The Penn Stater Magazine

Those Special Teams … Ouch

November 15, 2009 at 1:04 pm Tina Hay Leave a comment

I usually watch Penn State football games on TV while getting stuff done around the house, but yesterday some friends from Boiling Springs took me to the Indiana game. (I got to sit in the club seats!) And by the end of the first quarter, I almost wished I were at home doing laundry.

Two interceptions, a fumble, a 10-0 Indiana lead, and the sight of Chaz Powell on the sidelines with his shoulder wrapped in ice—all in the first 15 minutes—tend to take a lot of enjoyment out of the experience for the fans.

At halftime, the Blue Band reprised some of their top performances of the season, with the Lion and PJ Maierhofer reenacting their "Rocky" bit.

Obviously Penn State turned things around in the end and came away with a W, but oh my, was that ever a painful win. Daryll Clark’s two interceptions in the first period were part of the story, but Penn State’s special teams also made us grimace: The Lions fumbled three punts in the first half and a kickoff return in the second.

Neil Rudel ’78, who has covered Penn State football for the Altoona Mirror for 30 years, has a fairly pointed commentary this morning in which he laments the problems in special-teams play that have plagued Penn State all season. Last week against Ohio State it was the coverage teams; yesterday it was the return teams. And, when Joe Paterno said after yesterday’s game, “I thought the special teams did well except for handling the punts,” Rudel says that’s like a pitcher throwing a three-hitter but giving up three grand slams.

“The Nittany Nation is hoarse screaming for a special teams coordinator,” says Rudel.

Tina Hay, editor

Entry filed under: Penn State football. Tags: Altoona Mirror, Indiana football, Neil Rudel, Ohio State football, PJ Maierhofer.