PSU looks for momentum against Robinson, Michigan

Penn State picked up a much-needed victory last week with its 33-21 win at Minnesota.

Granted, it was against the last place team in the Big Ten, but it provided a boost for the Nittany Lions, who improved to 4-3.

The question for the Lions this week is whether they can continue to build on that win with Michigan in Happy Valley tonight. Kickoff is at 8 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN.

This is a pivotal game for Penn State if it hopes to salvage its season. The Lions have two Associated Press Top 10 teams left on the schedule (at number 10 Ohio State on Nov. 13 and at home vs. fifth ranked Michigan State Nov. 27), and they will be underdogs to both. Also left on the slate are a visit from Northwestern on Nov. 6 and a trip to FedEx field to face Indiana on Nov. 20.

That is looking ahead, however, something the Lions cannot afford to do at this point. The Wolverines (ranked 25th by the USA Today Coaches Poll) are Priority One at the moment.

The quarterback situation for the Nittany Lions received a shake-up last week when true freshman Rob Bolden suffered what is thought to be a concussion against Minnesota. With back up Kevin Newsome nursing a knee injury, the Lions went with West Scranton QB Matt McGloin. The former walk-on delivered, hitting Derek Moye for a 42 yard touchdown on his first pass attempt.

Bolden had been enjoying a strong outing before he was injured, connecting on 11 of 13 passes for 130 yards, including a TD to Brett Brackett. McGloin finished 6-for-13 for 76 yards and was picked off twice to go with his TD pass.

While Bolden was listed as probable for tonight's game, Joe Paterno stated on his radio show Thursday night that McGloin would get the start behind center against Michigan.

At his press conference on Tuesday (full text at www.gopsusports.com), Joe Paterno stated he planned to be cautious with Bolden's injury.

"They are watching him very closely and obviously, we'd love to have him play, but we're not going to take any chances," he said. "A young man like that, regardless of whether he's a football player or not a football player, you'd want to be careful about it ... but if they allow him to play, it's because they're sure he's OK."

The Lions were taking a wait-and-see attitude with Newsome.

"I don't think his knee injury was a serious one," said Joe Paterno. "I think it probably scared him a little bit, but our medical people don't think there's anything wrong with Kevin, and that Kevin can compete."

McGloin went into the Minnesota game without a lot of preparation. This week, he reportedly took the majority of snaps at practice.

"I thought he did very well under the circumstances and will get better if he has to play more," assessed Paterno.

The Lions' dormant ground game showed signs of life against the Golden Gophers. Freshman Silas Redd carried 9 times for 71 yards, and senior Evan Royster had 62 yards on 10 carries and a two-yard TD run. Royster is now just 31 yards away from breaking Curt Warner's OSU career rushing record of 3,398 yards.

Paterno said Royster remains the Lions' first string tailback while Redd and Stephfon Green will share time.

The Lions' offense had a season-high of six plays of 20-plus yards against Minnesota and is showing signs of waking up at the right time.

Michigan carries a 5-2 mark into action, opening with wins over Connecticut (30-10), Notre Dame (28-24), Massachusetts (42-37), Bowling Green (65-21) and Indiana (42-35). Since then, they have dropped two in a row to ranked Big Ten teams Michigan State (34-17) and Iowa (38-28). The Wolverines had a bye last week.

A rejuvenated ground game could be crucial against Michigan. The Wolverines are averaging 36 points per game, so they can score, but they also allow 28.4 points and 441 yards of total offense per contest.

Keeping the ball out of the hands of dynamic Denard Robinson would help the PSU cause, especially with the Lions decimated by injuries on defense.

Robinson is a true double threat and had garnered Heisman Trophy attention. He leads the Wolverines in rushing (1,096 yards, 9 TDs, second in the nation at 156.5 per game) and passing (97 for 143, 1,319 yards, 9 TDs, 5 interceptions).

When Robinson goes to the air, his top targets are Roy Roundtree (33-395, 2 TDs), Danny Storum (24-323, 2 TDs) and Junior Hemingway (17-366, 2 TDs).

"This kid here (Robinson) came out of nowhere," mentioned Paterno. "He's awfully dangerous. He's got great instincts with the football. He throws the ball well when they decide he's going to, they're going to give him the protection he needs.

"He's tough to rush. He's tough to get after, because he moves so well," he added.

Defensively, the Wolverines are led by linebacker Jonas Mouton (63 tackles) and defensive backs Jordan Kovacs (61 stops) and J.T. Floyd (59). Tackles Mike Martin and Greg Banks are the sack leaders.

When Lloyd Carr was at the Michigan helm, the Wolverines had won nine in a row vs. PSU at one point. Michigan leads the series 10-5.

Since Rich Rodriguez came over to Ann Arbor from West Virginia, the Wolverines have a 13-18 overall mark and have lost both meetings with PSU, 35-10 last year and 46-17 at Beaver Stadium two years ago.

While PSU-Michigan games were almost an annual event since the Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993, that will not be the case under the conference's new divisional setup, which has the Lions and Wolverines in separate divisions. The two schools are not scheduled to meet the next two years.

The oddsmakers have installed Michigan as a three-point favorite,

"I think we've got to play 60 minutes of really good football on both sides of the football," said Paterno. "I think it's amazing, when you look at the tape of Michigan's games against Michigan State and then against Iowa, how well they have played. Outside of turnovers and a couple of major mistakes, they're every bit as good as those two football teams on those particular days.

"We've played against people who are fast. I don't think we've played against anyone who is better offensively than Michigan is right now."

NITTANY LINES - Lions kicker Collin Wagner has been named as one of 20 semifinalists for the 2010 Lou Groza Place-kicker Award, presented by the Discover Orange Bowl ... guard Stefen Wisniewski has been selected one of 16 National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes from across all NCAA and NAIA divisions. Wisniewski will receive an $18,000 scholarship for postgraduate studies. He also is a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, presented to the nation's premier college football Scholar-Athlete, with the winner receiving a total of $25,000 for postgraduate work. Wisniewski is 16th Nittany Lion to be selected a Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete during Paterno's tenure; the last was Paul Posluszny (2006) ... a pair of Penn State standouts, Franco Harris and Jordan Norwood, will be among the participants at the Sports Illustrated College Football Experience Presented by Nissan today, which will be located at the Penn State Street Festival along Curtin Road, adjacent to Beaver Stadium and the Bryce Jordan Center. Admission to the tour is free. Norwood is currently a member of the Cleveland Browns' practice squad and will appear between 3:30-5. Pro football Hall of Famer Harris will appear between 5-7:30 p.m.