It's a wonder that Joe Paterno wasn't pacing the sidelines at Northwestern last week with platform shoes, bellbottoms and a butterfly collar.
Okay, so it's tough to imagine the 74-year-old coach reaching way back into his closet to adorn a blast from the past fashion trend. But he sure did break out a retro offensive look against the Wildcats.
Now, it's not too uncommon to see Penn State line up with a full house backfield. . .when the Nittany Lions are near the goal line that is. But last weekend, the Power I was the cornerstone of the Lions' offense.
It helped the Lions pile up 213 yards on the ground, when they could only muster 163 yards combined in their first four games.
Not only did it jumpstart the running game, it opened up the passing attack as well. The Lions had all sorts of nifty play action pass plays that sprang from the loaded backfield look and protected quarterbacks Matt Senneca and Zack Mills for the most part (yeah, Senneca got knocked out of the game, but the Lions didn't allow a sack for the first time all season).
So Penn State fans are going to get another dose of that smash mouth look this weekend against Ohio State, right?
Most likely, no.
"It is a gimmick," Paterno said. "We can't live with it. It is a gimmick and it helped us get by one football game. What happens with Ohio State will be entirely different."
Gimmick, shmimmick. If it wasn't for that formation and the plays ran from it, the Lions could very well be an 0-5 football team.
The bottom line is that it worked.
Now to be fair to Paterno, he hasn't completely ruled out the possibility of using the Power I (even if it's just a little bit) against the Buckeyes, but early this week he sounded as if his offense will resemble — at least formation and play wise — its normal self.
"I don't think it does a lot for us," Paterno said. "I think it was something that we needed. We needed some kind of change of pace. . .It also gave us an opportunity at times to play Larry Johnson, Omar Easy and Eric McCoo in the same backfield."
But wasn't that part of the point of implementing the Power I in the first place? Those three players are perhaps the best athletes on this team. And with the addition of speedster Eddie Drummond to the backfield, the Lions' tailback quartet could be the favorite to win the Big Ten 4x100 meter relay title.
And the thing is, although that type of offense isn't flashy or innovative, the players like it.
"To be honest with you the first day we put it in, they drew it up on the board and Larry (Johnson) and I looked at each other and just started laughing," McCoo said. "But to have us all in the game, just to make the defense think about a triple threat, they don't know what to do. It's exciting to be back there."
Mills even said it gives the offense a foundation to build on. So why the unwillingness to keep it as part of the main package?
Paterno said it has less to do with its effectiveness last week than it has to do with matchup problems it poses this week against the Buckeyes.
"Ohio State is an entirely different team than Northwestern," Paterno said. "After having watched Ohio State beat Northwestern, we felt there were some things we could do with the running game against Northwestern, copy-catting a little bit of what Ohio State had done. Ohio State practices against the running game and is very, very tough against the run."
And Paterno would sooner forget all this talk and get out on the field of play. After all, formations and play calling alone won't win football games. Execution and heart from his players will.
"They are a good bunch of people who work hard," Paterno said. "They have some pride and when you have that, you have a chance to overcome some adversity."
