Penn State heads into Ohio State matchup on tear

Nov 2, 2009 - 9:38 AM By RICK GANO AP Sports Writer

EVANSTON, Ill.(AP) -- Daryll Clark patiently probed Northwestern's defense until finally finding the openings Penn State had been seeking all game.

Erupting for three fourth-quarter touchdowns in less than four minutes, the 11th-ranked Nittany Lions pulled away for a 34-13 victory Saturday night that sends them into a showdown with Ohio State this week riding a five-game winning streak.

Clark rolled and threw a 53-yard TD pass to Derek Moye. And on the Nittany Lions' very next scrimmage play, Evan Royster ran through and past the Wildcat defense on a 69-yard score.

"For the whole game we took what they gave us. We noticed that there were a couple of voids in their defense. We knew there would be a big play for us," Clark said. "We saw something with the corner. On the run, our offensive line fired off and got their guys hat-on-hat and Evan made one cut and was gone."

And so was Northwestern's chances for an upset. The Wildcats (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten) instead had their bowl chances severely damaged and now head to unbeaten Iowa.

Clark, who threw four TD passes against Michigan a week earlier, had his 20th career rushing touchdown, tying Michael Robinson's school record. And he completed 22 of 31 passes for 274 yards.

Penn State (8-1, 4-1) gave up just its second first-half TD this season as Northwestern held a 13-10 halftime lead. But the Wildcats lost starting quarterback Mike Kafka to a leg injury in the second quarter, and the Nittany Lions' vaunted defense pitched a shutout in the second half against backup Dan Persa.

"The adjustment we made is their quarterback got hurt," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "We played better defensively in the second half. I don't think we had quite realized how good they are offensively and it took us some time to speed up the tempo."

Persa, whose mother and sister attended Penn State, was sacked four times, although he did break off a 25-yard run. Kafka, who entered the game leading the Big Ten in passing yards and total offense per game, had rushed for a TD and completed 14 of 18 passes when he left after hurting his left leg.

With Northwestern bottled up the final two periods, the Nittany Lions' offense finally found the seams. Brandon Beachum's 2-yard TD run put Penn State up to stay - and then came the two big touchdown plays.

"Those two plays are what cost us the game. They turned a one-score game into a three-score game," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said.

With Clark at the controls, the Nittany Lions have some momentum in their favor against the Buckeyes after back-to-back road wins in Ann Arbor and Evanston.

"Daryll is the leader of our football team," Paterno said. "He is a guy that makes us go."