Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/413187
N O V E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 10 N A T E B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The bridge between hope and reality finally met in the middle Saturday a?ernoon at Memo- rial Stadium. Miles Dieffenbach, the fi?h-year senior guard who went down with a torn ACL in March, returned to game action against the Hoosiers late in the first quarter. Tak- ing the field on a Penn State possession that began with 6:09 le? in the quarter, Dieffenbach lined up at le? guard, com- pleting a grueling journey of rehabilita- tion that has spanned the past seven months. "It got the guys fired up," offensive lineman Angelo Mangiro said. "Me, per- sonally, I love the guy. He's a great, great guy. "Seeing his process since he got hurt to now, I couldn't be happier for him to fi- nally get out there and play. I know he's been dying to." Granted, the return appearance was somewhat brief. His initial possession lasted only five plays and featured a pair of screen passes and a run away from Di- effenbach's side. No matter, his teammates and coaches said after the Nittany Lions' 13-7 vic- tory. Just seeing the team's second offen- sive captain on the field again had a special significance Saturday after- noon. Said sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg, "Miles is a guy who means a lot to me. [He was] out there interacting more now as a player, whereas throughout the season I think he sort of took more of a coach role with that. "Seeing him now as a guy who is back, he's a player, being able to talk to the rest of the linemen and sort of get what they're feeling, being able to operate with them – I think that's awesome. He loves it, and we're excited about that." Head coach James Franklin said the plan was to play Dieffenbach for only a possession or two in each half, regardless of his effectiveness. The idea was to pre- pare him for what could be an even bigger role next week. "Hopefully [it] builds some confidence and grows from there," Franklin said. "You'd love for him to at least double that by next week. But it's also going to depend on how he feels tomorrow morning. You don't go from not doing anything for seven months to playing half the game." Way to go, defense. Donovan clearly needs a sit-down. A win is a win, and yes we should have beat Indy with our eyes closed. I think they were. One more win for practices in December. Four more wins and we are 9-4. Hahhahaha- hahhaha. Razpsu That's the way to grind it out. One more win to be bowl-eligible. Same game recap since the start of October: great defense, weak offense. Just came out on the right side this time. IU's crappy special teams and penalties helped. Overall, good win and much-needed morale boost hopefully. Pennst31 I'm relieved we got the win, but I still need to shower with steel wool after that one. Each week the offense and QB play takes a step back. I know we are feeling the effects of the sanctions, but sheesh. Brazillm10 That was painful. We are awful. Totally minimizing our talent of- fensively. Temple will be a struggle. Mr_Nickels Of course Temple will be a struggle. So will Illinois. It's all about getting one more W and getting an extra bunch of practices for next year. That's all that matters right now. Just win baby... at least one more, hopefully two. You watch these last two games and have to wonder how the heck we took OSU to double OT. Wow. mwaltrip O'Brien lost to Indiana last year. Maybe he isn't God after all and CJF knows how to coach? (see Vanderbilt). This team has a long way to go, but gets a free pass from me this year. PrideofPA I wanna go wash my eyes with acid. ptomaselli We have to have three or four of the ugliest games in NCAA history. Markboltz A win is a win. I'll take it. tdeter FROM THE WEB ONLINE REACTION TO PSU'S LATEST GAME MILES' MARKER Lineman Miles Dieffenbach makes his return against Hoosiers