STATE COLLEGE, Pa. _” Central Michigan University’s
secondary was exploited for the third consecutive game
in a 40-3 loss at Penn State today.

PSU senior quarterback Michael Robinson threw for
touchdowns of 54, 47 and 24 yards and sophomore
Anthony Morelli added a 55-yard touchdown pass in the
win.

Robinson played until halfway through the third
quarter and finished the game 14-of-23 for 274 and
three touchdowns. He also added a rushing score.

“We didn’t bring it today,” said defensive end Dan
Bazuin. “We need to work with our young guys in the
defensive backfield so they do not give up so many big
plays.”

Penn State amassed 519 yards of total offense
including 381 passing before 100,276 fans at Beaver
Stadium.

“This was a big game for us and I’m very disappointed
in the way we played in a big game,” CMU coach Brian
Kelly said. “We were ready and excited for the
opportunity but we didn’t take advantage of it.”
Wide receiver Deon Butler caught five passes for 108
yards and two touchdowns.

The Chippewas struggled to find offensive consistency
all afternoon, finishing with only 172 yards of total
offense.

Senior quarterback Kent Smith was 23-of-36 for 143
yards, one week after a school-record breaking
performance against Miami when he amassed 478 yards of
total offense.

The Nittany Lions harassed CMU’s offensive line nearly
every play as Smith was sacked eight times and true
freshman tailback Ontario Sneed only managed 40 yards
on 12 carries.

“Their front four did a great job pressuring us all
day and we didn’t hold up well at all,” Kelly said.
CMU’s defense did manage three takeaways including a
Thomas Keith interception and fumble recoveries by
cornerback Jesse Dailey and linebacker Doug Kress.

Bazuin played a role in two of the takeaways as he
deflected the Keith interception and forced one of the
fumbles.

He finished the day with five tackles, two sacks one
forced fumble and two passes defended.

“The defense didn’t play as well as we could or should
have today,” Bazuin said. “I know we can play with
them, we just didn’t bring it today.”

True freshman kicker Rick Albreski was responsible for
CMU’s only points of the day connecting on a 31-yard
field goal with 29 seconds remaining in the first
half.

PSU kick returner Derrick Williams returned the
ensuring kick off 56 yards and PSU freshman kicker
Kevin Kelly made a 37-yard field goal as time expired
to give the Nittany Lions a 26-3 halftime lead.

Freshman quarterback Brian Brunner replaced Smith in
the fourth quarter and was 2-of-2 for 15 yards.

“We’ve got to play flawless on the road to win,” Kelly
said.

See Monday’s edition of Central Michigan Life for more game coverage.

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