Week 4 Wrap Up

Penn State is now half way towards bowl eligibility after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs 37-21!  Saturday finally provided us nice weather and gave Christian Hackenberg an opportunity to air things out.  On the other side of the ball, the defense secured their 11th straight regular season game holding opponents under 300 yds of total offense.  That's the longest such streak in the nation!  Yes, the Temple disaster is firmly in the past as the Nittany Lions continue to improve on offense while maintaining their dominance on defense.  Regrettably, before the game, we found out that a key piece to that defense, DT Anthony Zettel, would be playing with a heavy heart after hearing that his father had lost a long battle with cancer and passed away the day before.  Zettel’s family drove in from Michigan to watch him play and sure enough he turned in one of his best performances ever, earning him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors in the process.  It was a bittersweet day for one of the toughest players in all of college football.

The big story, however, was a pesky injury bug that keeps on spreading.  Senior captain Jordan Lucas, who has coincidentally been wearing the number of injured LB Nyeem Wartman-White, was in street clothes on the sidelines during the game and did not play.  Is that jersey number cursed?  His fellow safety Marcus Allen also went down in the 1st quarter, resulting in both back up safeties, Malik Golden and Troy Apke, being called on to step in.  More injuries would pile up throughout the afternoon.

So what exactly happened?  Well this was a game of highlights, so be sure to click all the blue links and see them for yourself.

San Diego State won the coin toss and received the ball first.  They didn't make much of it which brought out the Penn State offense.  The running game got off to an unusually slow start with a lot of slipping and getting tripped up at the line of scrimmage by both Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley.  WR Chris Godwin made up for it with a couple of clutch catches to keep the chains moving while the backs got going.  He would finish the day with 5 catches for 78 yds.  Now remember how I talked about the need for Hackenberg to take shots down field?  Well he finally broke out the cannon in a big way with a 45 yarder to Saeed Blacknall that got the offense into Aztec territory and sparked the rest of the team.  Saquon Barkley shook the cobwebs loose, took a desperation shovel pass from Hack, and somehow spun, juked, and broke at least 5 tackles on his way to the endzone!  It was yet another play for his highlight reel and marked his first collegiate receiving TD.

Unfortunately, the celebration would be short-lived.  I guess San Diego State's return team was getting jealous of all the interceptions their defense has been returning for TDs.  On the ensuing kick off, despite Joey Julius’s bomb into the endzone, Rashaad Penny found a seam and took it back 100 yds for the score.  It was all tied up 7-7.

For much of the game, Penn State would march down the field with relative ease, only to stall in the red zone and inevitably end up with a Joey Julius FG.  The next two drives were no exception.  Largely on the back of Daesean Hamilton, the offense made it into Aztec territory.  With another highlight-worthy TD almost assuredly in the works, Saquon Barkley made a nice cut to the outside and scampered 21 yds inside the 10.  But on the play, he twisted his ankle and eventually headed into the locker room to be examined.  He would not return.  Penn State would settle for a 40 yd FG, but the offense wouldn't look the same again without Barkley.  After another 46 yd bomb from Hackenberg to Blacknall got them close, the offense stalled again and had to settle for a 24 yarder to take the lead 13-7.  These FGs hurt even more as the first half pressed on.  Penn State was dominating nearly every statistical category, but it didn’t reflect on the scoreboard.  Then, a San Diego State offense that had done absolutely nothing up to this point, somehow drove nearly the length of the field and connected on a pass to the back of the endzone to put the Aztecs up 14-13.  

A 55 yd attempt by the Big Toe was swatted down on the next drive and it was starting to look like the Nittany Lions may go into the locker room down by a single point.  The teams traded three-and-outs until San Diego State's Lloyd Mills fumbled his punt return.  Chris Godwin made the play, scooping up the ball and setting up the offense with great field position.  Akeel Lynch was now the feature back again.  He rushed two more times for 16 yds, then got rolled up on by a defender.  It was clearly a knee injury, one that might cost him the rest of the season.  Redshirt freshman Mark Allen stepped in, now the third RB to play, and on his very first snap took a swing pass to the sideline, but was ruled down at the 2 yd line.  Upon further review, though, Allen could be seen somehow levitating above the ground just long enough to reach the ball over the goal line for his first TD in blue and white!  Like Barkley’s score earlier, the play was technically a pass and counted as a TD for Hackenberg.  Penn State regained the lead, 20-14 with only a minute left in the half.

