2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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* A. Q. Shipley::Dave Rimington Trophy watchlist

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Led by Dan Connor, the defense sacked the Irish's highly touted freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen six times for -50 yards. The defensive unit held the Irish to zero rushing yards and just 144 yards total. The Irish committed 14 penalties for 97 yards, partly due to the loud, mostly white-clad crowd.

The Wolverines defeated the Nittany Lions 14-9, their first loss of the season. Michigan's Mike Hart carried the ball a record 44 times for 153 yards, helping the Wolverines control the clock and executed 26 more plays than Penn State.

The Nittany Lions defense permitted only three drives above 40 yards, forced two turnovers and limited Hart to 3.5 yards per carry, but the Wolverines were 10 of 18 on third down conversions. Sean Lee finished with 12 tackles, and cornerback Lydell Sargeant made a career-high 10 tackles including a tackle for loss and an interception.

Anthony Morelli was 15 of 31 for 169 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions, but lost a fumble early in the game on the Penn State 10-yard line. Michigan needed only two plays to convert the turnover into a touchdown.Quarterback Anthony Morelli overcame first-half boos from the Beaver Stadium crowd to finish 18 of 31 for 233 yards and a touchdown in a 27-7 win over the Hawkeyes. Rodney Kinlaw, playing in place of suspended tailback Austin Scott, ran for a career-high 168 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Evan Royster had 86 yards on 16 carries before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury.

Placekicker Kevin Kelly connected on 2 of 3 field goals, including a personal-best 53-yarder. Deon Butler led Nittany Lions receivers with 3 catches for 55 yards. Maurice Evans and Aaron Maybin each sacked Iowa's Jake Christensen twice, and the Hawkeyes were held scoreless until Trey Stross caught an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.]

Defensive end Jerome Hayes was lost for the season after tearing his ACL in the third quarter.]

Defensive tackle Jared Odrick left the game with a broken ankle, and fullback Matt Hahn left with a torn ACL. Both are out for the season.

October 27: Ohio State

In his final Beaver Stadium performance, linebacker Dan Connor made 11 tackles against the Boilermakers to give him 379 career stops and became Penn State's all-time tackler, passing Paul Posluszny (372).

Senior Anthony Morelli was 22 of 35 for 210 yards and a touchdown, giving him 2,060 yards passing for the season. With 2,424 passing yards last season, Morelli became the first Nittany Lion quarterback with at least 2,000 passing yards in multiple seasons.

Redshirt freshman tailback Evan Royster recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 126 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. Derrick Williams also made a career-high 10 receptions for 95 yards and rushed for 12 yards and a touchdown, finishing with a career-high 151 all-purpose yards.] as well as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

Penn State rallied from a 14-0 first quarter deficit to win 24-17 on the strength of the running game provided by the offensive line and Rodney Kinlaw, Daryll Clark and Evan Royster. The defense came up with a key goal line stand in the fourth quarter stopping an option play on fourth and goal from inside the five yard line.

Rankings

External links

* [http://gopsusports.cstv.com/ Official Penn State Athletics website]
* [http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/psu-m-footbl-body.html Official Penn State Athletics football subsite]
* [http://www.gopsf.com/ Penn State Football website]
* [http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/psu-m-footbl-mtt.html Football roster]
* [http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2007-2008/teamstat.html Season statistics]

References