Blue White Illustrated

JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' opener vs. Syracuse PLAYER OF THE GAME In his first career start as a Nittany Lion, Rivals.com five-star quarterback Christian Hackenberg delivered, finishing the game with 22 completions on 31 attempts for 278 yards and two touchdowns. PLAY OF THE GAME Needing some separation, Hackenberg found redshirt freshman wideout Eugene Lewis downfield for a critical 54-yard touchdown completion. The score gave the Lions a 2310 lead early in the fourth quarter. BEST PASS Hackenberg only needed the return of wideout Allen Robinson to get his first touchdown pass as a Nittany Lion. He connecting with the junior wideout for a 51-yard touchdown to open the second half. WORST PASS Syracuse quarterback Drew Allen lost focus on a key third down late in the third quarter, delivering a pass into linebacker Stephen ObengAgyapong's hands. A U G U S T BEST CATCH Robinson missed the first half for disciplinary reasons, but on the first play of the second half, he took a short screen pass 25 yards, then found himself wide open for a 51-yard touchdown the very next play, giving Penn State a 13-3 lead. WORST DROP Syracuse running back Jerome Smith fumbled as he fell to the turf on a short gain, leaving the ball conveniently in Obeng-Agyapong's hands. BEST SACK Penn State defensive tackle DaQuan Jones was pushed by a Syracuse lineman right into Allen, flattening the Orange quarterback for a 7-yard sack early in the fourth quarter. Honorable mention: Syracuse linebacker Marquis Spruill caught Hackenberg deep behind the line of scrimmage for a 9yard loss late in the third quarter. BEST HIT Obeng-Agyapong lined up outside the right tackle on a key third- 3 1 , 2 0 1 3 4 and-long for Syracuse and took advantage of the unblocked opportunity, laying out Allen. Additionally, midway through the second quarter, Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib took Syracuse's bad snap and made punter Robert Welsh pay, grabbing the punter as he scrambled and flipping him another three yards backwards. BEST TACKLE Following Robinson's fumble in the third quarter, Syracuse cornerback Brandon Reddish was brought down by Penn State tackle Garry Gilliam on a touchdown-saving tackle. BEST KICK Sam Ficken connected on a key 46-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter. It was a career-long and marked his 13th consecutive made field goal dating back to the 2012 season. BEST RETURN Jesse Della Valle's big 31yard punt return early in the fourth quarter helped set up Penn State's 54-yard TD pass to Lewis. – NATE BAUER B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M

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