Sept. 6, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - One of the primary catalysts in Penn State's 31-7 thumping of Akron in Saturday's season opener has been honored by the Big Ten Conference.
Senior quarterback Daryll Clark (Youngstown, Ohio) set career highs with a record-breaking 29 of 40 performance for a career-best 353 yards to earn Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week. He tossed three first half touchdown passes, the second-highest total of his career.
The conference honor is the third for Clark in the 13 regular season games he has started. He shares this week's honor with Purdue running back Ralph Bolden.
Clark demonstrated instant chemistry with his new starting receivers and the entire unit and played with confidence behind a re-tooled offensive line, delivering a standout, record-breaking performance. The team co-captain guided the Penn State offense to five first half scoring drives. His 29 completions were tied for No. 2 program history (Zack Mills vs. Purdue, 2004) and his passing yardage was fifth-highest in Penn State annals.
In leading the Nittany Lions to a 31-0 halftime lead, Clark was 17-of-25 for 254 yards, breaking the school record for first half passing. The previous mark was 231 yards by Anthony Morelli vs. Florida International in 2007. Clark's 358 yards of total offense also were a career high and were the most by a Nittany Lion since Michael Robinson posted 363 yards (258 pass, 125 rush) against Wisconsin in 2005.
Clark owns the fifth (353) and seventh (341 yards vs. Michigan State, 2008) highest single game passing days in Penn State history and is the only quarterback with two marks in the top seven. He joins Kerry Collins (three) as the only quarterbacks with more than one mark in the top 10 all-time passing yardage games at Penn State.
The former Ursuline High School standout is a combined 45 of 66 for 694 yards, with seven touchdowns and one interception in his last two regular season games.
Coach Joe Paterno's No. 9/8 Nittany Lions host Syracuse on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The Orange's first visit to Beaver Stadium since 1990 will air on the Big Ten Network, the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com . A limited number of tickets remain for the Syracuse, Temple (Sept. 19, 12:00), and Eastern Illinois (Oct. 10, TBA) games. Single game tickets are on sale at www.GoPSUsports.com or by calling 800-833-5533.