November 3, 2010

10 Minutes or Less: 2005 Penn State at Northwestern

[UPDATE: We've got the annotations you've sorely been missing -- Tim]

No long intro for this week's video.
Derrick Williams says "Hello" to college football.
(Photo: Not sure.)

Penn State had been mired in four losing seasons in the last five, but coming into 2005 there was a sense of renewal and hope for the program. Northwestern was dangerous as always, particularly with four-year starter Brett Basanez leading a potent offense. For Penn State, it was Michael Robinson, the fifth-year senior who had done it all for the Nittany Lions while waiting for his turn to lead the offense.

I was rather pissed off this week that ESPN Classic aired the re-run of this game. But I guess this version is even better, because most of you out there don't have two whole hours to sit down and watch ESPN's near-full version of the game. So take that!

Fourth and 15. "The catch." Twenty-two tackles. Six turnovers. 907 yards of offense. Enjoy...



Update: Here's that extended intro I didn't want to write before...
Northwestern has always been a weird opponent for Penn State. The Wildcats' win over Penn State in 1995 was viewed as the final stamp on their magical run to the Rose Bowl. In 2001, with an 0-4 Penn State team limping into Evanston to face the No. 22 Wildcats, freshman quarterback Zack Mills led the Lions to a late scoring drive and the first win of the season. Northwestern would sprial to a 4-7 finish.

Two years later, with Penn State walloing in the worst two-season stretch in its history, Northwestern put together its first winning streak against the Nittany Lions. At Evanston in 2003, a 7-0 fourth quarter lead for Penn State evaporated as the Cats ran off 17 unanswered points. The following season in Beaver Stadium, Brett Basanez picked apart the Penn State back seven with crossing patters, while Noah Herron rumbled for 175 yards in the 14-7 win.

Penn State would get its redemption the next season in one of the most critical wins in program history...
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8 comments:

  1. God Illinois was bad that year. Losing 61-14 to Michigan State!

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  2. I love these. Thanks for taking the time to do them.

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  3. "My wife couldn't play, I couldn't put her in." Love ya Joe.

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  4. Joe's wife comment has to be in the top-10 all-time JoePa moments.

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  5. I forgot how freaking sloppy Penn State was in that game. All the turnovers and penalties, how did they ever end up winning that thing?

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  6. Good God, could Pam Ward suck any more?

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  7. You know, I'm not against Pam Ward because she was a woman broadcasting football, I'm against Pam Ward because she was terrible and screwed up the easiest things, like players names.

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  8. I'd love a montage of Poz's 22 tackles from that game.

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