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day in the kicking game – or even a mediocre day – they would have walked out of Scott Stadium victori- ous. "The defense, the offense – they emptied their tanks today," coach Bill O'Brien said. "You can't ask any more of those kids. We've just got to keep grinding and figure out a way to get a win." The Lions recovered three fumbles, which gave them possession at the Virginia 37-, 29- and 17-yard lines, respectively. They got an interception from defensive tackle Jordan Hill, of all people, and took over at the Cava- liers' 19. They also caught Virginia flat-footed on a fake punt, as Glenn Carson rumbled 19 yards to the Vir- ginia 39. But none of those plays led to points, and the Lions paid for their wastefulness. "We can't come away [without any] points with all of those turnovers," O'Brien said. "That was the differ- ence in the ball game." The Nittany Lions were challenged from the very start. Compounding the tailback problems that began when Silas Redd bolted for USC in August, Penn State was without Bill Belton at Virginia due to an ankle sprain. His replacement was senior Derek Day, a former walk-on – or "run-on" to borrow O'Brien's recently coined term for players not on schol- arship – who had received only 15 carries in his career prior to Satur- day. And yet the Lions went right down the field to begin the game, going 80 yards on 17 plays, the last being an 8-yard touchdown catch by Kyle Carter. Day was a big reason for the drive's success, rushing for 18 yards and catching a 17-yard pass from Matt McGloin. But Day's left shoulder was in- jured when he ended up on the bot- tom of a pile near the Penn State bench in the third quarter, and Mc- Gloin was having problems of his own. Under pressure from a blitzing Virginia defense much of the first half, he got hit twice on his right elbow. He had to leave the game in the second quarter, but after having his arm examined, he returned to the sideline in the second half and pronounced himself ready to play. SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 8:33 2ND 3:56 3RD 9:22 4TH 13:10 10:55 1:28 PSU Virginia Virginia PSU PSU Virginia Carter, Kyle 8-yard pass from McGloin, Matt (Ficken, Sam kick) 17 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:27..................................................................... 7-0 Jarrett, Drew 46-yard field goal 10 plays, 50 yards, TOP 4:20..................................................................... 7-3 Mathis, Jeremiah 1-yard pass from Rocco,M (Jarrett,D kick) 11 plays, 77 yards, TOP 5:38................................................................... 7-10 Robinson, Allen 30-yard pass from McGloin, Matt (Ficken, Sam kick failed) 5 plays, 45 yards, TOP 1:43................................................................... 13-10 Ficken, Sam 32-yard field goal 4 plays, 3 yards, TOP 1:23..................................................................... 16-10 McGee, Jake 6-yard pass from Rocco,M (Jarrett,D kick) 12 plays, 86 yards, TOP 6:36................................................................. 16-17 "As a competitor, you don't ever want to be taken off the field in any situa- tion," he said. "I just told Coach O'Brien that if he needed me, I was ready to go in." The Lions sure did need him, espe- cially at the end. After three lead changes, the last of which occurred when Jake McGee caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Michael Rocco with 1:28 remaining, the Nittany Lions' offense took over at its own 27. The rain was picking up and the crowd was roaring, but McGloin completed 6 of 9 passes on the drive, maneuvering the Lions to the Vir- ginia 25 with one second remaining. That's where the comeback ended. The snap was low, and Ficken's kick was well off-target, sending the crowd into hysterics. Penn State's traveling party looked sullen as play- ers and coaches trudged into a tun- nel in the corner of the stadium, but especially Ficken, who missed 4 of 5 field goal tries and had an extra point blocked. "We did a really good job on that drive; we just need to finish," O'Brien said. "We work on two-minute of- fense all the time. I am really proud of these kids and how hard they fought. I think if there were five or 10 more seconds I would have tried to get it closer, but it was what it was." So now the Nittany Lions return home the next two weeks for games against Navy and Temple. It may be tough for fans to maintain the en- S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 2 2 thusiasm that prevailed prior to the opener - when the Penn State com- munity seemed determined to show its resilience. The reality of the Lions' predicament is starting to set in. They have some acute weak- nesses, including at spots where they might have no other option but to play who is playing. And while Navy and Temple are a combined 1- 2, the long-term outlook is obviously worrisome. Penn State is going to continue to shed players and lose depth the next couple of years. That's unavoidable. But for current players, the best approach is to focus on the immedi- ate future. They are continuing to play hard. Day, for instance, took a shot to his unprotected head against Ohio and kept churning for yardage. Linebacker Michael Mauti played an incredible 93 plays in that game. Saturday against Virginia, McGloin insisted on going back into the game after his elbow was hurt, and cor- nerback Stephon Morris has over- come an ankle injury. "I think that shows exactly what this team is all about," Day said. "We're going to fight. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how low it gets, we're going to keep fighting to the very end. That's [coming from] the seniors on this team, and the rest of the guys feed off of that. This is my favorite team that I've ever been a part of. We've been working hard, and I don't think it's going to stop." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M

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