Can anyone can quarterback controversy?
Penn State‘s offense has its best performance on the season against Michigan ans Matt McGloin threw for 250 yards and a score and Evan Royster ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns as the Nittany Lions (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) won their second straight and got iconic coach Joe Paterno his 399th career victory.
Royster had 99 yards and two scores in the first half alone against the Wolverines’ porous defense – the worst unit in the Big Ten. An offensive line maligned all season for a choppy running game opened up holes for the senior tailback, who also broke the school career rushing record of 3,398 previously held by Hall of Famer Curt Warner.
Michigan made the game a lot closer than it should have been as quarterback Denard Robinson was a virtual one-man gang, running for 191 yards and three scores on 27 carries, while throwing for 190 and a score.
Down by 21 for much of the second half, Robinson did his best to spark the Wolverines, including a 60-yard touchdown pass to wide-open tight end Kevin Kroger and a 1-yard touchdown plunge on his own in the third quarter.
Robinson’s 4-yard scoring run – his third of the night – got Michigan within 38-31 with 9:25 to go and left most of the 108,000-plus fans at Beaver Stadium nervous in their seats.
But Collin Wagner hit a 42-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game, and Penn State’s defense stopped Robinson on Michigan’s next series with less than 5 minutes left.
With McGloin at quarterback the Nittany Lions went old school on offense.
Twenty-nine handoffs to Royster. Screens to tailbacks. Passes over the middle to the team’s most reliable target, 6-foot-6 receiver Brett Brackett. And just the right number of shots downfield to keep the defense honest.
“The thing is, we didn’t do anything silly out there,” Paterno said. “I think that’s a sign of growing up.”
After a Michigan field goal cut the lead to 14-10 with 8:43 left in the second, Penn State followed with an 11-play, 74-yard drive on which Royster gained 33 yards on five carries to set up McGloin’s keeper from a yard out for an 11-point lead.
The creaky Beaver Stadium stands rocked as fans celebrated on the metal bleachers, waving their white pom-poms in the air. A late-arriving student section got in the act by wearing all white for a signature Happy Valley “Whiteout.”
But there was more fun to come for the Penn State faithful. Jeremy Gallon fumbled the ensuing kickoff out of bounds at the 2, and the Wolverines punted again after a 3-and-out.
Devon Smith’s 22-yard return had Penn State starting the next drive at the Michigan 37, and McGloin hit Graham Zug with a perfectly thrown ball just over safety Ray Vinopal at the front corner of the end zone for a 28-10 lead.
McGloin finished 17 of 28 passing, and his performance might elicit questions of a possible quarterback controversy in Happy Valley if Bolden is ready to return for next week’s home game against Northwestern.