San Diego State Recap

When you see a final score of 37-21 you would probably think that one offense was scoring at will and was making plays all over the field, that wasn’t the case in Penn State’s victory over San Diego State. The first quarter couldn’t have gone much better for a Penn State team that is still trying to get things going on offense. Running back Saquon Barkley looked to be on his way to another career day until he went down with an apparent ankle injury (8 carries, 62 yard before injury) and was lost for the rest of the game. Back-up Akeel Lynch looked to carry the load in Barkley’s absence but soon after the freshman went down, Lynch went down with what looked to be a knee injury and was in street clothes the rest of the afternoon. (Barkley was still dressed with his helmet on but trainers held him out.) Quarterback Christian Hackenberg finally looked somewhat comfortable behind his offensive line. He completed 21 of 35 passes for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns. Although the running game was held in check after Barkley and Lynch went down, the passing game still came around. Hackenberg found receiver Saeed Blacknall multiple times downfield, which the Nittany Lions hadn’t done in the first 3 games. Blacknall finished the day with 4 catches for 101 yards.

On defense the story was Anthony Zettel. The senior lost his father, Terry, on Friday afternoon after a 19-month battle with cancer. While many of us wouldn’t even consider getting out of bed after the loss of a parent, Zettel knew it was what his father would have wanted. “That was up to him. I felt like that’s what his family -- his dad -- would’ve wanted him to do.” head coach James Franklin said. He did play Saturday, and he played great. He led the team with 7 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, as well as a fumble recovery. Fellow defensive tackle Austin Johnson also had big day for a big man. The 323-pound junior recovered a fumble and took it 71-yards for a touchdown, the first of his career. The play happened just a minute into the fourth quarter with the score 27-21 Penn State and put the game out of reach for the Aztecs.

 

Penn State was without safeties Jordan Lucas and Marcus Allen due to injuries. No word on their status for next week’s game against Army. James Franklin isn’t the most open coach when it comes to injuries so it’s likely we won’t know until later in the week how Lucas, Allen, Barkley, and Lynch will fair going forward. Lynch’s injury looked a lot more serious so I’m not as optimistic about him as I am Barkley.

In order for Penn State to have a winning season or even get close to .500 they’ll need two things; they‘ll NEED Saquon Barkley to be 100% healthy and able to carry the ball 20 times a game in order for the passing game to keep progressing; and they’ll NEED to continue to throw the ball downfield while keeping Christian Hackenberg clean.

Army comes into town next Saturday for the final non-conference game before Big Ten play starts. The Black Knights will come into Happy Valley ranked 93^rd in total defense allowing 418 yards per game. It might be a moot point seeing as how Penn State’s offense only gains 345 yards per game.

Another thing to keep an eye on in terms of injuries are the statuses of Jordan Lucas, Marcus Allen, and Andrew Nelson.