Blue White Illustrated

KEY MATCHUPS P E N N   S T A T E   V S .   A P P A L A C H I A N   S T A T E | B Y P H I L G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 156.6 YPG, 4.7 YPC (in 2017) // APPALACHIAN STATE RUN DEFENSE137.6 YPG, 3.9 YPC THE LOWDOWNEven though they had a future No. 2 draC pick in their backfield last season, the Nittany Lions struggled at times on the ground, finishing sixth in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game. Their new running back is junior Miles Sanders, who finished third on the team last season with 191 yards on 31 carries. His average of 6.2 yards per carry was best among the team's running backs. QB Trace McSorley was Penn State's second-leading rusher with 491 yards on 144 carries. Even with Saquon Barkley gone, there are hopes that the running game will take a step forward this fall. That's because the Lions return five offensive linemen with extensive starting experience in LT Ryan Bates, LG Steven Gonzalez, RG Connor McGovern, RT/LT Will Fries and RT Chasz Wright. In its opener, Penn State will be matching up against a Mountaineer defense that was hit hard by graduation in the front seven. The only returning starter at line- backer is ILB Anthony Flory, an honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference player last year aCer finishing second on the team with 87 tackles. Senior NT MyQuon Stout is the lone returning starter on the defensive line. If they can con- trol the line of scrimmage, expect the Lions to rush for close to 200 yards. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State C Michal Menet will take on Stout, while McGovern will try to neutralize Flory. If the Lions are to have success running be- tween the tackles, Menet and McGovern will need to control the line of scrimmage. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME 289.3 YPG, 13.0 YPC // APPALACHIAN STATE PASS DEFENSE 205.1 YPG, 12.2 YPC THE LOWDOWNThis matchup will pit Penn State's biggest offensive strength against Appalachian State's primary defensive strength. Despite losing DaeSean Hamilton and Saeed Blacknall to graduation, the Lions have the poten- tial to field a passing game that is as effective as it was a year ago, when they led the Big Ten in yards per game. Penn State's top returning receiver is Juwan Johnson with 54 catches for 701 yards and one TD as a sophomore. He's fol- lowed by DeAndre Thompkins (28 catches, 443 yards, four TDs) and Brandon Polk (10 catches, 130 yards, one TD), but much of the attention on opening day will no doubt be directed at redshirt freshmen K.J. Hamler, Mac Hippenhammer and Cam Sullivan-Brown, and maybe even a true freshman or two. Last season, the Moun- taineers fielded the No. 1 pass defense in the Sun Belt. Nicknamed the Legion of Boone (as in Boone, N.C., home of the university), App State's defense ranks second nationally with 56 interceptions over the past three seasons. Jun- ior CB Cli5on Duck has 11 of those picks, including six last year, and is the leader of the secondary. Senior CB Tae Hayes totaled four interceptions in 2017, and junior FS Desmond Franklin had three. // KEY MATCHUP Johnson will take on Duck in one of the aCernoon's most interesting matchups, while Bates will look to keep DE Okon God- win away from McSorley. Godwin led the Mountaineers with 5.5 tackles for loss in 2017. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. APPALACHIAN STATE PASS DEFENSE APPALACHIAN STATE RUNNING GAME 223.6 YPG, 5.5 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE 118.7 YPG, 3.3 YPC THE LOWDOWN The strength of the Mountaineers' offense is their running game. It's highlighted by senior RB Jalin Moore, who topped 1,000 yards the past two seasons, gaining 1,402 as a sophomore and following up with 1,037 last year despite missing several games with an injury. His 3,170 career rushing yards rank second among returning FBS players. If there's a concern here, it's on the offensive line, where only two starters are back: junior LT Victor Johnson and sophomore C Noah Hannon. The Mountaineers' rushing attack will surely miss graduated QB Taylor Lamb, who totaled 2,008 career rushing yards. Lamb was the team's second-leading rusher with 584 yards last sea- son. Penn State ranked fourth in the Big Ten in run defense last year and was second in the league with 93 tackles for loss. DE Shareef Miller led the team with 11 tackles for loss. OLB Koa Farmer is Penn State's top returning tackler with 48 stops. DE Shaka Toney was another playmaker for Penn State last year with 20 tackles, including 6.5 TFL. Penn State must replace nine starters from its 2017 defense. Miller and Farmer are Penn State's only re- turning defensive starters. // KEY MATCHUP Johnson, a first-team All-Sun Belt tackle in 2017, will most likely have to do battle with Miller. // EDGE Penn State APPALACHIAN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE APPALACHIAN STATE PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N A P P A L A C H I A N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. APPALACHIAN STATE RUN DEFENSE A U G U S T 2 9 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 APPALACHIAN STATE PASSING GAME 216.2 YPG, 13.1 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE 213.0 YPG, 10.6 YPC THE LOWDOWNLamb was a four-year starter who holds all of Appalachian State's career passing records. He threw for 9,736 yards, rushed for 2,008 yards and led the Mountaineers to two league titles. Replacing him this fall is Zac Thomas, a redshirt sophomore with six completions in 10 career passing attempts. The Mountaineers will also have to replace their leading receiver, Ike Lewis. Sophomore Thomas Hennigan is the Mountaineers' top return- ing receiver with 45 catches for 585 yards and seven touchdowns last year. Another sophomore, Jalen Virgil,

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