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Penn State to do battle for Land Grant Trophy
Thursday, November 19, 2009
By Josh Mlot Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The battle for the Land Grant Trophy wraps up the regular season Saturday when No. 14 Penn State (9-2, 5-2) travels to Michigan State to take on the Spartans (6-5, 4-3).
A victory would not only give the program its 21st 10-win season under head coach Joe Paterno, but it would also allow the Nittany Lions to cling to slim, last-ditch hopes of an at-large BCS bowl bid. The head ball coach doesn't give that the slightest bit of thought, though.
"You know, you guys know more than I do," Paterno said. "The only thing I know is we're playing Michigan State this week. Don't make a darn bit of difference.
"If we don't beat Michigan State, none of that makes any ... none of it's important. So I don't waste time with it."
What Joe is wasting his time with is the opponent taking the field on Saturday, a Michigan State team averaging 31 points per game and coming off a nail-biting 40-37 win over Purdue a week ago.
That high-powered offense - No. 1 in the Big Ten - is led by a passing game averaging 274.1 yards through the air, behind sophomore signal caller Kirk Cousins, who beat out Oklahoma transfer Keith Nichol early in the season for the starting job. Since then, Cousins has amassed 2,305 yards on 169-of-273 passing, with 17 TDs and only five interceptions.
The primary benefactor of Cousins efficiency is senior wideout Blair White, who paces the team with 854 yards and eight touchdowns, while ranking fourth in the conference with 61 receptions. B.J. Cunningham (602 yds, 4 TDs) and Mark Dell (405 yds, 1 TD) are also experienced targets.
The pass-heavy attack is a bit of a departure from recent Spartan teams under head coach Mark Dantonio, but the run game still plays a major role. The departure of workhorse Javon Ringer has left the rushing responsibilities to freshman back Larry Caper, who leads Michigan State with 411 yards (4.1 yards per carry) and six scores.
Defensively, the Spartans send the Big Ten's leading tackler onto the field in Greg Jones. The junior middle linebacker has 126 stops with 11 for a loss, along with 7.5 sacks. Eric Gordon (79 tackles) and Brandon Denson (54) join him in the middle to form the strong point of the MSU defense.
"I think Jones is a really good football player," Paterno said. "In fact, we were talking about him. What has he got, a hundred-some tackles, a couple other things? ... He's a heck of a football player."
The line is led by end Trevor Anderson and tackle Jerel Worthy, while cornerback Chris L. Rucker heads up the secondary.
Special teams has been a major weapon for Michigan State, which may sound like a scary proposition for Penn State fans. But after being gashed by kick returners at times earlier in the season, the Nittany Lions have seemed to shore up that unit a bit.
The group will need to be on top of its game again this weekend, with Keshawn Martin lining up to take back kicks for the Spartans. Martin is third in the Big Ten in kickoff returns, with a 31.7 average and one touchdown. He's also a versatile offensive weapon split out wide or in the backfield, leading the team with 1,067 all-purpose yards.
Spartan kicker Brett Swenson has connected on a conference-high 18-of-20 field goals and leads the Big Ten in scoring with 92 points.
Of course, special teams is still a sore subject for the Nittany Lions, after a number of muffs and return mishaps allowed Indiana to make it a tight ballgame last weekend. Paterno offered up a rather simple solution to the problem.
"We're not going to let them punt," he said, before suggesting another plan that might be more realistic, but just as simple.
"We're going to catch the ball. ... We spent some time on it. I think (Graham) Zug had a bad day. He was trying to make something happen. We were behind. ... You've got to appreciate that in a competitor."
Penn State will not only look to catch the ball better, but also to continue running the ball as well as it has recently. Junior Evan Royster needs 10 more yards to reach 1,000 for the season, not a bad mark considering some of the struggles the ground game endured through the year's early going.
"They're giving us better opportunities to run the football, and we're trying to take advantage of that," Paterno said, after teams stacked the box through the first few weeks of the season.
The Nittany Lions hold a 13-12-1 edge over Michigan State in the all-time series, which dates back to 1914. The two sides have met in the regular season finale for the past 16 years to play for the Land Grant Trophy, adding to a lengthy list of Big Ten rivalries.
"Michigan State plays well against us at home," Paterno said. "We just talked about that this morning, how tough they've been out there in Lansing for us.
"I think it's been a good series. ... I think it will be a very significant - I don't know what you call it - end-of-the-season game for both teams and for the league."
If the end of that season doesn't hold a BCS bid for the blue-and-white - and it would take some luck for it to - the disappointment certainly won't come from the coaching staff.
"Obviously, we would liked to have won another game or two," Paterno said. "But I think for a young team, some key positions, people were young, I thought overall we did all right.
"You guys are the guys that are disappointed, I think."
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by ABC.
NOTES: WR Chaz Powell is unlikely to play for the Nittany Lions this weekend, while CB A.J. Wallace may see action. RB Brandon Beachum is out.
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