Coach:
Joe Paterno
317-83-3, 34 years |
|
1999 Record: 10-3
| Aug
28 |
Arizona |
Won
41-7 |
| Sep
04 |
Akron |
Won
70-24 |
| Sep
11 |
Pittsburgh |
Won
20-17 |
| Sep
18 |
@Miami
(FL) |
Won
27-23 |
| Sep
25 |
Indiana |
Won
45-24 |
| Oct
09 |
@Iowa |
Won
31-7 |
| Oct
16 |
Ohio
State |
Won
23-10 |
| Oct
23 |
@Purdue |
Won
31-25 |
| Oct
30 |
@Illinois |
Won
27-7 |
| Nov
06 |
Minnesota |
Lost
23-24 |
| Nov
13 |
Michigan |
Lost
27-31 |
| Nov
20 |
@Michigan
State |
Lost
28-35 |
|
ALAMO BOWL
|
| Dec
28 |
Texas
A&M |
Won
24-0 |
|
|
|
1999
Final Rankings
|
|
AP-11, BCS-11,
Coaches-11
|
|
2000 Outlook
|
|
The season will be a success if the
Nittany Lions repeat the win total of last season. A
nine-win season will be a huge accomplishment after
losing so much talent. Penn State was loaded last season
and failed to get it done. After having such high hopes
to start the season PSU lost it's last three regular
season games to wind up in San Antonio and the Alamo
Bowl. Penn State is loaded at O but it all breaks down
if QB Rashard Casey doesn't play. The defense will be
worse as there's no way they can lose that much talent
and be a better team. Unlike last year, there's no talk
of a national championship. Everyone else may project
a rebuilding year for the Lions. But Joe Paterno, who
likes the players he has, can't bring himself to agree.
Speaking of which JoPa just signed a five year contract
extension and he needs only 8 wins to pass the legendary
Bear Bryant. The schedule finds 12 teams on it as the
first test will be USC in the Kickoff Classic in East
Rutherford. They're still Penn State and are certain
to win their share of games. The Bear's record goes
down.
Projected record: 8-5
Penn
State 2000 Schedule
|
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PENN STATE
*POWER RATINGS
|
|
Offense
|
Defense
|
| QB - 2 ?? |
DL - 3.5 |
| RB - 3.5 |
LB - 3 |
| WR - 3 |
DB - 2 |
| OL - 2.5 |
|
|
|
|
PENN
STATE NITTANY LIONS
2000 FOOTBALL PREVIEW
|
|
|
|
2000
OFFENSE
|
| Nowhere is the talent more situated
than in the backfield. Surprisingly though the running unit
has been shaky. Junior Eric McCoo led Penn State in rushing
in each of his first two seasons. However, Paterno says that
Eric will be pushed this fall as bruisers Larry Johnson and
Omar Easy figure to see increased playing time. Coaches are
raving about both fullbacks as they are very solid. After sharing
the job with Kevin Thompson the last two years, quarterback
Rashard Casey looked to be the sole starter in 2000. But an
offseason arrest for attacking a police officer has created
many concerns in Happy Valley as he may not get to start or
even play for that matter, which could be devastating to the
PSU offense. If he can't play , Matt Senneca will be the man.
He has limited mobility, no experience, and an OK arm finishing
last season with just two passing attempts with one completion
and one interception. There is also great concern with the men
up front. Penn State has not had a consistent line in quite
some time. Injuries took its toll last year but if tackle Kareem
McKenzie had left for the NFL draft he would have been a first
round pick. At wide receiver Chafie Fields is gone but Eddie
Drummond is the next star, finishing second in '99 right behind
Fields in receptions and scoring. |
|
OFFENSIVE DEPTH CHART
|
| QB |
Matt
Senneca |
6-3 |
226 |
So. |
|
Rashard
Casey |
6-1 |
205 |
Sr. |
| FB |
Mike
Cerimele |
5-10 |
237 |
Sr. |
|
R.J.
