Blue White Illustrated

gan in a stunning 2007 upset and to Tennessee in an overtime loss two years ago. "I don't know what's in the water in Boone, N.C., but it seems like they've been doing this for a long time to who- ever they play," Franklin said. "It's hard talking to a coach a=er a game like that, but I told [App State's Scott Satterfield], 'I know you don't want to hear this right now, but you guys do an unbelievable job.' So I want to give App State all the credit in the world. They do a great job. They had a really good plan today." The Mountaineers gave Penn State big problems on both sides of the ball. The Lions managed only 10 points in the first half, and when their offense finally began to click in the second half, their defense faltered. Thomas, making his first start, threw nearly four times as many passes as he had in his entire college career prior to Saturday, hitting 25 of 38 for 270 yards and two touchdowns. With a visit to Pitt coming up this week, those concerns will be front and center in the coming days. But for one night at least, Franklin wanted his players to focus on their rousing finish against App State. Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • The backfield-by-committee ap- proach yielded mostly positive results, as Miles Sanders, Ricky Slade and Mark Allen combined for 154 yards on 30 car- ries. Sanders led the way with 91 yards on 19 attempts, but Slade had the a=er- noon's longest carry, bursting 27 yards for a touchdown that gave Penn State what seemed to be a reasonably safe lead late in the third quarter. • A=er a quiet first half, K.J. Hamler showed that all the off-season praise had been justified. He had a diving 46-yard catch to set up a touchdown, ran a kickoff back 52 yards on Penn State's last des- perate possession of the fourth quarter, and then ended that possession with a 15-yard TD catch that tied the score with 42 seconds to play. The freshman wide- out finished his Penn State debut with a game-high 120 all-purpose yards. Said Franklin a=erward, "One of the things we've probably got to look at is ways to get his hands on the ball a little bit more, offensively and on special teams. Be- cause he has a chance to change the game at any moment." • Trace McSorley showed what a huge advantage it is to have a veteran senior quarterback leading your offense. With the Lions trailing by a touchdown and only 1 minute, 39 seconds remaining, McSorley completed 5 of 6 passes for 47 yards, including a 10-yarder to Brandon Polk on fourth-and-2, and the tying TD to Hamler. It may not have been his best game from start to finish, but when the Lions needed plays at the end, he deliv- ered. • True freshman place kicker Jake Pinegar converted every one of his seven attempts: six PATs, including a high- pressure kick to tie the score with 42 sec- onds le=, and a 32-yard field goal. • The Nittany Lions went right a=er star cornerback Cli=on Duck and imme- diately drew a pass interference penalty. Duck, who had 11 interceptions the pre- vious two seasons and was the Sun Belt Conference's preseason Defensive Player of the Year, grabbed Juwan Johnson as he bolted for the end zone. The penalty gave Penn State first-and-10 at the App State 14, and McSorley scored the game's first TD two plays later. • Speaking of penalties, the Nittany Lions committed only two for 10 yards. That would be a pretty good day under any circumstances, but it looked espe- cially good when judged against App State's nine penalties for 100 yards. Also, the Lions didn't turn the ball over SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 12:02 PSU McSorley, Trace 12-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick)................... 0-7 11:48 APP Evans, Darrynton 100-yard kickoff return (Staton, Chandler kick)................................................................ 7-7 4:10 APP Staton, Chandler 38-yard field goal, 12-60 6:37.................. 10-7 2ND 0:12 PSU Pinegar, Jake 32-yard field goal, 12-77 4:32......................... 10-10 3RD 9:41 PSU McSorley, Trace 10-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick)............... 10-17 2:41 PSU Slade, Ricky 27-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick).....................10-24 4TH 13:39 APP Williams, Malik 17-yard pass from Thomas, Zac (Staton, Chandler kick)............................................................ 17-24 11:17 PSU Sanders, Miles 2-yard run (Pinegar, Jake kick).................... 17-31 7:40 APP Williams, Malik 24-yard pass from Thomas, Zac (Staton, Chandler kick)........................................................... 24-31 6:03 APP Thomas, Zac 1-yard run (Staton, Chandler kick)................ 31-31 1:47 APP Moore, Jalin 16-yard run (Staton, Chandler kick).............. 38-31 0:42 PSU Hamler, K.J. 15-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Pinegar, Jake kick)................................................................. 38-38 OT 15:00 PSU Sanders, Miles 4 yd run (Pinegar, Jake kick)..................... 38-45 S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 2

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