No Heisman trophy winner? No problem.

It seemed like a good sign for Penn State fans after  seeing Mark Ingram stuck on the sidelines, but his back up, Trent Richardson, exceeded expectations as he bulldozed the Penn State defense for 219 total yards, a touchdown and a 24-3 stomping. Perhaps he was even making a case for a Heisman trophy himself in the process.

Prior to this evening, Penn State had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 17 outings; however, the 5-foot-11, 220-pound Richardson rolled over defenders on his way to 100 yards before the first half even finished. His violent running style proved to be too much of a challenge for Penn State tacklers, often requiring six or more people to bring him down and rarely going down on first contact.

On the other hand, Penn State’s offense sputtered most of the night, turning the ball over three different times deep in Crimson Tide territory. Freshman quarterback Rob Bolden tossed two of those turnovers, but held his own as he threw for 141 yards with a few well-thrown balls. He was replaced with sophomore Kevin Newsome in the 4th quarter, who rushed for 9 yards on 2 carries and threw 1 pass for 12 yards.

Penn State will look to rebound  next weekend against Kent State at Beaver Stadium, and it will be interesting to see if Rob Bolden will resume the role as the starting quarterback.