What was Zack Mills thinking?
Sure it looks super-cool when Larry Johnson and Michael Robinson leap for the pylon to score, but does that mean Mills had to emulate them? And if so, did he have to do it so badly? Doesn't he do enough super-cool things on his own?
The play started out well enough.
With 1:24 left in the third quarter, the Nittany Lions were again starting with excellent field position on Louisiana Tech's 15-yard line. After faking a handoff to Johnson, Mills sprinted into the open field, heading down the sideline. Then, running out of room after gaining 11 yards, Mills decided to dive for it. The results weren't pretty.
"I gotta show him a little something, oh my God, I mean did you see it," said Mills' back-up, Robinson. "He told me he didn't know what he wanted to do."
Mills got off his feet, but instead of the customary full extension dive, wacky Zacky stuck his arms out while his lower body mimicked a sixth grader doing a standing broad jump. In the words of defensive tackle Anthony Adams, "That was a glitch in the Playstation 2 or something."
Sure, Mills had a fine day otherwise, passing for 163 yards and a touchdown to accompany 53 yards on the ground, but it's the foiled flop that his teammates will be talking about.
"Oh my God, that's going on the highlight reel," said a laughing Adams. "He looked like a frog or something out there man, we're going to watch that in the media room and crack up. I don't know what he was trying to do or who he thought he was, but it just wasn't cutting it on that one."
Day to remember
-- Offense: TB Larry Johnson. Yes, Robinson scored three touchdowns, while showing he might be the most explosive and dangerous player on the field. Still, Johnson got the grunt work done, rushing for 147 yards and two touchdowns to accompany 25 receiving yards and another score.
-- Defense: CB Richard Gardner and DB Paul Cronin. This pair of walk-ons went a long way in proving they are worth their spots. Cronin's third-quarter pick for a score iced the game and Gardner stopped La. Tech from scoring twice in the first quarter.
Day to forget
-- Offense: TB Mike Gasparato. In his debut at tailback, Gasparato lost a yard on his only carry. We'll trust Paterno on this when he says Gasparato just needs more game experience.
-- Defense: CB Alan Zemaitis. Making his first start as a Lion, Zemaitis got burned early on McCown's longest completion of the day, a 59-yard strike to receiver Chris Norwood.
Strangely, it wasn't long before Gardner's first-half suspension for being late for the team bus was lifted and he was back manning the corner. Say what?
"Our offensive line has emphasized blocking and that's what we are really focusing on in practice." -- Tyler Lenda, guard.
Statistically speaking
The 49-17 spanking was the Lions' 200th win at Beaver Stadium since it was moved to its present location in 1960 ... The second-quarter shower was the first notable precipitation at a Penn State home game since Nov. 8, 1997, against Michigan, a 29-game span.
Did you notice...
The student section never filled up ... Penn State's offense rushed onto the field, going no-huddle for its first play of the game. This strategem lost three yards ... Receiver Tony Johnson getting wrecked in the first quarter by La. Tech safety Michael Johnson after gaining 26 yards over the middle ... Grand Funk Railroad getting introduced as one of the greatest live bands of all time by the Blue Band at halftime ... The blue balloon that drifted onto the field with 9:21 left in the fourth quarter. After it danced around the line of scrimmage for one play, Gardner finished it off with a stomp.
Finally
Think about this -- with the Bulldogs out of town, the Lions look to be in the position to enter every game for the rest of the season as the team with the more dangerous offense. When was the last time that happened?
