Blue White Illustrated

10:30 Saturday night and were back in State College around 2:30 Sunday morn- ing. The coaches were in the office by midday and back to work, devising the game plan for week two. Hey, they had to play catch up. The players, meanwhile, were able to sleep in, hydrate and prepare for their evening workout. Part of a new game- week schedule at Penn State in 2014, the team will have a light practice the day aCer every game. That began week one, despite playing a game in Europe one day prior. "It's nice to be back to something you're familiar with," said senior line- backer Mike Hull. "Everyone is just ex- cited to get back at it and get focused on Akron." Despite finishing last season with a 5-7 record, coaches and players alike know that Akron requires their full attention during the week. Three of Akron's losses in 2013 were by a touchdown or less, in- cluding its Sept. 14 matchup against Michigan in which it just barely fell to the Wolverines, 28-24. And it returns 15 starters, including junior quarterback Kyle Pohl and its top rushing threat, running back Jawon Chisholm. A year improved and more experienced from last year's sub-.500 finish, Akron is expected to contend for the MAC East crown. If the Zips are going to do that, then their blowout victory in week one was a good way to start. Pohl threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns vs. Howard, completing 64 percent of his passes. ACer an ankle in- jury slowed him last year, Pohl proved to have regained his mobility as he also led Akron with 48 rushing yards. The de- fense pitched a shutout, forced and re- covered a fumble, and blocked a kick. They also combined for four sacks and 10 tackles for loss. It's how Bowden expected to beat Howard, but like with any week one per- formance, you never know what you're going to get. So the head coach was pleased with how his team performed up to the standard that he anticiapted. "When you do it decisively and do it in the manner we did – with much more positives than negatives – you feel like you have done your job and now you're ready for a game like this," said Bowden. He acknowledged, however, that it'll take an even stronger effort to knock off the Nittany Lions. That much was clear, he said, from watching Penn State's win over UCF. But they are looking forward to trying their hand. "We're excited to be going up against Penn State," he said. "It's a great football program with one of the outstanding coaches in America, his staff and a great program and a great opportunity for us. It's a great venue for our players to go up into and hopefully we can make it a good showing and get the most out of the af- ternoon." Perhaps the biggest challenge of Satur- day's game, Bowden added, is containing quarterback Christian Hackenberg. The sophomore threw for a school-record 454 yards on 47 attempts in Dublin, and Bowden watched every one of them Sat- urday aCer practice. When talking about it at his Monday press conference, he said that he and defensive coordinator Chuck Amato would need their best game plan in order to slow him. "He's got a cannon, a rifle arm," Bow- den said. "He's got explosive abilities and can make big plays. If you give him enough time to throw the football, he's gonna rip you apart. Central Florida is a very good football team. Some people – because Central Florida isn't one of those names that stands out, like a Big Ten or an SEC team, I don't think people realize, like I do, what kind of talent they have. So for him to rip them like he did for that yardage, he'll be one who we'll really have to get a good plan on how to slow him down." Luckily for the Zips, they had extra time to prepare. For its 20-year reunion, the 1994 Penn State football team will be honored be- fore Saturday's home opener vs. Akron. Led by former head coach Joe Paterno and first-team All-Americans KiJana Carter, Kyle Brady, Kerry Collins, Bobby Engram and Jeff Hartings, the squad put together one of the most successful sea- sons in school history, winning all 12 of its games with the most potent offense in college football. NATE BAUER 2014 RECORD 1-0 This was predicted to be a trap game before Penn State crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Now that it has a win under its belt, though, the threat seems far less significant. Hiccups will happen on both sides of the ball, but Penn State wins handily at home. PENN STATE 31, AKRON 17 PHIL GROSZ 2014 RECORD 1-0 With nine starters returning on de- fense, Akron thinks it can compete for the MAC East Division title, but the Zips will have trouble containing Christian Hackenberg and his group of receivers. I also think PSU's running game gains confidence. PENN STATE 38, AKRON 17 MATT HERB 2014 RECORD 0-1 Penn State has some concerns to ad- dress coming off its rousing opener against UCF. But not enough to put a damper on James Franklin's first game on the Beaver Stadium sideline. PENN STATE 34, AKRON 20 TIM OWEN 2014 RECORD 1-0 With its win over UCF, Penn State opened its season on the right track. But will an international flight home from Ireland less than a week ago set the Nittany Lions back a bit? It could. PSU will win this one, but it won't come as smoothly as some would hope. PENN STATE 31, AKRON 20 RYAN SNYDER 2014 RECORD 1-0 Penn State gets the ground game going against Akron and builds an early lead. We'll see some of the young guys get playing time in the second half. PENN STATE 35, AKRON 14 S E P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 PSU to honor 1994 team BWI'S FORECAST

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