Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546586
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M TOP FIVE PLAYERS 1. Rocco Becht | QB | R-Sr. Through his first two games as a Nittany Lion, the veteran quarterback was everything his new pro- gram could have hoped for. Against Marshall and Temple, Becht completed 34 of 45 passes (75.6 percent) for 539 yards, with 7 touchdowns and no interceptions. Becht distributed the ball well in those victories, completing passes to 10 receivers. If the Lions are going to vie for a College Football Playoff spot this fall, Becht will likely be the main reason. 2. Tony Rojas | LB | R-Jr. Bouncing back from a knee injury that forced him to miss the last nine games of Penn State's 2025 season, Rojas looked sharp in the Nittany Lions' first two games. He led the team with 7 tack- les in each game and had an interception against Temple that set up PSU's offense at the Owls' 5-yard line. 3. Koby Howard | WR | So. Howard enjoyed a breakout game in the win against Marshall, catching 6 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. He followed with a 56-yard reception on Penn State's first play from scrimmage against Temple. Through two games, Howard led Penn State with 9 catches for 229 yards. 4. Benjamin Brahmer | TE | Sr. Brahmer was one of the most highly touted of Penn State's 24 transfers from Iowa State, and he has delivered for his new team. Of his 6 receptions in the Nittany Lions' first two games, 3 went for touchdowns. 5. Audavion Collins | CB | R-Sr. Penn State's first two opponents managed just 210 combined passing yards, and Collins was a big part of that effort. The Lions' first two opponents were wary of challenging him, which is why his statistical profile consisted of just 4 tackles and 2 pass breakups. KEY MOMENT The Nittany Lions were tied 3-3 with Temple late in the second quarter. With the Owls set to receive the second-half kickoff, it looked as though an up- set might be brewing in Philadelphia. But after Penn State got the ball back at its own 17-yard line following a Temple punt, Becht drove the offense to the Owls' 32 with 4 consecutive completions. On first-and-10, he found Brahmer streaking toward the end zone and hit him in stride for a touchdown that gave the Lions their first lead of the afternoon. They went on to score the game's next 17 points to pull away for a rea- sonably comfortable 27-9 win. BEST HIGHLIGHT The initial touchdown of the Matt Campbell coaching era was a beauty. Becht's first option on the third-and-3 play was a short throw to junior running back James Peoples coming out of the back- field. But Peoples tripped over the leg of redshirt junior offensive tackle Anthony Donkoh, forcing Becht to hang in the pocket and scan the field. The protection held up long enough for him to find How- ard alone at the 25-yard line. From there, it was off to the races — both for Howard and for Penn State. The sophomore re- ceiver sprinted to his left and was barely touched on his way to the end zone, giving the Nittany Lions a 10-0 first-quarter lead on their way to a 45-0 romp on opening day. BOLD PREDICTION The Nittany Lions aren't going to stay in the play- off race without a better showing from their rushing attack in the weeks ahead. There were concerns going into the season that the backfield would lack the explosiveness it possessed for most of the past four years with Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton sharing the carries. Those concerns looked valid after the Marshall and Temple games. The Lions averaged a respect- able 4.4 yards per carry against Temple, but their longest run was a 13-yard gain by senior Carson Hansen. The previous week against Marshall, they averaged 3.6 yards per carry, with a long of 16 yards by fourth-team running back Cam Wallace in the final minutes of a blowout win. The Nittany Lions also didn't get much push on 5 carries inside the 10-yard line in the first quarter against the Owls. They came away scoreless from both possessions, missing a field goal on the first and failing to convert on fourth-and-goal on the sec- ond. Those setbacks didn't prove costly at Temple, but they will if repeated in the weeks to come. — Matt Herb PENN STATE FOOTBALL SUPERLATIVES G A M E 1 – G A M E 2 Through Penn State's first two games, sophomore Koby Howard led the team with 9 catches for 229 yards. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT