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He picked a third-and-13 ball drilled over the middle, through the secondary, where he knew the receiver would be, because he knew the receiver would make the same secondary-read as Clark did.
(The kind of throw Anthony Morelli seemed to congenitally hate and avoid, but that's another story … .)
Note that Clark said he knew the receiver would be there. Note further that we'd be talking about something else now if that receiver, Jordan Norwood, hadn't thrown his body over the middle and into the air and made a spectacular catch.
Penn State's trio of four-year starting wideouts — Norwood, Derrick Williams and Deon Butler — has been around long enough now to take for granted. That doesn't make it a good idea.
They're 29-9 for three varsity seasons plus last week. All three are among the top five in pass receptions in school history, and it's possible they could end their careers 1-2-3.
Yet there's a sense these guys haven't gotten everything possible out of their time in Happy Valley.
Maybe it's because their best year was their first, as freshman, when Penn State went 12-1, shared the Big Ten Conference title and won the Orange Bowl.
Maybe it's because Williams, perhaps the nation's top high school recruit in 2004, hasn't become a Heisman Trophy candidate.For what it's worth, Penn State's receivers rank only 17th in the position-group rankings in Phil Steele's College Football Preview magazine, behind the likes of Maryland, Arizona and New Mexico State.
On the other hand, coach Joe Paterno acknowledged last week, "We're very fortunate to have those three kids."
Despite having been an all-state high school player in Virginia, Butler walked on at Penn State. And Norwood's only other scholarship offer came from William and Mary.
"I'll take credit for taking Jordan Norwood," Paterno said humbly after the Coastal Carolina game.
"I'm serious. I saw him play basketball (for State College High) on television, and the way he handled himself. He could jump. He had great hands and he could see the court. He could change directions with the basketball … we went after him and he's turned out to be really good. I thought he would be."
Would Clark have made that throw last Saturday, or made it with as much confidence, if the wideout making the read was less experienced? Would Penn State have gotten blown out of the January's Alamo Bowl if, with Penn State trailing Texas A&M 14-0 in the second quarter on a fourth-down play, Butler had not made an insanely brilliant TD catch?
Not that the Lions were ever remotely in trouble against Coastal Carolina, but it was a 14-7 game until Williams returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown.
Penn State's offense appears to be ahead of its defense at the moment, enough so that the Lions could be in for a string of shootouts beginning Saturday, when Oregon State comes to Beaver Stadium.
(899) (726) (182) (63) (62) (59) (47) (35) (23) (20) (18) (8)The Lions have a lot of people who can make plays. But they have exactly three guys who have to make them.
Wideouts figure to be at the center of things Saturday. Oregon State threw for 404 yards in its season-opening loss to Stanford. One receiver, Shane Morales, has 13 catches for 151 yards. Another, Sammie Stroughter caught 12 for 157.
The Beavers let the Stanford game get away. They had two fumbles inside the Stanford 2-yard line, one of which rolled out the side of the end zone for a safety, the other (with 47 seconds left) through the back of the end zone for a touchback.
One of Oregon State's better defensive players, safety Al Afalava, will be back for the game after missing the season opener for a team rules violation. The Beavers also hope to have guard Jeremy Perry (knee) and center Marcus Henderson (mono) back in the lineup this week as well.
The Nittany Lions came through Week One injury free, although the impact on the team of an investigation Penn State campus police of a loud party Tuesday night at the apartment of football players Maurice Evans, Abe Koroma, A.J. Wallace and Andrew Quarless remains to be seen.
According to the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer, a small amount or marijuana was seized from the apartment.
Penn State is a 15½-point favorite. This is the first meeting between the schools. The game, a sellout, will be televised by ABC.
E-mail: mgross@lnpnews.com
