Clark's Heisman stock tumbles
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Whatever momentum had been gained by supporters of Daryll Clark urging that his name be included in the Heisman Trophy conversation was stopped as if it had run into a brick wall.
Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com.
Penn State's senior quarterback again performed poorly in a game of national significance, completing 12 of 28 passes for 125 yards, an interception, and no touchdowns yesterday in the Nittany Lions' 24-7 loss to Ohio State.
Clark acknowledged that his inability to lead the Lions to victories over the only two ranked teams - Ohio State and Iowa - on their schedule is "something that will hang over my head unless we finish the season the right way, which I'm very confident we'll do."
Asked, however, whether it's unfair to judge him on those two games, Clark replied, "That may be the case. I don't really think it's fair, but it's going to happen."
Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who had been lobbying for more recognition for Clark, admitted that his quarterback has had better games.
"Then again, there was an awful lot of pressure on him early and throughout the whole ball game," he said. "Once they were able to put that kind of pressure on without really sending a lot of people, that made it tough to develop some of the [pass] routes."
Royster a bit gimpy. Evan Royster, the Lions' leading rusher, had to leave warm-ups early because of a minor knee injury, but was in the starting lineup.
"I caught a swing pass, and somebody was right in front of me when I turned," Royster said. "I tried to stop, and my knee just buckled. It didn't have any big effect [in the game]. It was a little bit sore, but nothing serious."
Royster finished with a season-low 36 yards on 13 carries.
Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com.
