Sept. 28, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior quarterback Christian Hackenberg finished just four yards shy of a 300-yard afternoon during Penn State's 37-21 victory over San Diego State on Saturday. The Nittany Lions stretched the field on a big day through the air.
Through the first three weeks, the Nittany Lion passing attack had accounted for two plays of more than 35 yards. On Saturday, the Lions tallied three plays of 35 yards or more alone.
Sophomore Saeed Blacknall had receptions of 45 and 46 yards, while senior tight end Kyle Carter had a catch and run of 35 yards on Saturday. The success in the passing game goes hand in hand with the success of the Nittany Lion ground attack. And it was huge for the offense's confidence.
"Being able to make some plays down the field is huge for us," Hackenberg said. "It's huge for confidence, especially to see Saeed make a couple big catches down the field. It adds another dimension to the offense for us."
Penn State had seven different players catch a pass on Saturday, including three receivers, two tight ends and two running backs. Distributing the ball to a number of players makes it tougher on an opposing defense to gameplan for the Lions.
"When you have a lot of different guys catch the football and a lot of different guys make plays, especially down the field, it's going to bode well for us the rest of the year," said Hackenberg.
Nassib Leading the Nation
Senior defensive end Carl Nassib has been nothing short of stellar during the first quarter of the 2015 season. The former walk-on has been a man on a mission for the Nittany Lions since pre-season practice started on Aug. 3.
Nassib entered the season with 2.0 career sacks and 5.5 career tackles for loss. Through four games, the West Chester native has 7.0 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss. He is leading the nation in sacks with (1.75 per game) and third in the nation in tackles for loss (2.3 per game).
"You look at Nassib; he's got some elite, overpowering size and speed and combination things that are really showing up," said head coach James Franklin.
His never-ending motor makes Nassib a fun player to watch during every snap.
Penn State vs. Service Academies
The service academies have been a big piece in Penn State's 129 seasons on the gridiron. The Nittany Lions have the utmost respect to the men and women in uniform, and this Saturday, Beaver Stadium will pay tribute to the armed services on Military Appreciation Day.
Saturday's clash against Army West Point will make the 67th game against service academies. The Nittany Lions have played against Navy on 38 occasions, Army on 25 occasions and Air Force on three occasions. Penn State leads the series against Army West Point, 13-10-2. The two teams first met in 1899. The most recent meeting came in 1979. The Nittany Lions have won the last nine games against Army West Point.
Early Look at Army West Point
The Black Knights enter the game with a 1-3 mark following a 58-36 victory over Eastern Michigan last week. The Knights scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from Eastern Michigan. Army West Point tallied 556 rushing yards in the victory and had six players tally 60 or more yards in the game.
The Black Knights are ranked No. 9 nationally in rushing offense with 294.5 yards per game. Running a triple option scheme, Army West Point has attempted just 36 passes in 2015. The Knights have rushed for 1,178 yards on 200 attempts (5.9 ypc). Sophomore quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw is the team's leading rusher at 341 yards. All three of Army West Point's losses came by five points or fewer (Fordham - 37-35, UConn - 22-17, Wake Forest - 17-14).