Last Updated on September 7, 2010 11:46 pm by Anthony Rome
Penn State vs. Alabama Preview
Tuscaloosa, AL – Two decades after Alabama and Penn State last met, Joe Paterno will still be on the sidelines when the old rivals renew acquaintances.
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The top-ranked Crimson Tide’s concern is the increasing likelihood that Mark Ingram will be watching from the same vantage point as the No. 18 Nittany Lions’ legendary coach.
Oddsmakers from online sports book BroburySports.com have made Alabama –11.5 point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against Penn State. Current NCAA Public Betting Information shows that 79% of more than 5,772 bets for this game have been placed on Alabama –11.5.
Already without suspended star defensive end Marcell Dareus, Alabama hopes to have last season’s ailing Heisman Trophy winner back Saturday night as upset-minded Penn State invades Tuscaloosa for the first time since 1990.
The Crimson Tide (1-0) beat the Nittany Lions in the 1979 Sugar Bowl to win their 10th national championship, and a rivalry was born for the next decade. The powers met every year from 1981-1990, with Alabama winning six times and even handing Penn State (1-0) its lone loss during its 1982 national championship season just before Bear Bryant’s retirement.
Not that Paterno thinks his or Nick Saban’s players are overly concerned with the matchup’s history.
“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,” Paterno said.
Fresh off national title No. 13, Saban’s team appears to have the pieces in place for a repeat – even if two of them have yet to play. Dareus, the defensive MVP of the BCS title game, will serve the second and final game of a suspension for receiving improper benefits, while Ingram continues to recover from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Saban considers Ingram returning Saturday a “bit of a stretch.”
The Tide hardly missed either star during a 48-3 thrashing of San Jose State last Saturday. Trent Richardson, who ran for 109 yards in the BCS championship game and appears on this week’s cover of Sports Illustrated, had 66 yards and two scores against the Spartans despite sitting out the second half.
Freshman Eddie Lacy rushed for two TDs and 113 yards while third-stringer Demetrius Goode ran for 66.
“We really needed those guys to step up, and I think they did a great job,” right guard Barrett Jones said. “Honestly, you couldn’t really tell there was that much of a dropoff and that is the way we wanted it. When one guy goes down, we can plug another guy in and have success.”
Penn State has its own star tailback in Evan Royster, 440 yards away from passing Curt Warner as the school’s all-time leading rusher. All eyes in the Lions’ opener against Youngstown State, though, were on the man handing him the ball.
Robert Bolden became the first freshman quarterback in 100 years to start a season opener for Penn State, and he did well to justify Paterno’s decision. Bolden completed 20 of 29 passes for 239 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the 44-14 win.
“You would never know he was a freshman, that’s for sure,” Saban said. “He has a very good arm and is very accurate. He had a lot of poise. They didn’t have any game management issues, fumbled snaps, delay of games.”
Yet, after having the support of 100,000 fans in Happy Valley, he’ll have the same number rooting against him in Tuscaloosa.
“It’s not going to be easy for him, but he’s not going to lose his poise,” Paterno said. “Hopefully, we’ll put him in a position where he can at least have some success.”
Alabama’s Greg McElroy isn’t as fleet of foot as the mobile Bolden, but the senior – who started all 14 games last season – certainly has the edge in experience.
He hasn’t thrived against top competition, however. McElroy completed 68.0 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions against unranked opponents in 2009, but his percentage dropped to 52.4 and he threw as many interceptions (four) as TDs versus six Top 25 teams.
This game could easily be won or lost through the air. Alabama allowed a national-low five rushing scores last season, while Penn State yielded six to tie for the second-fewest.
The Nittany Lions are 4-8 under Paterno against No. 1 teams. They haven’t beaten a top-ranked opponent since toppling Notre Dame on Nov. 17, 1990 – three weeks after beating the Crimson Tide 9-0 in the most recent meeting.
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