They May Have Restored the Roar in Lions

In recent seasons, Penn State Coach Joe Paterno has not had too many things go right for his Nittany Lions, who’ve made only one bowl appearance over the last five years.

“So many of the games we have lost ... came down to one play, a field goal that kept you in the game or a turnover or what have you,” Paterno said before Saturday’s Big Ten Conference opener at Northwestern.

“Hopefully, we have some of that behind us.”

On Saturday, Paterno and Penn State’s fortunes finally turned when the Nittany Lions overcame four turnovers and a 16-point deficit to defeat Northwestern, 34-29, on a 36-yard touchdown pass from senior Michael Robinson to freshman Derrick Williams with 51 seconds remaining.

In improving to 4-0 for the first time since 1999, the Nittany Lions needed a fourth-down conversion from their 15 to keep the winning drive alive.

Paterno left it up to Robinson to gain 15 yards and he connected on a 20-yard completion over the middle with 1:33 left to Isaac Smolko, a seldom-used tight end.

After Smolko made his only catch of the game, the Penn State coach’s confidence grew stronger.

“I thought we’d be OK, if we didn’t panic,” said Paterno, 78 and in his 40th season with the Nittany Lions. “You have to give Robinson most of the credit.”

Robinson became the first Penn State player to reach 1,000 yards rushing and passing. He finished with 60 yards rushing and 271 yards passing.

On third-and-six from the Northwestern 36, Robinson was hit while throwing a corner pass to Williams, who caught the ball at the 10 and broke away from safety Reggie McPherson’s attempted tackle for his first career touchdown.

For Robinson, it was his third touchdown pass of the game to go with a rushing score.

“That drive was all about heart,” he said. “Derrick was kind of upset at halftime because he felt like he could do some things on the outside, but we weren’t getting him the ball. I told him to be patient.”

Paterno gave credit to freshmen Deon Butler, Justin King and Williams, who have brought speed to the receiving corps.

Against Northwestern, Butler had five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown; King had one catch for 37 yards and one carry for 43; and Williams finished with two catches for 42 yards and the winning touchdown.

“They made a big difference,” Paterno said about his heralded freshmen. “They played well.”

One Comeback

Deserves Another

Minnesota is another Big Ten team that had to convert on fourth down in order to complete a come-from-behind victory.

The Gophers rallied to tie the score twice -- once in regulation and once in overtime -- before defeating No. 11 Purdue, 42-35, in two overtimes.

For Coach Glen Mason, who gained his first victory over the Boilermakers in seven tries as Minnesota coach, his biggest plays came on fourth downs in both overtimes.

With Purdue ahead, 35-28, Gopher quarterback Bryan Cupito completed a six-yard fourth down touchdown pass to Logan Payne, his first career touchdown, to force a second overtime.

Then after Gary Russell scored his third touchdown to put Minnesota ahead, 42-35, the Gophers’ defense stopped Purdue when Brandon Kirsch’s fourth-down pass bounced off the hands of receiver Charles Davis.

“I was dreading having to go, look in their eyes in the locker room and have to give them one of those talks that I’ve had to give too many times,” Mason said.

“We’ve kind of been snake-bitten against Purdue.”

Next Up for Two-Time

National Champions

USC extended its winning streak to 25 games with its 45-13 victory over Oregon on Saturday, but the Trojans, who showed some vulnerability in the first half, might still face some competition.

The Trojans will need to win on the road for a second week in a row against a ranked opponent when they travel to Tempe, Ariz., to take on No. 18 Arizona State.

The Sun Devils defeated Oregon State, 42-24, on Saturday night. If USC can dispatch Arizona State as it did the Ducks, the schedule turns in the Trojans’ favor. Next would be an Oct. 8 game at the Coliseum against Arizona (1-2.

That would leave the Trojans staring at an Oct. 15 date in South Bend, Ind., against No. 16 Notre Dame.

Arriving at mid-October with an unblemished record would leave the Washington schools -- at Washington on Oct. 22 and at the Coliseum against Washington State on Oct. 29 -- up next. Neither is expected to be a roadblock to Trojan success.

Intra-state games would usher in November. Stanford, idle this week after getting beat by UC Davis, 20-17, the previous week, comes to the Coliseum on Nov. 5. California, currently ranked No. 13, will play host to USC on Nov. 12. Formerly ranked Fresno State (1-1) comes to town on Nov. 19.

After a week off, USC would finish the regular season on Dec. 3 at the Coliseum against No. 25 UCLA, which was idle this week after defeating previously ranked Oklahoma, 41-24.

Prime Time Efforts

One week after defeating Stanford, UC Davis did not suffer a letdown Saturday with a 37-7 victory over Sacramento State.

Jon Grant passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more scores to lead the Aggies (2-2), who also had a big game from receiver Tony Kays, who had 10 catches for 182 yards and a touchdown.

Other notable performances:

* DeShawn Wynn became the first player in Florida history to record two four-touchdown games when he scored four in the No. 5 Gators’ 49-28 win over Kentucky. Wynn, who accomplished the feat against Florida A&M; in 2003, ran for three scores and caught one touchdown pass.

* Mason Crosby’s 58-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of a 23-3 loss to No. 12 Miami prevented Colorado from being shut out for the first time in nearly two decades. The last time the Buffaloes were blanked was Nov. 7, 1988, against Nebraska -- 200 games ago.

* Darius Walker became the first running back in Notre Dame history to run for more than 100 yards in each of his first four games as he gained a career-high 128 yards in 21 carries against Washington.

* Parrish Fisher became the first Kansas State freshman to run for 100-plus yards in a game as the Wildcats gained a school-record 658 yards in a 54-7 victory over North Texas. Fisher, filling in for the benched Thomas Clayton, ran for 169 yards in 21 carries.

* Steven Moffett passed for 260 yards and Matt Prater kicked three field goals for Central Florida, which ended major college football’s longest losing streak at 17 games with a 23-13 victory over Marshall. The Golden Knights won for the first time since they defeated Central Michigan, 31-13, on Oct. 23, 2003.

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Heading the field

Last week’s win over Central Michigan gave Penn State Coach Joe Paterno his 450th victory since joining the coaching staff in 1950. The Nittany Lions have a 451-164-7 record since 1950, the fourth-best winning percentage in the nation. The nation’s biggest winners since 1950:

*--* School Record Pct. Oklahoma 470-149-12 75.4 Ohio State 446-145-15 74.8 Nebraska 469-164-9 73.8 Penn State 451-164-7 73.1 Michigan 434-165-13 72.0

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ALL-TIME NCAA HEAD COACHING VICTORIES

*--* 425 John Gagliardi* 408 Eddie Robinson 354 Bobby Bowden* 347 Joe Paterno* 323 Bear Bryant 319 Pop Warner 315 Roy Kidd 314 Amos Alonzo Stagg 305 Frosty Westering

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