Penn State Nittany Lions vs Youngstown State Penguins Football Recap

Penn State 44, Youngstown State 14

It could be the beginning of a bold new era in Happy Valley as long as Robert Bolden is at the controls.

The true freshman completed 20 of 29 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns for Penn State, leading the Nittany Lions to victory in a tune-up for PSU’s main-event throwdown next Saturday at Alabama.

The Nittany Lions have a young quarterback, but a very promising one in the form of Bolden. The youngster justified legendary coach Joe Paterno’s confidence in the season opener against Youngstown by hitting just over two-thirds of his passes and throwing only one interception. Bolden is an athletic quarterback who differs from many of Penn State’s old-school quarterbacks in the 1970s and 1980s. He’s a representation of a new breed of quarterback akin to Michael Robinson, who led PSU to the 2005 Big Ten championship. Darryl Clark, the man Bolden’s replacing this season, was more of a traditional pocket passer, so Penn State has a chance to be a more diversified team on offense in 2010.

Kurt Hess, also making his starting debut, completed 21 of 25 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns for Youngstown State.  Dominique Barnes caught a short pass from Hess and turned it into an 80-yard touchdown to give the Penguins a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter.

Bolden’s first collegiate touchdown pass, a 20-yard strike to Brett Brackett, gave Penn State a 13-7 lead with 1:20 left in the first half.

Chaz Powell’s 100-yard touchdown return of the second-half kickoff broke the game open, giving the Nittany Lions a 23-7 lead. Brackett’s second touchdown catch put Penn State ahead 30-7 with 8:56 left in the third quarter. Penn State’s stingy rush defense held the Penguins to 75 yards on 34 carries.

Collin Wagner made all three of his field goal attempts, all in the first half.  The senior was good from 44, 49, and 48 yards.

Evan Royster carried 11 times for 40 yards to lead Penn State, which rolled up 132 yards on the ground.  Nine different players carried the ball for the Lions, including sophomore quarterback Kevin Newsome, who ran for a one-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.  Backup tailback Stephfon Green carried six times for 32 yards and a six-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. This was not a fast start for Penn State, but it was a solid finish, and the Lions hope that they can represent the Nittany Nation as they prepare for week two.

Brackett led Penn State receivers with eight catches for 98 yards. Barnes finished with 134 yards receiving on 11 catches for Youngstown State.

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