SDSU had enough time to add to their score, but on their first play from scrimmage after the kick off, Garrett Sickels forced another San Diego State fumble which was recovered by Zettel!  Back on offense at the Aztec 23, Hackenberg was sacked for the first time in three games.  Kyle Carter got a 1st down at the 11 yd line, where three straight pass attempts to Chris Godwin proved to be the charm.  He took a short pass up the middle for the score!  All told, Hackenberg would end the day with nearly 300 yds passing, 3 TDs, and ZERO interceptions!  That would officially end the half with the Nittany Lions up 27-14

The second half did not start out as well as the first half had ended.  Mark Allen showed that he isn't nearly the every down back that Barkley and Lynch are.  Again the teams traded punts, but this time it was Penn State's DeAndre Thompkins who fumbled the return.   San Diego State recovered with great field position and it was simply too much for even our dominant front seven to overcome.  With the help of a few penalties, the Aztecs scored their third TD of the day.  Thankfully, they would not score again.  In fact, no one would score again until the 4th quarter, so let's fast forward to that.

On their first drive of the quarter, San Diego State made it all the way down to Penn State's 25 yd line.  That's when Carl Nassib nailed QB Maxwell Smith in the arm, forcing a fumble.  It was picked up by the 328 lb Austin Johnson, who rumbled down the field a total of 71 yds untouched for the first TD of his entire playing career and one of the funniest fat guy TDs you’ll ever witness in your life!  PSU was now up 34-21.

When the offense actually got on the field later in the quarter, newly christened starter Mark Allen picked up a nice first down.  However, it was the next play by 4th string RB Nick Scott that had people talking.  He took the pitch from Hackenberg only to wind up and… pass the ball?  It worked as Chris Godwin came down with it at the 15.  Unfortunately, the theatrics would lead, as so many drives did that day, to a Joey Julius FG instead of a TD.  And that's how it ended, PSU 37 - SDSU 21.

It's now quite clear, this offense can be decent, but only with the help of Saquon Barkley.  Plays he would have made look easy were shut down at the line of scrimmage after he left the game.  He is FOR REAL folks, and he makes both the offensive line and the playcallers look good.  Without him, the flaws in those two groups are quickly exposed.  Defensively, I don't know if anyone is playing poorly.  True freshman CB John Reid is really starting to impress, as is redshirt freshman LB Troy Reeder.  The starting four lineman, Nassib, Johnson, Zettel, and Sickels are completely dominating, and as for the linebackers and secondary, they have shown that even through a rash of injuries, even the backups are capable of stepping in and playing at an elite level.

Over on special teams, just when we thought they were coming together, they go and have a game like this.  Joey Julius had a long FG blocked, a kick go out of bounds, and a kick off returned for a TD.  Chris Gulla had some bad punts, and DeAndre Thompkins miffed a return that led to another San Diego State TD.  The highlight is the kick returners.  Koa Farmer hurdled a defender on one of the most impressive 25 yd returns I’ve ever seen.  Nick Scott also impressed.  By the start of conference play, this unit will need to be tight or more talented squads will take advantage.

So how did I do on my prediction?  Once again I almost nailed Penn State’s score, but completely underestimated the competition.  Saquon Barkley wasn’t able to meet my expectations due to injury, but he still managed 84 yds (66 rushing) and a TD before leaving the game.  Hackenberg far outplayed my prediction, going for nearly 300 yds with 3 TDs (not 2) and 0 INTs (not 2).  With the game so close late, we never got to see Trace McSorely though.  The defense played lights out, as I foresaw, combining for 5 sacks, 5 pass breakups, and 3 recovered fumbles!  And of course, the Lions got the victory!  I would say, a decent outing for me and my crystal ball.  My general feeling was that it was a good game, I just wish our guys hadn’t gotten so banged up.  I guess all that’s left to say is...

Alright, that will do it for the wrap up.  Check back in tomorrow for the grades and then we'll get started on Army week!  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page to keep up with all the latest news and notes on all things Penn State football.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!