Nittany Lions Rush Past UMass, 48-7

Box Score
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48

7

Beaver Stadium | University Park, Pa. | 99,155

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FINAL STATISTICS

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) - The Nittany Lions used a balanced offensive attack and relentless defense on the way to a 48-7 win over UMass Saturday in front of 99,155 fans at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions rushed for 228 yards, led by Bill Belton (Sicklerville, N.J.), who scored twice and had 76 yards on seven carries. Zach Zwinak (Frederick, Md.) also scored twice, while Akeel Lynch (Toronto, Ontario) added a team-best 81 yards and one touchdown.

Christian Hackenberg (Palmyra, Va.) threw for 179 yards to lead the air attack. Redshirt freshman D.J. Crook (West Barnstable, Mass.) saw his first collegiate action, going 6-for-9 for 57 yards and a touchdown. Geno Lewis (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) continued his strong start with five catches for 82 yards, while DaeSean Hamilton (Fredericksburg, Va.) added four catches for 65 yards.

The Nittany Lion defense was stellar, holding UMass to three yards rushing thanks in part to 10 tackles for a loss, including three sacks. The three rushing yards allowed are the fewest since the Nittany Lions held Notre Dame without a rushing yard in 2007. Mike Hull (Canonsburg, Pa.) led the unit again with six tackles and forced fumble, while Nyeem Wartman (Philadelphia, Pa.) added five tackles.

Placekicker Sam Ficken (Valparaiso, Ind.) connected on field goals of 42 and 40 yards to move into a tie for eighth place on Penn State's career field goals list with Nick Gancitano (1981-84). Ficken has 38 career field goals. Additionally, Ficken became the 11th player in school history with 200 points. He is now eighth in program history with 207 points.

Penn State is 4-0 on the season for the first time since 2008. Head coach James Franklin is the first Penn State first year coach to start 4-0 since Dick Harlow in 1915.

After the Minutemen missed a 39-yard field goal, Penn State put together a 53-yard drive over 15 plays that led to a 42-yard field goal by Ficken. Belton had the key play of the drive with a 14-yard run on second down to position the Nittany Lions for the field goal.

The Penn State defense forced a three-and-out on the next UMass drive and Lynch reeled off a 46-yard run, the Lions' longest rush of the season, to kick-start the PSU drive. The Lions advanced the ball four more yards before yielding to Ficken for his second field goal of the game, this time from 40 yards out, to take a 6-0 lead with 2:38 left in the first quarter.

After a turnover on downs for the Minutemen, the Penn State offense was clicking on all cylinders as the Lions turned in an eight-play, 69-yard drive. Hackenberg threw for 39 yards and Belton rushed for 30 yards, capped off with a 24-yard run for his second rushing touchdown of the season to give Penn State a 13-0 lead with 10:11 remaining in the second quarter.

On the ensuing UMass drive, Hull forced a fumble by Tajae Sharp and it was recovered by Austin Johnson (Galloway, N.J.) to give the Nittany Lions the ball at the UMass 20. On the second play from scrimmage, Belton found a gap and ran 20 yards for paydirt and a 20-0 Penn State lead with 8:48 remaining in the first half.

The Nittany Lion defense continued to impress as Tarow Barney (Gainesville, Fla.) sacked and stripped UMass quarterback Blake Frohnapfel on third down to force another Minuteman punt. After advancing the ball to the Penn State 45, Hackenberg hit Lewis for a 38-yard completion to move to the UMass 10. Following an illegal procedure penalty on the Minutemen, Zwinak scampered in from five yards out for the touchdown with 3:37 left in the opening half.

Following a three-and-out for UMass, the Nittany Lions capped the first-half scoring with Zwinak's second touchdown of the half on a one-yard run to make it 34-0 Penn State with 1:24 on the clock. Hackenberg hit Hamilton for 35 yards and Lewis for 11 yards to propel the drive for the Lions. The 28 points scored by the Nittany Lions in the second quarter are the most for a Penn State team since notching 28 tallies in the third quarter against Michigan in 2009.

Penn State picked up in the second half where it left off in the first with a defensive three-and-out to open the frame. In the first offensive series of the second half, Hackenberg rushed for a career-long 17 yards on third-and-12 to keep the Penn State drive alive. Lynch then rushed for 13 yards on three carries before Hackenberg hit Hamilton for a 13-yard gain to the UMass 17. Lynch's number was called again as he rushed for two yards and then broke free for a 15-yard touchdown run to give the Lions the 41-0 lead with 8:10 left in the third.

The Lions added to their lead with Crook as he connected with Brent Wilkerson (Clinton, Md.) for an 11-yard touchdown catch to increase the lead to 48-0. Crook was 4-for-6 on the drive for 39 yards. The Minutemen got on the board to open the fourth quarter with a 77-yard touchdown to cut the Penn State lead to 48-7.

The Nittany Lions are back in action next Saturday for a Homecoming matchup with Northwestern at Beaver Stadium at noon on the Big Ten Network and the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com.

The four-game partial ticket plan and single game also are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY, weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.