PSU Overcomes Injuries; Downs Aztecs 37-24

AdminSeptember 27, 2015

5 minutes read

UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State scored three touchdowns off three San Diego State fumbles en route to a 37-24 victory in non-conference football action Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg (Palmyra, Va.) completed 21-of-35 pass attempts for 296 yards and three touchdowns, while defensive tackle Austin Johnson (Galloway, N.J.) returned a fumble 71 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.

The game turned in Penn State’s (3-1) favor late in the first half when San Diego State (1-3) muffed a punt and fumbled in Nittany Lion territory in the final 2:33. The Aztecs led 14-13 but the turnovers allowed Penn State to take a 27-14 lead into the locker room after Hackenberg capped both resulting drives with touchdown passes.

Chris Godwin (Middletown, Del.) and DaeSean Hamilton (Fredericksburg, Va.) led the Lions with five receptions each, with Godwin totaling 78 yards and a touchdown. Godwin also recovered the muffed punt late in the second quarter. Saeed Blacknall (Manalapan, N.J.) led in yardage, totaling a career-high 101 yards on four receptions, including career-long receptions of 45 and 46 yards. Running backs Saquon Barkley (Coplay, Pa.) and Mark Allen (Hyattsville, Md.) both factored in the passing game, each notching their first receiving touchdowns. It was the first time since 2006 that two different Nittany Lion running backs caught touchdown receptions.

Barkley led the team on the ground with 62 yards on eight carries, all in the first half. He did not play in the second half after suffering a lower leg injury in the second period. Also going out with a second period injury was fellow tailback Akeel Lynch.

It was Hackenberg’s 15th career 200-yard passing game, giving him sole possession of fourth in the category all-time at Penn State, and his 296 passing yards moved him past Matt McGloin (2009-12) for second all-time in program history with 6,600 career passing yards.

Penn State was strong defensively, yielding only two drives longer than 36 yards, and 242 total yards. The Nittany Lions’ 141 passing yards allowed were their fewest against an FBS non-conference opponent since holding Kent State to 134 in 2013. SDSU’s first touchdown came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Rashaad Penny, and its last came after getting the ball on the Penn State 21-yard line after a Nittany Lion muffed punt early in the third quarter. Not including special teams scores, the Nittany Lion defense has not allowed more than seven points in the first half of 10 consecutive games.

Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel (West Branch, Mich.) led the unit with a career-high seven tackles, including a team-best 2.5 for loss and a half sack. He also recovered a fumble that led to a touchdown and broke up one pass. Defensive end Carl Nassib (West Chester, Pa.) had 2.0 of the team’s five sacks, including the sack-forced fumble that led to Johnson’s touchdown run. Defensive end Garrett Sickels (Red Bank, N.J.) forced the fumble that Zettel recovered and recorded a half sack and pass breakup in addition to three tackles.

Penny led SDSU with 192 all-purpose yards, including the 100-yard kickoff return and a 55-yard rush that keyed a touchdown drive. Donnel Pumphrey rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries and caught four passes for 51 yards. Quarterback Maxwell Smith completed 10 of 29 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, targeting Mikah Holder for 78 yards and a touchdown.

SDSU’s fumbles before halftime allowed Penn State to score two touchdowns in the final 1:03 before the break.

Lloyd Mills muffed a 44-yard punt from Penn State’s Chris Gulla (Toms River, N.J.) at the SDSU 27. The Nittany Lions found the end zone in four plays, as Allen capped the short drive with a 13-yard touchdown reception with 1:03 remaining in the half. Allen pulled in the short pass near the line of scrimmage and leapt into the end zone as he was tripped up. He was originally marked down at the two, but the spot was overturned upon video review.

After the ensuing kickoff, SDSU took over on its own 25-yard line, but Sickels stripped Pumphrey of the ball on the first play from scrimmage, and Zettel pounced on it, giving the Lions the ball back on the 23 with 55 seconds remaining in the half.

After a sack, Hackenberg led the Lions to the 11, completing an 8-yard pass to Kyle Carter (Bear, Del.) and a 7-yard pass to Hamilton on 3rd-on-5. Hackenberg then converted another third down after a pair of incompletions, finding Godwin in the middle of the field for an 11-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left before the break.

Hackenberg completed 16-of-24 pass attempts in the half for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Blacknall caught three of the passes for 98 yards. The Nittany Lions outgained SDSU in total offense 297-81 yards.

San Diego State threatened in the second half, taking advantage of a muffed punt for a six-play, 21-yard touchdown drive. Pumphrey capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Late in the third quarter when SDSU began to drive on offense again. Starting at their own 18, a 31-yard pass from Smith to Holder moved the Aztecs to the PSU 24. The drive came to an abrupt end though when Nassib forced Smith to fumble on the next play, planting his helmet on the quarterback’s arm just before it could come forward. The 6-4, 323-pound Johnson scooped up the resulting fumble and rumbled 71-yards to the end zone for a 34-21 lead with 13:44 remaining.

The fumble return was the Nittany Lions’ first for a touchdown since Mike Hull returned one 74 yards vs. Navy in 2012.

Joey Julius (Hummelstown, Pa.) would convert his third field goal of the game with 9:52 remaining for the final margin. A 32-yard pass from running back Nick Scott (Fairfax, Va.) to Godwin moved the Lions into range at the SDSU 13. It was the first throw by a non-quarterback for Penn State since Curtis Drake threw a 16-yard completion against Nebraska in 2011, and it was the longest since RB Eric McCoo threw a 63-yard touchdown pass against Illinois in 2001.

Penn State was first on the scoreboard first, finding the end zone on its second offensive possession. A 45-yard completion to Blacknall keyed the drive, moving the Nittany Lions to the SDSU 7-yard line. A chop block penalty on the next play moved Penn State back outside the red zone, but Barkley scored on the very next play, catching a short pass near the line of scrimmage and breaking multiple tackles on his way to the end zone.

San Diego State answered on the ensuing kickoff though, as Penny returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time Penn State had yielded a 100-yard kickoff since 2013 against Purdue.

Julius converted field goals on Penn State’s next two drives for a 13-7 lead. A 34-yard rush by Barkley keyed the first scoring drive, and Julius converted a career-long 40-yard try with 43 seconds remaining in the first quarter. After an SDSU three-and-out, Penn State took over on its own 21 and Hackenberg completed a 46-yard pass to Blacknall on the first play to the SDSU 33. After a 2-yard rush, Barkley broke through for 21 yards to the SDSU 10. Julius converted a 24-yard field goal to cap the seven-play, 72-yard drive.

SDSU would take the lead on its next possession, as Penny rushed for 55 yards from the SDSU 25 to the Penn State 20. One play later, Smith completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Holder with 10:23 remaining in the second half.

It was their only lead of the game.

Penn State will next host Army West Point Saturday in the first meeting between the two schools since 1979. The sold-out game will kick at noon and be televised on ESPNU. The game is the fourth of five consecutive games at Beaver Stadium. It will be Military Appreciation Day.