Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAMECould Penn State sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg have been much better? The best player on the pitch Saturday afternoon, Hackenberg eluded UCF's pass rush, patiently picked apart the Knights' secondary, and guided the Nittany Lions to a key season-opening win in Dublin, finishing the day with the school record for passing yards in a game with 454. PLAY OF THE GAMESenior place- kicker Sam Ficken has seen more than his share of ups and downs through his Nittany Lion career, but his 4-for-4 af- ternoon in Dublin – including the game-winner as time expired – is un- doubtedly the highlight. BEST PASSAt a critical juncture mid- way through the first quarter, a rough- ing-the-kicker penalty against UCF gave the Nittany Lions a fresh set of downs and the gumption to air it out. Hackenberg made good, connecting with freshman wideout DaeSean Hamilton on a play-action pass to set up their first points of the game. BEST RUNLate in the third quarter, UCF wideout J.J. Worton took what looked to be a short completion and dashed along the right hash, then weaved through traffic against the grain to turn a 15-yarder into a 46-yard gain down to the Penn State 14-yard line with a roughing-the-passer call tacked on. The play set up UCF's score to cut it to 20-17 at the start of the fourth quar- ter. BEST CATCHComing off a momen- tum-turning UCF touchdown, Hacken- berg faced a third-and-long deep in his own territory, waited, waited, and fi- nally aired out a 79-yard catch-and- run to wideout Geno Lewis to retake a 10-point lead to close out the third quarter. BEST INTERCEPTIONUCF cornerback Jacoby Glenn leaped in front of Hack- enberg's little out pattern to Lewis to make a diving interception in Penn State territory at the end of the first quarter. BEST SACKA big pass rush up the middle for Nyeem Wartman early in the third quarter set up Anthony Zettel for the finishing blow on UCF quarterback Pete DiNovo. Late in the third quarter, UCF's Jamiyus Pittman brought Hack- enberg down for a 9-yard loss to further the Knights' momentum. Zettel fin- ished the day with four TFL for 11 yards in losses, plus a fumble recovery. BEST HITPenn State's Von Walker started the game off with a bang, ab- solutely unloading on UCF's Jordan Akins. His celebration afterward drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, but it'd be hard to argue with his excite- ment. BEST EFFORTDaeSean Hamilton climbed the ladder over UCF defensive back Jordan Ozerities and came down with a Hackenberg floater, landing on his feet with nothing but green to the end zone. Losing his balance, Hamilton tripped up for a 38-yard gain instead of a touchdown, though. BEST KICKSee "PLAY OF THE GAME" BEST RETURNUCF return man Jordan Akins followed Penn State's first-quar- ter touchdown with a momentum- shifting 68-yard return, tripped up only by a diving Trevor Williams from be- hind. WORST CALLPenn State freshman wideout Chris Godwin got nabbed for an offensive pass interference penalty on a 14-yard gain that would have put the Nittany Lions at the UCF 10-yard line late in the second quarter. The play pushed Penn State back and eliminated a scoring opportunity to end the half. WORST DECISIONPutting Zach Zwinak back as a wildcat quarterback on third down at the goal line in the second quarter might have been inno- vative, but the result suggested a tradi- tional pass play for Hackenberg would have been a better option. His carries from the same formation produced success in the fourth quarter, however. MOST TELLING MOMENTUnable to hammer home points despite owning the game offensively, Penn State found itself in hot water when UCF quarter- back Justin Holman found Brandon Perriman for a 50-yard completion to set up the Knights' first touchdown late in the third quarter. In control but not in the clear, the Nittany Lions found themselves in a nail-biter that otherwise would have looked like a blowout. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' opener vs. UCF Steve Manuel A U G U S T 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O m 4 TALKING IT OVER Playing his first game for new of- fensive coor- dinator John Donovan (right), Hack- enberg set a school record with 454 passing yards.

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