Penn State-Notre Dame 1st Half Observations

Penn State looks awful. The defense struggled on Notre Dame's first possession but got away with it when the Irish kicker missed a 50 year field goal. When Penn State took over Morelli threw a terrible pass intended for Derrick Williams which was intercepted and returned for a TD. 7-0 Notre Dame. The Penn State D has played extremely well since the opening drive. Wish I could say the same for the offense. On Penn State's 2nd offensive drive Austin Scott fumbled. Fortunately Derrick Williams provided some offense on special times, returning a punt for a 78 yard TD. Tied at 7-7. The only good drive by PSU in the first half yielded a 10 yard TD pass from Morelli to Norwood. 14-7 Penn State. The Penn State O had another chance with 30+ seconds left in the 2nd quarter but Morelli made an idiotic play. He scrambled out of the pocket and tucked the ball. Instead of attempting to run out of bounds and stop the clock (PSU had no timeouts left) he pushed for more yardage and was stripped by Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski. Luckily, Notre Dame couldn't capitalize. At the end of the 1st half it's Penn State 14, Notre Dame 7.

Penn State better play better. They look awful. No running game. Stupid decisions by Morelli. As usual, the D is carrying the team.