Notes from the Cuff
Penn State’s record in home openers climbed to 105-12-1. . . More than 90 players stayed in State College during the summer to take classes and work out to get ready for a rebound season. . . This was Paterno’s 452nd game as head coach and Penn State has the most experienced combination of head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators in Division I. JoePa has 54 years on the sideline, Galen Hall 35 years and Tom Bradley 25 years for a total of 114 years of coaching experience. Next closest is Bobby Bowden’s staff at Florida State with 95 years. . . By contrast the player roster is dominated by youth. Of the 113 players on State’s roster only 14 are seniors; 29 are juniors, 27 sophomores, 14 redshirt freshmen and 29 true freshmen. . . New Drum Major Kevin Rudy got the season off to an auspicious start by hitting both of his front flips as a good omen. . . The crowd of 98,866 was the first under 100,000 since the last stadium expansion in 2001. . . Last year the Nittany Lions were slow to start and slow to finish, being outscored 83-41 in the first quarter and 65-37 in the fourth. In the middle periods State outscored its opponents 155-107. . . Saturday’s 21 first quarter points were the most for the Lions since they tallied 28 against Michigan State in 2000. . . Tony Hunt’s 77-yd TD run was the longest since Larry Johnson went 78 yards to paydirt against the Spartans in 2002. . . Zack Mills Saturday moved past Tony Sacca into first place for career pass attempts (825) and offensive plays (1,051). . . Robbie Gould moved into 10th place on the all-time scoring list with 195 points, despite missing the only field goal attempt that counted from 38 yards. Twice earlier in the same drive he had booted longer field goals only to have them wiped out by penalties. . . Four true freshmen saw action Saturday: linebacker Dan Connor, defensive tackle Elijah Robinson, quarterback Anthony Morelli and tight end Jordan Lyons. . . On Sept. 12 Penn State students will have the opportunity to meet and question Olympic Gold Medalists Michael Phelps, Ian Crocker and Lenny Krayzelburg, when Disney’s “Swim With the Stars” comes to McCoy Natatorium and Heritage Hall. . . Last Friday students had the opportunity to talk with Dell Computer founder and chairman Michael Dell in the Information Science and Technology Building as part of the school’s “Year of Celebration: Bridging to a Digital Global Society.”
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