It was a beautiful afternoon for football Saturday in Happy Valley topped off by an even more beautiful result as Penn State trounced Eastern Michigan 45-7. Last Saturday in New Jersey was a great time, but there's no place like home in Beaver Stadium. The home opener is always an interesting experience, because we get to see all the programming changes for the year ahead. And there were certainly plenty of those.
When UCF comes into Happy Valley on Saturday night for the biggest non-conference game of the year, the Knights won't be the only ones wearing white.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have improved to 2-0 after downing the Eastern Michigan Eagles 45-7 in the home opener at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. The offense had a slow start in the game but eventually exploded to put up six touchdowns, including five on the ground. The defense was even better, refusing to surrender a single point to the Eagles offense, as the team's lone touchdown came off of a defensive fumble recovery. Let’s take a look at what the victory tells us about this Penn State team.
John Cappelletti is probably the best player to ever set foot on the Beaver Stadium field. He's the only Nittany Lion that has won the Heisman Trophy. He was the best player on an undefeated 12-0 team in 1973 that Joe Paterno has called the best team he ever coached, a team that should've had a shot at the national championship that season. It's fitting that Cappelletti would also be the first Penn State football player to have his number retired.
After a slow start, the Penn State offense eventually came alive on Saturday afternoon's home opener at Beaver Stadium as the Nittany Lions defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 45-7.