Nittany Lions Ground Owls, Win 47-0Nittany Lions Ground Owls, Win 47-0

Nittany Lions Ground Owls, Win 47-0

Fans made signs for Coach Paterno and chanted his name.


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 11, 2006 ?C Head coach Joe Paterno was not on hand to welcome former Nittany Lion and first-year Temple head coach Al Golden to Happy Valley, but Penn State was still able to remind Coach Golden of the greatness of his Alma Mater.

On a damp but unseasonably warm day, the Lions spoiled a homecoming for Golden and several former Penn Staters on Temple??s coaching staff with a dominant 47-0 win. Paul Posluszny (Aliquippa, Pa.) made seven stops to become the first Nittany Lion to record three seasons of 100 or more tackles; the Penn State defense held Temple to just two first downs and 74 total yards, the fewest totals allowed in either catagory in the Paterno era, to pitch its second shutout of the season.

Tony Hunt (Alexandria, Va.) rushed for a career-high 167 yards and three touchdowns and also caught a pass for an 11-yard score, becoming the first Lion to score four times in a game since Larry Johnson in 2002. He became just the sixth player in Penn State history to have two seasons of over 1,000 yards and the fifth to amass over 3,000 career yards.

??It is just an honor to be included in such a great group of backs,?? said Hunt after the game.

105,950 fans were at Beaver Stadium for the game but the one notable person absent was Paterno, who missed a contest for the first time in 29 years.

Tony Hunt rushed for a career-high 167 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Paterno was released Friday night from Mount Nittany Medical Center, five days after undergoing surgery on his left leg to repair injuries suffered in the Wisconsin game, but was not cleared by doctors to attend the game. He??s been on the sideline for 638 of the Nittany Lions' 641 games since 1950 and owns a mark of 361-121-3 during his 41 seasons as head coach. Today??s win counts for Paterno despite his absence.

As an assistant coach, Paterno missed the 1955 game at Army when his father, Angelo, died. As head coach in 1977, he did not attend the Lions' game at Syracuse because his son, David, was involved in a serious trampoline accident the day before.

Tom Bradley, who shared head coach duties with Galen Hall today, told the team before the game to ??play 60 full minutes or you haven??t learned a thing from Coach Paterno.??

The Nittany Lions played as if they were inspired by their coach??s plight.

Penn State received the opening kick and scored in less than four minutes, getting a 22-yard touchdown from Hunt to take a 7-0 lead. On Penn State??s next drive, Hunt scored on a 26-yard jaunt before a 75-yard punt return touchdown by Derrick Williams made the score 21-0 heading into the second quarter.

The Lions got bookend scores in the second period to go into halftime with a 31-0 lead. Kevin Kelly (Langhorne, Pa.) hit a 19-yard field goal on the first drive of the quarter and Hunt??s 11-yard scoring run came with 33 seconds remaining before the half.

In the third quarter, Hunt scored his receiving touchdown and Kelly made a 33-yard kick. A one-yard run in the fourth quarter by Darryll Clark (Youngstown, Ohio) gave Penn State a 47-0 lead. The extra point attempt failed.

In the locker room immediately following the game the team decided to award the game ball to Coach Paterno at his home.

The reach and results of the Paterno method can be felt far beyond today??s final score.

Paul Posluszny is the first Nittany Lion to record three seasons of 100 or more tackles.

Golden was a two-year starter at tight end at Penn State, a team co-captain in 1991 and the Nittany Lions?? linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator in 2000. He was defensive coordinator at Virginia from 2001-05 before being named Temple??s 24th head coach.

The last time Golden participated in a shutout at Beaver Stadium he was on the winning side as a player, when the Lions demolished Cincinnati, 81-0, in 1991.

In addition to Golden, three other former Nittany Lion players are members of Temple??s coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Mark D??Onofrio played linebacker for the Nittany Lions from 1988-91 and was a teammate of Golden??s, while running backs coach Jeff Nixon played tailback at Penn State in 1995 and ??96 and defensive line coach Matt Rhule was a linebacker for the Lions from 1994-97.

Penn State has now won 46 of 57 non-conference games since starting Big Ten play in 1993 and hosts Michigan State next Saturday for Senior Day.

Posluszny was asked what his final home game as a Nittany Lion will mean to him. ??I really haven??t had time to think about that yet,?? he said. ??Right now I am just trying to figure out what to say when Levi and I go to Coach Paterno??s house to present the game ball.??