STATE COLLEGE
Let’s get the laughs out of the way first, because there were plenty of those for Penn State.
Hey, that’s natural when the most important touchdown of the game — and maybe what they’ll consider, down the road, to be the most important touchdown of their season — was scored by a 323-pound defensive tackle.
Especially when that touchdown essentially seals a win, and when there wasn’t a player from the opposing offense seemingly within 30 yards of catching him.
But that’s what junior Austin Johnson did for Penn State on Saturday, in the most impressive way, at the most critical time.
“I was in coverage, and then I saw everybody stop. Then, everybody just kind of ran. I was like, ‘What is going on?’ ” safety Malik Golden said. “All of a sudden, I see Austin, just sprinting. I was like, ‘This can’t be possible.’ ”
Anything seems to be possible with Johnson this season.
Let’s set the scene.
It’s hard to believe now, given the fact Penn State did what it should have done against San Diego State. It beat the Aztecs soundly, 37-21. It outgained them, 400-242, and it took a late fourth-quarter flurry by San Diego State just to make it that close. Penn State dominated defensively, limiting the Aztecs to just eight first downs through three quarters. But somehow, just three minutes into the final quarter, there were coach Rocky Long’s fearless Aztecs, trailing by six points. They had no statistic suggesting they should be close. But they were close. They were 25 yards away from the goal line, in fact. And in the moments before the game’s critical play, they had the momentum.
When it comes down to the moral of stories like this, though, this is how Penn State has to win games. A third-and-11 for the opposition, and defensive line coach Sean Spencer’s “Wild Dogs” front four pinned their ears back.
Defensive end Carl Nassib got to Aztecs quarterback Maxwell Smith first. The Kentucky transfer had to be used to Penn State defenders in his grill for most of the afternoon, but this time, Nassib got his helmet on Smith’s arm and the ball came loose a split second before Smith’s desperate attempt to get rid of it.
Johnson scooped it up at the 29-yard line like a shortstop and took off. A diving attempt by massive San Diego State right tackle Pearce Slater to try to trip him up didn’t work. Johnson’s feet powered through Slater’s grasping hands, and he was gone. Up the San Diego State sideline. The only players even close to him were the Nittany Lions defenders there to celebrate with him.
“I think people underestimate how athletic he is for that size,” freshman linebacker Troy Reeder said. “He plays the one-technique (lining up over the center’s shoulder), so you rarely see him out in space. But he’s extremely athletic. My immediate thought was to look for skill guys to block, because I knew nobody on their offensive line was going to catch him. We all know how athletic he is, but I don’t think most people do. I knew he was gone.”
It put Penn State up two touchdowns. It also energized a team that needed the spark, needed something positive to think about after losing both running backs and a starting safety to injury and watching things get tough from there.
Remember, this was a team that completely collapsed in a very similar position, facing almost identical circumstances, in the opening week against Temple.
They squandered some early opportunities to build an insurmountable lead both times. They had some injuries that took a strength of the team out of commission both times. They wore down in the second half against a Temple offense that was able to hit big play after big play on the edges. San Diego State was starting to find similar success.
As tough as things got, though, the Nittany Lions didn’t collapse this time.
They made the big play, and to hear players talk about it afterward, it almost brought a sense of relief.
Asked whether he was surprised how much distance Johnson put on Aztecs defenders on that return, Golden laughed, saying “He probably could have carried four or five people, as strong as he is,” had they caught him.
“All I remember is everybody hitting me on the head,” Johnson said, laughing. “I was like, ‘You all have to back up, because I can’t breathe right now.’ That was pretty funny, because I was gasping for air. I could not breathe. Those guys can’t hit me in the head like that. I just ran 70-something yards.”
Teams need games like this sometimes. Especially young teams.
They need some adversity. They need to overcome obstacles. Everything went right against Rutgers last week, and very little did this time. Every team wins when everything goes right. The great teams win the others.
Penn State is not there yet, but maybe, a 323-pounder running 71 yards when his team absolutely needs him to is the first step toward getting there.
(Collins covers Penn State football for Times Shamrock. Contact him at dcollins@timesshamrock.com and
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@psubst.)