Penn State third-string QB steps into key role

It was not the start of the season that Penn State wanted.

The team dropped its first two Big Ten games to Iowa and Illinois, both by at least 20 points. Questions of even earning bowl eligibility arose as the Nittany Lions searched for answers.

Their answer came at the hands of third-string, walk-on quarterback Matthew McGloin.
The sophomore quarterback led Penn State (6-4, 3-3) to wins in three of its last four games and will look to continue that trend when they take on the Hoosiers (4-6, 0-6) at noon Saturday at FedExField in Landover, Md.

“It seems like the biggest difference is when they made the change at quarterback,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “It just seems like they got a little zip when (McGloin) came in there and played.”

McGloin took his first snap when he filled in for injured true freshman quarterback Robert Bolden against Minnesota.

With the Nittany Lions playing on the road without a Big Ten win, they had to rely on McGloin to steer the ship. McGloin’s two touchdown passes led the Nittany Lions against Minnesota for their first Big Ten win.

With Bolden still on the shelf the following week against Michigan, McGloin picked up where he left off.

The Scranton, Pa., native took care of business with 250 passing yards and two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) in a 41-31 win against Michigan. The win was the first time this season that Penn State won a shootout-style game.

Staring at a 21-0 deficit against Northwestern the following week, McGloin stepped up again.

McGloin led a 35-point, unanswered comeback to stun Northwestern 35-21. McGloin’s four-touchdown performance resulted in Penn State’s third-straight win and made the team bowl eligible.

“I remember watching that game, and this guy has really become the leader of that football team,” Lynch said.

Instead of facing questions of uncertainty when Bolden went down, McGloin has quickly turned around this historic program. McGloin’s ability to get the ball downfield was an element the Nittany Lions were not getting from Bolden.

“We’ve seen him make some plays downfield, and he’s not scared to throw the ball up,” IU senior cornerback Richard Council said. “He looks like he has confidence in his receivers, so just watching him throughout his few games you can tell that he’s played quarterback before so he feels comfortable.”

Since McGloin took over at quarterback, he has thrown nine touchdown passes. The Nittany Lions averaged 18.2 points per game when Bolden was at quarterback. In the four games in which McGloin played, the Nittany Lions averaged 30.8 points per contest.

The Nittany Lions even had No. 9 Ohio State on the ropes in Columbus, Ohio last week. Penn State went into halftime leading 14-3 but could not hold off the high-powered Buckeye offense in the second half.

The Hoosiers know that they are dealing with an improved team, even if Penn State is no longer ranked in the top 25 poll like it was earlier in the season.

The defense feels that getting pressure on McGloin is a must if the Hoosiers hope to slow down Penn State.

“We’ve got to do whatever we can up front,” IU defensive tackle Mick Mentzer said. “We can’t leave him on islands out there all day.”