The Good and the Bad . . . article from Centre Times

For those who want to put Penn State's 41-17 loss to Notre Dame behind you and focus on the rest of the season, you might not want to read any further. Penn State-Youngstown State kicks at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Beaver Stadium.

For those of you who are gluttons for punishment, here's a rundown of what went right and what went all too often wrong for the Nittany Lions in their first visit to South Bend in 14 years.

The Good

Anthony Morelli. A couple of poor decisions aside, Penn State's junior quarterback was mostly accurate (21-of-33) and once again showed his big-league arm is Penn State's best offensive weapon. He could have used some help from his receivers and his coaches.

The little guys. State College product Jordan Norwood (5-foot-10, 168 pounds) and Altoona product Brendan Peretta (5-7, 180) were the Nittany Lions' leading receivers, combining for 10 catches for 137 yards. The other Lions managed just 88 yards on 14 catches and made several key drops.

The offensive line. Penn State's running game did a 180 from the week before, producing 158 yards and 4.8 per pop against a seasoned Notre Dame defensive line. The pass protection was solid as well; Morelli was sacked just twice in 33 attempts.

The Bad

The playcalling. Michael Robinson mastered the option. It will not work with Morelli, and the sooner Penn State admits this, the better. Inserting Derrick Williams at quarterback is a gimmick at best; he's better suited running routes for Morelli. The new wrinkles only succeeded in slowing the offense down.

The pass rush. The Nittany Lions could not get to Brady Quinn without blitzing (and not always then), leaving their overmatched defensive backs out to dry. The linebackers, who were pressed into coverage duty, also suffered. The 3-4 was once again tough against the run but hurt the Lions against Quinn and the pass.

Special teams. An unusually bad day for defensive tackle/long snapper Jay Alford included another bad snap that likely cost Penn State three crucial points. Penn State was flat-footed on the Irish's successful fake punt. The return game was lethargic, and even punter Jeremy Kapinos (35 yards per kick) wasn't his usual self.

Care of football. It's hard to beat a team that doesn't turn the ball over at home. It's harder still when you commit three turnovers of your own, as the Nittany Lions did. Penn State didn't struggle to move the ball but turnovers and penalties made most of its yards wasted effort.

The Rest

The Nittany Lions fell six spots to No. 25 in the Associated Press poll. ... Linebacker Paul Posluszny's 12 tackles moved him past Brandon Short, John Skorupan and Shane Conlan to fourth place on Penn State's all-time tackles list with 275. ... Tailback Tony Hunt rushed for 74 yards against the Irish and moved into 14th place on Penn State's all-time list with 2,044 career yards. ... Sophomore wide receiver Deon Butler has 11 touchdown receptions in 14 career games and is already tied for sixth on Penn State's career list. ... Penn State was shut out in a half for the first time since the Michigan game last October.