Spread HD, '94 Comparisons, Saturday Show

This blog will be updated with much more regularity -- with the help of my colleagues at The Phanatic Magazine -- over the remainder of the season.

My first attempt at the literary world, Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports is about set to hit the printer, which means it will hit book shelves near you shortly (that is if you live in the chosen areas selected by the publisher to "test" reader interest).

But have no fear. As soon as the book is available, you will be able to purchase a copy at www.sportsbythenumbers.com. Granted you can also purchase the book at Amazon.com, however, by purchasing the numerical look at Penn State's proud football history at the Sports By the Numbers website, $2 will go directly to THON -- a cause I will be pushing plenty as it coordinates with this book and, more importantly, with the major impact it has on children with cancer nationwide.

With Penn State off to an impressive 2-0 start and the holidays fast approaching (only four-plus months to Christmas!), what better way to give a Nittany Nut in your life a great gift plus contributing to a great, worthwhile cause at the same time!

I will be posting select excerpts from the book (a few every week), while also directing you to Sports By the Numbers blog and locker section, where even more detailed information on portions of the book can be found.

That's my sales pitch.

How about Penn State's? I'm sold on one simple fact. This offense is really good, and lost in the early-season awe is the play-calling of often-maligned offensive coordinator Galen Hall. The elder statesman was an intelligent offensive mind as a player and ahead of the innovative curve as a coach at both Oklahoma and Florida.

He and Jay Paterno's new Spread HD offense is a wonderful hybrid of smash-mouth running and pro style passing sets that put Penn State's speed and versatility in space. At times over the last two weeks, the Nits have lined up in I-form and single back sets to feature Evan Royster only to spread the field with four wides and quarterback Daryll Clark in the shotgun a play or two later.

Hall has walked the fine line between creative and gimmicky to perfection. He hasn't overthought a play, instead going with the flow of a particular drive. If something is working, he sticks with it.

Prime example: rolling Clark to Jordan Norwood's side on several occasions last Saturday after realizing the Beavers were sliding one of their two-deep safeties to the man coverage side of Derrick Williams.

This left Norwood in the slot man-up against a nickel back or safety -- a match-up Penn State will take all season.

Clark's accuracy has been the biggest surprise so far this season. Those fans with PA roots clamoring for Downingtown's Pat Devlin at the season's outset pointed to Devlin's strong, accurate arm as the best option to take advantage of the team's immense talent on the outside.

To invoke the Sports By the Numbers tradition, I turn to numerical evidence:

676 - The completion percentage (67.6) for quarterback Daryll Clark through two games of the 2008 season. Clark has completed 25-of-37 passes for 361 yards, three touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. Clark's 176.28 QB efficiency rating puts him just below USC's Mark Sanchez and above the likes of Georgia's Matthew Stafford and Missouri's Chase Daniel (lofty company).

Now, many pundits are throwing around comparisons to Penn State's last offensive juggernaut in 1994. Many stories in the book are devoted to the Kerry Collins, Ki-Jana Carter, Kyle Brady and Bobby Engram-led unit -- including a chapter opening on Carter's run to the roses against Oregon in the Rose Bowl -- but experts are missing the boat by just pointing at Penn State's skill depth as the lone mode of similarity.

The major point of reference starts up front. Yes, Penn State has the runners (Royster, Stephfon Green and even Clark), the catchers (Williams, Norwood and Deon Butler) and the throwers (Clark and Devlin), but none of it would be possible without the play up front of a unit that very-much resembles the caravan that led Carter and Collins into the end zone so many times.

Gerald Cadogan and Dennis Landolt are solid, experienced maulers at tackle. Mike Lucian and Rich Ohrnberger are beasts at guard. A.Q. Shipley snaps the ball, calls out the blocking assignments and handles run-stoppers inside at center. The glaring point, besides the overall talent, is that Landolt is the youngster in the group as a junior. The front five has Big Ten war wounds -- both good and bad -- and has developed into Penn State's best offensive line since...

You guessed it.

What did we learn Saturday?

Penn State can pick apart a mid-tier Pac-10 defense, moving the football at will against players far superior than those the Nits played a week earlier. Bigger, stronger, faster. That's a good sign for a chance in the Horseshoe later this season, especially if the Buckeyes passing game and pass rush stay in slumber like this past Saturday against Ohio. Clark looks more and more like Michael Robinson every day, perhaps with slightly more accuracy and a little less speed. He seems to display Robinson's candor on the field, and at nearly 230 pounds, his strength is a true asset in late-game situations. Royster is blossoming before our eyes. This kid isn't exceptionally quick, but his patience and vision more than make up for it. Penn State lost DE Jerome Hayes for the season on a punt return (ACL injury), further depleting the defensive line depth. Watch closely the case involving the pot party at Nittany Apartments. PSU needs Maurice Evans back in a big way to play alongside Jared Odrick and Aaron Maybin -- who has great upfield speed but takes himself out of too many plays with his one-trick-pony rush move around the edge.

Up Next: Syracuse, 3:30 ABC
Another game that will allow Penn State's offense to light up the scoreboard. Akron put 42 points on the Orange, so imagine what the Nittany Lions can do. The first test won't come until the Big Ten opener against Illinois.

Prediction: Penn State 49, Syracuse 14