1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
#6 Penn State (6-0)	3	21	17	7	48
#24 Wisconsin (3-2)	0	7	0	0	7
Saturday, October 11th (8:00pm) Camp Randall

Wow!  I fully expected Penn State to win this one, maybe by a couple of scores, but definitely not by 41 points.  For comparison, that’s one point less than our margins of victory against Temple and Syracuse.  With Oklahoma, Missouri, and LSU all falling, Penn State should move up to #3, and I dare say that they control their destiny from this point on.  I’m not going to jinx anything by talking about it, so moving on to notes from the game.

The Good:

Aaron Maybin-ESPN only credits him with one sack, the local newspapers give him three, but I had him with four throughout the game.  A couple big forced fumbles, he looked absolutely dominant.  The kid has such incredible speed off the edge, and his motor is second to none.  I haven’t seen a rush end with that kind of a motor anywhere since Tamba Hali.  He stepped up big time during the Evans suspension, and he’s only a sophomore.  He’s going to be a really special player.

Darryl Clark-He did it all.  The numbers might not look great (16-25/244/1/1 passing, 6/12/2 rushing) but the pass numbers are deflated by a couple bad drops.  He looked a little tight early on, and just missed on two deep throws to Derrick Williams and Deon Butler in the first quarter.  But his leadership is incredible.  This isn’t going to come up a lot, but up 41-7, he threw a bad interception.  Rather than just brush it off, he got pissed, slamming his fist on the trainers table.  Anyone who seeks perfection like that is someone I want on my team.

Joe and Jay Paterno-So much for keeping the playbook closed up.  We threw downfield as much as we have in any game so far this year.  The offense didn’t go conservative at all.  The Spread HD was clicking on all cylinders, and getting Jordan Norwood back really made a nice difference.  I’m starting to really think Brent Musberger was right, that Jay Paterno could be in line for a head coaching gig somewhere.

The Offensive Line-Zero sacks on the day is a great stat in and of itself, but they gave Clark a ton of time to throw, which set up the deep routes.  They opened up solid holes in the running game, at least for Evan Royster, who finished with 60 yards on 13 carries.  Stephfon Green didn’t look great, but that’s what happens when you pound him up the middle.  Only one penalty from this group, no false starts at Wisconsin is tough to do.

Kevin Kelly and the kick coverage team-Anyone else think that could be a nice name for an alt rock band?  Well, in addition to nailing two field goals, including a 50-yarder that might’ve been good from 60, Kelly’s kicks were continuously inside the five.  The kick coverage team was on the Wisconsin returners like white on rice, especially Nate Stupar who made two great tackles in space, and also had a big block that helped set up Derrick Williams’s punt return TD.  Let me give you the starting field positions for Wisconsin after a Penn State score: 15, 21, 21, 15, 18, 24, 29, touchback.  When you start from that kind of hole, it’s tough to dig out.

Lydell Sargeant-Two interceptions, solid coverage.  He lost his starting job to AJ Wallace, but it’s good to know that this time might really be 6-deep in the defensive secondary.  Good job running back the pick from your own goal line across midfield.

Big Hits-This team played really physical.  Michael Mauti had a huge hit on Sherer when he tried to scramble late in the game, and Aaron Maybin absolutely laid out a Wisconsin offensive lineman on Sargeant’s interception return.  That’s another way to see how the team got amped up for this one.

The Bad:

I got nothing.  Yeah, a couple early drops, a botched snap early on, but I’m not going to kill anyone for that.  It happens.  I guess I could call out the entire defense for the Wisconsin TD drive, but when you give them one score all game, you’ve done your job.

Fine: The refs-They were good most of the game, except I have no idea how they could’ve possibly reversed Rubin’s pick.  Even if he didn’t get it cleanly, there’s not undisputable evidence.  Bad job, zebras.

The Ugly:

Derrick Williams’s punt returning-Having Derrick Williams back there to return kicks is scary-for both teams.  Yeah, he had a big punt return touchdown.  But he also muffed a kick, and called a fair catch at least once when there was plenty of room to return.  You can’t afford to lose a muff against Ohio State.

All-in-all, this may have been the most complete performance by a Penn State team since 1994.  I can’t wait until next week.  The Beav is going to be rocking.  After that Toledo loss, there’s no way they’re coming in here and winning.  Streak-broken.