Quick kicks
Clausen struggles in first start for Notre Dame
Jimmy Clausen unbuckled his chin strap and walked slowly to the bench. Another drive had fizzled for Notre Dame.
It’s not quite the debut Irish coach Charlie Weis had in mind for his freshman quarterback. Clausen finished 17 of 32 for 144 yards and an interception in Notre Dame’s 31-10 loss Saturday night to No. 14 Penn State in State College, Pa.
The Irish, 0-2 for the first time since 2001, were held without an offensive touchdown for the second straight game.
Weis went conservatively with the offense before opening it up in the fourth quarter down by double digits against a tough Penn State defense.
Clausen came up with his best drive late in the fourth quarter, leading Notre Dame to the Penn State 10. That ended on fourth down, however, when he was forced to scramble and threw a high pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Justin King.
“At least he can leave the field at the end of the game with those last couple of drives, even though they didn’t end up with points, feeling that he got a little bit of something going,” Weis said.
Next up for Clausen: Michigan at the Big House on Saturday. What typically would be considered a banner matchup will be a contest between two teams trying to get their first win.
First for Notre Dame, though, there’s an offense to fix.
The line allowed six sacks and was whistled for four offsides, two delay-of-game penalties, in part because of a near-deafening Penn State crowd of 110,078, most dressed in white. There were also three holding penalties called.
Memphis game postponed
Heavy rain and lightning forced postponement of the Memphis-Arkansas State football game that was scheduled in Jonesboro, Ark.
Kickoff for the game had been scheduled for 6 p.m., but was initially delayed as a strong thunderstorm with lightning moved through the city.
At 8:50 p.m., almost three hours after the game should have started, the public-address announcer said the game would not be played and was rescheduled for Sept. 27.
No zip for Zips
The 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes forced the befuddled Akron Zips to punt 14 times, including after 12 consecutive three-and-out series, in a 20-2 victory.
Akron had just three first downs and 69 yards on offense – gaining 3 net yards on 19 rushing attempts. The Zips had two first downs the first time they had the ball, then didn’t pick up another until 5 minutes remained.