CLARK IS ON THE MARK

Daryll Clark continued his strong play on the road on Saturday, leading Penn State to a 34-13 victory over Northwestern in a game that had all the makings of a typical trap game. Sandwiched between the Michigan and Ohio State games, the contest against the Wildcats didn't seem to have the Lions' full attention for the first 45 minutes of the game as the teams were tied at 13 going into the final quarter. Luckily, Penn State took its "Stanzi-pills" and came out with guns blazing in the fourth score 21 unanswered and put the game away.

Clark finished the game 22-31 for 274 yards and two total touchdowns and, perhaps most importantly, no turnovers. Since his poor performance against Iowa in which he tossed three interceptions and completed only 38% of his passes, Clark has been on fire. In the last five games he has connected on 66% of his throws, accounting for 14 total touchdowns and only one turnover. Not surprisingly, the Lions are 5-0 in that stretch with an average victory margin of 27 points.

One reason for the increased success in the aerial attack may be the infusion of Clark's running into the offensive game plan. Nearly 70% of his rushing attempts, 80% of his rushing yards and all of his touchdowns on the ground this season have come in the last five games.

The senior captain's strong performances haven't gone unnoticed as Clark has been named one of 15 semi-finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award and is the only player to be twice-named the Big Ten's offensive player of the week (Akron and Michigan) in 2009.

Still, for all of his success this season, the lasting memory of the 2009 campaign may be crystallized next Saturday when Penn State welcomes the Ohio State Buckeyes to Beaver Stadium. Last season, Clark watched backup quarterback Pat Devlin lead the Lions to a fourth-quarter rally in Columbus through glassy eyes after being knocked from the game with a concussion. Should he lead his team to victory in this game, Clark will finish his career undefeated against as a starter against Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, the first Penn State quarterback to ever accomplish such a feat.