Blue White Illustrated

PLAYERS OF THE GAMEPenn State wanted to get its running game going Saturday against UMass. The trio of Bill Belton, Zach Zwinak and Akeel Lynch helped do exactly that, racking up 185 yards and five touchdowns on 24 car- ries. PLAY OF THE GAMEBelton's weaving 24-yard touchdown run at the 10:11 mark in the second quarter gave the Nittany Lions a 13-0 lead and the mo- mentum they'd need to break away from the Minutemen. BEST PASSFourth-string quarterback D.J. Crook connected with a wide open Brent Wilkerson for an 11-yard touch- down with just seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Nittany Lions a 48-0 lead. It was Crook's first career touchdown. BEST RUNLynch weaved left, through traffic and down the right sideline all the way to the UMass 22-yard line for a 46-yard gain and his career long at the end of the first quarter. BEST CATCHOn a second-and-10 late in the first half, Christian Hackenberg aired out a 38-yard floater down the right sideline. Looking it in the whole way, Geno Lewis found some space around the UMass cornerback and let the ball lay in his hands. He kept both feet in bounds to complete the gorgeous pass and catch. WORST DROPNyeem Wartman and Mike Hull simultaneously hit UMass receiver Tajae Sharpe on an innocuous second-and-10 for the Minutemen midway through the second quarter. The smack forced the ball into Austin Johnson's hands, who rumbled an addi- tional 7 yards to set up another Nittany Lion touchdown. BEST SACKWith UMass unraveling offensively in the second quarter, Tarow Barney took advantage, bum-rushing Minuteman quarterback Blake Frohnapfel. He earned the sack and forced a fumble all in one play. BEST HITAdrian Amos flipped UMass running back Jordan Broadnax when the Minuteman made the ill-advised decision to leave his feet when con- fronted by the Nittany Lion senior safety. BEST EFFORTHackenberg, with his Nittany Lions struggling offensively and facing a third-and-4 at the UMass 48, rolled out of the pocket, extended the play and found Lewis across the middle for a crucial first down early in the second quarter. The play set up Bel- ton's touchdown run just three plays later. BEST KICKSam Ficken blasted a 42- yard attempt straight through the up- rights midway through the first quarter to give the Nittany Lions a 3-0 lead. He did it again just a few minutes later, knocking home a 40-yarder to go up 6- 0. WORST KICK UMass marched down the field on its first offensive possession of the afternoon but wasn't able to fin- ish the drive with points, as kicker Matthew Wylie missed a 39-yarder wide right. BEST DECISIONBelieve it or not, put- ting the score on the Nittany Lions' brand-spanking-new scoreboards turned out to be a great move. With the ticking clock, the teams, and, yes, plenty of advertising, they all coexised peacefully, giving the in-stadium expe- rience a nice boost this week. WORST DECISIONIn a game which the Nittany Lions were leading 34-0 at the half, Hackenberg took a couple of un- necessary hits in the opening drive of the third quarter, putting himself at risk of injury. Yes, he's durable, but the competitive side occasionally needs to back down simply in the good interest of his health. MOST TELLING MOMENTRelishing in the feel-good moment of a 48-0 lead entering the fourth quarter, the Penn State crowd let out a collective groan when Frohnapfel connected with Sharpe for a 77-yard touchdown strike. On an afternoon which featured few negatives for the Nittany Lions, the play amounted to a small hiccup. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' blow-out win over UMass Steve Manuel S E P T E m B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O m 4 BEST CATCH Geno Lewis hauled in this 38-yard pass late in the first half.

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