Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/388513
Penn State hung around as long as it could. A@er surrendering two touchdowns to open the game, the defense held tight and kept the Nittany Lions within striking distance over the next two quarters. Once the fourth rolled around, some of the 102,910 fans in attendance thought they might see another Christian Hackenberg-led comeback. Trailing by eight points – a situation in which the sophomore quarterback is normally at his best – Penn State was in position to tie or even win the game. P O S T G A M E R E P O R T W E E K 5 N O R T H W E S T E R N 2 9 , P E N N S T A T E 6 S E P T E M B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M THE GAME AT A GLANCE GOOD NEWSAfter a rough start during which it gave up two short-field touch- downs, Penn State's defense stiffened. The Nittany Lions gave up 150 passing yards in the first quarter and 108 in the final three. BAD NEWS The of- fensive line had one of its worst afternoons in a long, long time. The Nittany Lions managed 50 yards rushing, and 35 of those yards came on the team's final two drives, during which Northwestern's de- fense was focused on preventing big plays in the passing game. THE TAKEAWAY The Nittany Lions are off two of the next three weeks, and they will need to use that time productively if they're to get the wins they need to qualify for a bowl game. The offensive line holds the key. Without drastic improvement here, it's going to be a fight to get to the postseason. Bill Anderson 1 DRAGGED DOWN The Wildcats kept Hackenberg under pressure, finishing the game with four sacks, one of which resulted in a fumble. T I M O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . c O M Cat nap Northwestern surges past lethargic PSU