STATE COLLEGE (AP) — No early indecision this week in Happy Valley — true freshman Rob Bolden has earned another start at quarterback for Penn State.
But his next opponent will be much more difficult than overmatched Youngstown State at Beaver Stadium. A trip Saturday to top-ranked Alabama awaits the No. 18 Nittany Lions.
“It’s going to be the exact opposite of what this is like,” right guard Stefen Wisniewski said Tuesday at Beaver Stadium. “At Alabama, those 100,000 fans, they’re not going to be for us, they’re going to be against us. It’s going to be a completely different thing.”
This time, the offense has a full week knowing who will call the plays in the huddle. Bolden proved himself after throwing for 239 yards and two touchdowns against the Penguins in the first start in a season opener for a true freshman quarterback in Joe Paterno’s 45 years on the sideline.
The choice was so hard on the coaching staff it didn’t announce a starter until midweek, with the 18-year-old Bolden beating out two returning sophomores. There wasn’t any ambiguity this time on the depth chart.
“It’s not going to be easy for him, but he’s not going to lose his poise,” said Paterno, who was in his 26th year as head coach when Bolden was born in 1992. “Hopefully, we’ll put him in a position where he can at least have some success.”
But that’s one of the main concerns for Paterno — trying to figure out how to beat the defending national champions on the road.
The Nittany Lions don’t think Alabama will slow down on offense even if Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Mark Ingram has to sit out another game because of a left knee injury. They consider backup Trent Richardson just as dangerous.
Top Tide defensive end Marcell Dareus will definitely sit out as part of a two-game NCAA suspension for improper agent benefits, though Paterno isn’t buying that Alabama’s defense will be weaker without him.
“He’s one heck of a football player. Now do they have one as good behind him? I don’t know,” Paterno said. “They got a lot of people. They all know where the ball is, they all tackle, they all hustle.”
It sounds a lot like the other Alabama defenses Penn State used to face back in the late 1970s and 1980s, when a Crimson Tide-Nittany Lions showdown was an annual marquee matchup. The schools last met in 1990, a 9-0 win for Penn State at Tuscaloosa that gave the Nittany Lions an 8-5 series edge.
The 1979 Sugar Bowl might have been the most memorable game, when a goal-line stand helped the Tide win the national championship. It was one of four victories for famed Alabama coach Bear Bryant over Penn State — though Paterno brushed aside Tuesday any questions that sought to compare him to Bryant.
“I think it’s two football teams playing and I don’t think they really care that (someone) named Paterno coaches one team, and a guy named Bryant used to coach their team,” said Paterno, major college football’s career coaching leader with 395 wins.
The Nittany Lions will likely need a much more productive day out of star tailback Evan Royster, who ran for 40 yards on 11 carries against the Penguins as Penn State played rather conservatively. The offensive line that protected Bolden well didn’t get much push early on up front.
Alabama debuted seven new starters on defense last week, though Paterno said he’s concerned about the youth or inexperience on his own team. There are new starters at left tackle (Quinn Barham), center (Doug Klopacz) and tight end (freshman Garry Gilliam). Penn State also alternated two players at left guard, and has returning starters Wisniewski and right tackle Lou Eliades in new positions this season.
Perhaps most importantly, true freshman Bolden is the quarterback.
“We’re going to play before 100,000 fans with a freshman who has never really been in that kind of situation, so it’s going to be an interesting afternoon, but hey, that’s what it’s all about,” Paterno said.
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