Luke |
6-3 |
243 |
Jr. |
| RB |
Eric
McCoo |
5-10 |
208 |
Jr. |
|
Omar
Easy |
6-1 |
249 |
Jr. |
| WR |
Eddie
Drummond |
5-9 |
182 |
Jr. |
|
Rod
Perry |
5-10 |
188 |
Jr. |
| WR |
Sam
Crenshaw |
6-2 |
199 |
Sr. |
|
Bryant
Johnson |
6-2 |
196 |
So. |
| T |
Kareem
McKenzie |
6-7 |
321 |
Sr. |
|
Gus
Felder |
6-5 |
317 |
Jr. |
| G |
Jordan
Caruso |
6-4 |
300 |
Sr. |
|
Joe
Hartings |
6-4 |
270 |
Jr. |
| C |
Francis
Spano |
6-1 |
286 |
Sr. |
|
Joe
Iorio |
6-3 |
292 |
So. |
| G |
Josh
Mitchell |
6-4 |
289 |
Jr. |
|
Tyler
Lenda |
6-3 |
264 |
So. |
| T |
Matt
Schmitt |
6-4 |
293 |
So. |
|
Imani
Bell |
6-4 |
312 |
Sr. |
| TE |
Tony
Stewart |
6-5 |
272 |
Sr. |
|
John
Gilmore |
6-4 |
265 |
Jr. |
| K |
Ryan
Primanti |
5-11 |
206 |
Sr. |
|
Dave
Kimball |
6-1 |
180 |
Fr. |
| Returning
starters in bold. |
|
Key
Losses: Kevin Thompson-QB, Chafie Fields-WR, Corey Jones-WR,
Gabe Tincher-OL,
Eric Cole-OL, John Blick-OL, Cordell Mitchell-TB, Aaron
Harris-FB, Travis Forney-K
|
|
|
2000
DEFENSE
|
| In all, nine starters are gone,
gone, gone. Though lots of talent has departed, Penn State is
loaded with potential studs and so the defense should be better
than expected. Defensive end Justin Kurpeikis is going to be
one of the outstanding players in college football after moving
out from under the shadow of Courtney Brown. He will be joined
by the other returning starter Jimmy Kennedy who also can dominate.
Coaches will not forget that they must replace all three members
of the best linebacking corps in the nation and will need to
focus on what they have now. While the new three won't be as
good, don't be surprised if the trio, especially Shamar Finney,
surprise with their production. Even without defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky, they're still Linebacker U. There will also
be four new faces in the secondary, but most of them have seen
plenty of action. So the secondary will not be the trouble spot
most folks expect it to be unless injuries take their toll,
since there is little experience beyond the starters. The key
will be for Kurpeikis and the rest of the DL to get a pass rush.
A new punter and kicker must be found and the positions are
up for grabs. Look for incoming freshman and Parade All-American
Dave Kimball to have an immediate impact while trying to step
in for departed kicker Travis Forney. |
|
DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART
|
| DE |
Bob
Jones |
6-5 |
261 |
Jr. |
|
Michael
Haynes |
6-3 |
254 |
So. |
| DT |
Anthony
Adams |
6-0 |
276 |
So. |
|
Tim
Falls |
6-3 |
272 |
So. |
| DT |
Jimmy
Kennedy |
6-5 |
329 |
So. |
|
T.J.
Gholston |
6-3 |
285 |
So. |
| DE |
Justin
Kurpeikis |
6-4 |
255 |
Sr. |
|
Dave
Jens |
6-1 |
242 |
So. |
| OLB |
Eric
Sturdifen |
6-2 |
232 |
Sr. |
|
Horace
Dodd |
6-1 |
210 |
Fr. |
| MLB |
Brandon
Steele |
5-11 |
247 |
Sr. |
|
Ron
Graham |
6-2 |
257 |
Jr. |
| OLB |
Aaron
Gatten |
6-1 |
222 |
Sr. |
|
Shamar
Finney |
6-2 |
236 |
Jr. |
| CB |
Bruce
Branch |
5-11 |
190 |
Jr. |
|
Mike
Johnson |
6-0 |
183 |
So. |
| CB |
Bhawoh
Jue |
6-1 |
196 |
Sr. |
|
Yaacov
Yisreal |
5-11 |
191 |
Fr. |
| SS |
James
Boyd |
6-0 |
206 |
Sr. |
|
Shawn
Mayer |
6-0 |
195 |
So. |
| FS |
Titcus
Pettigrew |
6-0 |
213 |
Sr. |
|
Bryan
Scott |
6-2 |
212 |
So. |
| P |
David
Royer |
6-3 |
210 |
So. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Returning
starters in bold. |
|
Key
Losses: Courtney Brown-DE, David Fleischhauer-DT, LaVar
Arrington-LB,
Brandon Short-LB, Mac Morrison-LB, David Macklin-DB,
Derek Fox-DB,
Anthony King-DB, Askari Adams-DB, Pat Pidgeon-P
|
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