Eastern Illinois (4-1) at (9) Penn State (4-1)
Currently: - Game info: 12:00 pm EDT Sat Oct 10, 2009
Lack of consistency in the running game hurt Penn State in its conference opener, but the Nittany Lions appeared to re-establish themselves as a force on the ground in their first road game.
The 14th-ranked Nittany Lions will try to keep racking up rushing yards Saturday afternoon when they step out of conference for the final time to host Football Championship Subdivision foe Eastern Illinois and quarterback Jake Christensen, who is no stranger to playing in Big Ten stadiums.
Penn State (4-1) outscored its first three non-conference opponents 90-20 but hardly looked dominant running the ball, gaining 4.0 yards per carry after averaging 6.5 outside of league play a year ago.
The ground game was even less effective when the Nittany Lions opened their Big Ten slate against Iowa on Sept. 26, averaging 3.3 yards. Junior tailback Evan Royster failed to reach 70 yards for the third time in four games and lost a key fumble in a 21-10 loss that sent coach Joe Paterno’s team tumbling from its No. 5 ranking.
Royster and the Nittany Lions bounced back Saturday against Illinois, piling up 338 rushing yards for their highest total since gaining 364 versus Minnesota on Oct. 1, 2005. Royster and Stephfon Green each topped 100 yards during Penn State’s 35-17 win.
“We just had a sense of urgency,” said quarterback Daryll Clark, who ran for a career-high 83 yards and two touchdowns. “We were able to convert a lot of third downs and the running game improved tremendously. I was real excited to see that.”
Eastern Illinois (4-1) has allowed 2.7 yards per carry in its first five games, but the No. 25 team in the Sports Network’s FCS poll won’t have the luxury of facing another lower-tier opponent this week.
This will be the third consecutive year the Panthers have faced a Big Ten team, and their most recent experience was especially unpleasant. Illinois ran for 399 yards and five touchdowns on Sept. 6, 2008, in Champaign, handing coach Bob Spoo’s team a 47-21 loss.
One Panther who won’t be intimidated by visiting a Big Ten venue is Christensen, who spent the first three years of his collegiate career at Iowa before transferring to Eastern Illinois after the 2008 season. Christensen was the Hawkeyes’ full-time starter in 2007, throwing for 2,269 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions, but was benched in favor of Ricky Stanzi last season.
This will be his second trip to Happy Valley. He was 16 for 29 for 146 yards and a touchdown on Oct. 6, 2007, in Iowa’s 27-7 loss.
“He doesn’t make a lot of dumb mistakes, (and neither) does their team,” Paterno said of Christensen. “It looks as if he’s got complete control of that offensive football team.”
Christensen had thrown eight touchdown passes and one interception while winning his first four games with the Panthers, but his undefeated FCS run ended Saturday against Eastern Kentucky. He threw three touchdowns but was picked off twice and sacked six times in a 36-31 home loss to Eastern Illinois’ Ohio Valley Conference rival.
Unlike Christensen’s first visit to Penn State, he won’t have to worry about linebacker Sean Lee. Lee was the Big Ten’s defensive player of the week after recording 12 tackles Sept. 19 against Temple, but hasn’t played since due to a sprained left knee and won’t suit up Saturday.
Even without Lee, the Nittany Lions - seventh in the nation in scoring defense (11.6 points per game) and 15th in total defense (265.6 yards per game) - will have one star among their linebacking corps. A groin injury sidelined junior Navorro Bowman in the first quarter of Penn State’s opener, but he has 20 tackles - four for losses - since returning against the Hawkeyes.
Paterno acknowledged that given his team’s health, he’d prefer some rest before the final six games - but finances made adding a game against an FCS foe an attractive option.
“I would obviously prefer an open date if we can have one,” Paterno said. “We had a chance to play 12 games, which means money so we can support the other 28 sports on this campus.”
The Nittany Lions have won 19 straight non-conference home games and have outscored their two most recent FCS opponents 103-13.
