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 STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ¬ (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University football team closed out its 2011 non-conference schedule with a 34-6 setback to the Nittany Lions of Penn State University Saturday in Beaver Stadium.
The loss evened EMU's record at 2-2 while the win boosted Penn State to 3-1 on the year.
EMU's six points came off the foot of Kody Fulkerson who booted field goals of 21 and 22 yards.
The EMU offense was led by junior quarterback Alex Gillett, who completed 18-of-31 passes for 202 yards while gaining 22 yards on the ground. Redshirt sophomore Nick Olds hauled in four passes for 49 yards, and Garrett Hoskins grabbed four aerials for 44 yards.
The Penn State quarterback duo of Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin accounted for 335 yards through the air, with McGloin completing 14-of-17 for 220 yards and Bolden going 7-of-13 for 115 yards.
Penn State was first to put points on the board when place-kicker Anthony Fera booted a 29-yard field goal at the 4:18 mark of the first quarter. The field goal, the first of his career, finished off a seven-play, 45-yard drive after the Nittany Lions recovered an EMU fumble at the Penn State 43-yard line.
The Nittany Lions increased their lead to 10-0 when backup quarterback McGloin connected with wide receiver Joe Suhey on a 27-yard touchdown pass at the 8:19 mark of the second quarter. Fera added the PAT kick after a drive that consisted of five plays for 63 yards.
The EMU defense came up with a big play in the late stages of the second quarter when junior linebacker Justin Cudworth forced a fumble on a pass reception at the EMU goal line. The ball rolled out of bounds in the end zone, giving the Eagles possession with just 2:43 left in the first half.
Penn State countered that turnover, however, intercepting a Gillett pass and returning it to the EMU 31-yard line just one minute later.
The home squad made that pick pay off with a 5-yard touchdown pass from McGloin to Derek Moye. Fera added the PAT kick with 56 ticks left in the half for a 17-0 advantage.
The EMU defense held tough against the run in the first half, allowing just 34 yards on 10 carries, but the Nittany Lions turned in 189 yards passing in the first half compared to EMU's 80 yards through the air and 39 on the ground.
The home squad struck early in the second half with wide receiver Devon Smith grabbing a short pass from Bolden and racing 71 yards for a touchdown at the 13:59 mark. Fera added the PAT kick for a 24-0 PSU lead.
Penn State boosted its lead to 31-0 at the 2:27 mark of the third quarter when McGloin found Moye for a 20-yard touchdown strike. Andy Barrett added the PAT kick.
Senior defensive lineman Brad Ohrman gave the Eagles a boost at the start of the fourth quarter when he turned in an interception against Bolden on a bull rush in the backfield at the PSU 21-yard line.
The Eagles moved to the Penn State five before settling for a 21-yard field goal by Fulkerson for the Green and White’s first points of the game.
Penn State upped its lead to 34-3 on a 43-yard field goal by Sam Ficken with 8:32 left in the game.
Fulkerson closed out the scoring on a 22-yard field goal with 3:09 remaining.
The Eagles will take a 2-2 overall record into their 2011 Mid-American Conference season opener Saturday, Oct. 1, when the University of Akron Zips invade Rynearson Stadium for a 1 p.m.game.
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