Otton First to Admit He Was Rotten

What happened to Brad Otton’s accuracy, the laser-like aim that riddled Northwestern in the 41-32 Rose Bowl victory last Jan. 1?

Credit both Penn State and an off-day by Otton, John Robinson said afterward.

“I thought Brad had a hard day and quarterbacks usually have a hard day against this team, if you don’t run the football well or stay even,” he said.

“They play zone pass defense and matchup zone very well and Brad didn’t have a good day throwing the ball. I felt like he was pressing as the game went on. Any time you play that position and thing aren’t going well, more and more pressure goes on you and Brad got a dose of that today.”

Otton used words like “embarrassing” and “humiliating” to describe his game.

“I couldn’t find people,” he said. “I’d look and slide like I usually do and when I did find people open, I threw bad balls. I felt we were OK in the first half, but after the interception [early in the fourth quarter, Penn State went from 17-0 to 24-0 after Kim Herring intercepted an Otton pass and returned it 18 yards to the USC 32], I got frustrated.”

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Records: Enis set Kickoff Classic records for rushing attempts (27), rushing yards (241) and his three touchdowns tied Tommie Frazier of Nebraska, who did it against West Virginia in 1994.

Chris Claiborne’s last-minute touchdown means USC hasn’t been shut out since Washington’s 31-0 rout in 1990. And the Trojans haven’t been blanked in an opener since losing, 14-0, to Oregon State in 1960.

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Offensive line coach Mike Barry on Travis Claridge, who became the first USC freshman offensive line starter in an opener in 20 years: “He was solid. He showed me real maturity for a first game.”

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The Kickoff and Pigskin classics shook up the Top 25 a bit, but Nebraska easily retained the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press’ first regular-season poll.

With Penn State’s victory over USC, the Nittany Lions moved from No. 11 to No. 7. USC fell 10 spots to 17th.

Brigham Young’s 41-37 upset of Texas A&M; in Saturday’s Pigskin Classic catapulted the Cougars, unranked in the preseason, into the rankings at No. 19. The Aggies tumbled 10 places, to 23rd.