Their view: While we fiddle, the earth burns

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WVC football: Valley View rolls past Dallas in battle of unbeatens

This time, there were two weeks to recover from the shock.Penn State is hoping it makes a difference this time around.For the second straight year, the Nittany Lions are following up a gut-wrenching one-point loss to Ohio State with a game against Michigan State.But that&#8217;s about where the comparisons end.When the Lions take on the Spartans today, they face a team that is in much worse shape than they were last season and coming off of a 10-point home loss to Northwestern.Unlike last year, Penn State had a bye week to recover from the loss to the Buckeyes. And the game will be at Beaver Stadium, which, while expected to be chilly, won&#8217;t compare to the three-plus hour storm delay the teams sat through in 2017 at Michigan State.The team&#8217;s leader isn&#8217;t expecting an encore.&#8220;We had to sit on that loss (from two weeks ago) and and let that pain sit in and learn from it,&#8221; quarterback Trace McSorley said. &#8220;We were able to come out yesterday and have the best practice we&#8217;ve had all year.&#8221;McSorley is coming off of a school-record performance of 461 total yards. More telling will be how the defense rebounds from two disastrous final touchdown drives by the Buckeyes that ruined what had been a strong night through three quarters.&#8221;Any time you replace eight starters, you&#8217;re gonna have some growing pains,&#8221; defensive coordinator Brent Pry said. &#8220;It&#8217;s been different areas. Against Ohio State, we were able to put it all together. Certainly the two late drives were disappointing. If you really isolate it, you can talk about just a few plays right there. I don&#8217;t know that I would call it a collapse other than a couple of very unfortunate, poorly played plays by some guys that played very well for 99 percent of the game.&#8220;Even after the Ohio State game, you&#8217;re still trying to figure out what you&#8217;re gonna get when you put these guys out there. The rotations settle down and you start to know about how these guys are gonna perform out there on Saturdays. We don&#8217;t have quite the experienced bunch we had, but I think each week we&#8217;ve gotten closer.&#8221;THREE AND OUTFinding LewerkePenn State may remember the interminable weather delay more than anything about last season&#8217;s loss in East Lansing. But it was Brian Lewerke who did the most damage.Then a sophomore, the Spartans quarterback threw for a jarring 400 yards and led his team down the field for the winning field goal in the final seconds. But that&#8217;s only part of the story. Despite checking in at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Lewerke extended several plays with his legs, looking much like Sam Darnold thrashing the Lions defense in the 2016 Rose Bowl.&#8220;He moves better than some of the quarterbacks we&#8217;ve seen,&#8221; linebacker Cam Brown said. &#8220;He likes to throw the ball (on the run) &#8230; I don&#8217;t know if they&#8217;re always accurate, but his receivers just make good plays.&#8220;For us, it&#8217;s the same as usual. It&#8217;s like practicing against Trace again, knowing you have to worry about the run and worry about the throw at the same time.&#8221;This year&#8217;s defense is focused on not letting Lewerke&#8217;s legs win another game.&#8220;I think obviously his mobility is a major factor,&#8221; Penn State coach James Franklin said. &#8220;Being able to make sure that we can take some of those easy throws away from him, keep him in the pocket so he can&#8217;t extend plays. So I think getting pressure is great, but being able to get pressure in a way that we keep him in the pocket, so he can&#8217;t extend plays (is key). It&#8217;s difficult to cover anybody for that long.&#8221;Sparty banged upThe big difference this time around is that Lewerke&#8217;s supporting cast has been crushed by injuries.Starting running back LJ Scott has missed three games with an ankle injury and is also facing another traffic violation in what has been a chronic issue for him throughout his career. His status for Saturday remains uncertain.&#8220;LJ has been out. Two other tailbacks working, or three, so we&#8217;ve got to find a way to run the football,&#8221; typically dour Spartans coach Mark Dantonio deadpanned. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s earth-shattering. I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;m letting the cat out of the bag there, am I, I don&#8217;t think. I think Penn State&#8217;s aware of that. So we&#8217;ll go with that.&#8220;Good thing you got that picture of me smiling today.&#8221;But a bigger concern may be the offensive line. Both starting guards, Kevin Jarvis and David Beedle, have been out with injuries, though Jarvis may be able to play Saturday. Left tackle Cole Chewins has been slowed by injury and not been as effective as expected.Others who have been out include No. 2 receiver Cody White, top corner Josiah Scott and punter Jake Hartbarger. Watch for special teams to take on added importance as backup Tyler Hunt is averaging nearly 10 yards less per kick.New traditionThe Lions are debuting a new addition to their pregame routine for the homecoming game. The convoy of blue buses that carries the coaches and players to the game will have a lead bus filled with former lettermen, who will then head into the stadium from the drop-off point at the intersection of Porter Road and Curtin Road.&#8220;We&#8217;re going to do this, start a new tradition here for the homecoming game each year,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to have a lead bus that brings us to the stadium for our normal walk into the stadium and that bus will be full of Penn State lettermen. So they are going to lead us into the stadium. That first bus will be a number of Penn State lettermen, basically it&#8217;s first-come, first-serve. Once the bus is full, the bus is full. I thought that would be a really nice thing for us to do every single year on homecoming.&#8220;Obviously we have so much respect and appreciation for our lettermen. It&#8217;s another way to show our respect to them and honor them in a way.&#8221;<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Amani Oruwariye and Penn State watched their College Football Playoff hopes vanish last season against Michigan State. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_AP_17308852987915.jpg</photo0><caption0>Amani Oruwariye and Penn State watched their College Football Playoff hopes vanish last season against Michigan State. </caption0><photoCredit0>Carlos Osorio | AP file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Derek Levarsedlevarse@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Penn State eager to avoid repeating history against Michigan State