an awfully good defense before we played them, and I think they're an awfully good defense now," Boilermaker coach Joe Tiller said. "I asked coach (Joe) Paterno, as a matter of fact, if this was one of his better defenses."
Although Brees completed 39 of his 58 pass attempts for 361 yards and a touchdown, the Lion secondary, led by cornerback David Macklin's third-quarter interception, contained Tiller's wide-open offense and never allowed a pass to go longer than 19 yards.
"I thought the secondary played well," Paterno said. "I thought the entire defense played well. It was a big-league effort. They created some opportunities for the offense, but they didn't capitalize on them."
The offense, however, was able to answer each Boilermaker score, the most important coming after Purdue closed within eight points on Brees' 16-yard touchdown toss to receiver Gabe Cox with just over six minutes left in the third.
But on the third play of ensuing series -- a second-and-24 from the Lion 8 -- tailback McCoo took Thompson's handoff, broke right then cut left up the middle of the field toward the north end zone, racing 77 of his 163 yards to the Purdue 15. Five plays later, running back Aaron Harris punched it in from a yard out and the Boilermakers' hopes of an upset were all but completely shattered.
"When we needed the big plays we were able to get them," said Thompson, who was 15 of 24 with one touchdown and two interceptions, "whether it was a big run or a big pass, and that was important."
| Game six: Penn State vs. Purdue |
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