Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME Penn State's secondary as a whole probably deserves the honor on this day. Between Adrian Amos' game-changing interception and 33-yard return to Grant Haley's pick- six – not to mention another pair of in- terceptions by Jesse Della Valle and Christian Campbell – the Nittany Lions did everything necessary defensively to topple Temple Saturday. PLAY OF THE GAME With Temple quarterback P.J. Walker nearly in the grasp of Brad Bars, the sack-avoiding pass was picked off by Amos and re- turned to the 8-yard line, giving the Nittany Lions a much-needed opportunity to build on their 13-6 lead late in the third quarter. One Bill Belton run later, Penn State improved to 20-6. BEST PASS Late in the third quarter on a play-action pass, Walker found a streaking Jalen Fitzpatrick up the middle of the field and connected past a badly beaten Jor- dan Lucas and into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown. WORST PASS Christian Hackenberg had his share of struggles, some his fault, some his receivers'. But his throw against the grain to Belton midway through the third quarter was ill-ad- vised under the circumstances. BEST RUN On Penn State's first pos- session in the second half, Akeel Lynch took advantage of a big hole on his way to a 25-yard gain. Belton's 37-yard carry around the right edge later in the quar- ter was equally impressive. Followed by Lynch's touchdown run the very next play, the Nittany Lions had a big quar- ter on the ground. BEST CATCH Wasn't on offense, but safety Jesse Della Valle's leaping, diving interception in the fourth quarter – touching his hand down in-bounds in the process – helped seal the Nittany Lions' win against the Owls. WORST DROP Belton had a good thing going in the first quarter until he put the ball on the turf at the 5:34 mark. The Owls got prime field position and con- verted a field goal to take advantage of the mishap. BEST SACK Walker looked like he might turn the corner on third down early in the third quarter, but Anthony Zettel tracked down the Owls' QB for a 2-yard loss, forcing a punt. BEST HIT Colin Thompson shouldn't have jumped. The Owls' tight end was met at the ground by a mean hit from linebacker Mike Hull on a short pass early in the fourth quarter. BEST EFFORT Penn State's offensive line and running backs found the vindi- cation they've been seeking all season Saturday. The two units helped to pro- duce 254 yards on the ground on 47 car- ries. BEST KICK Sam Ficken's 51-yard at- tempt to close the first half gave the Nittany Lions a 6-3 lead at the break, but it was yet another example of why the senior is a Lou Groza Award semi- finalist. BEST RETURN Haley's fourth-quarter interception and the ensuing 30-yard return into the end zone gave Penn State a 27-13 lead and provided some critical breathing room for the Nittany Lions. BEST DECISION Going to the run game and sticking with it turned out to be the key for the Nittany Lions offensively against the Owls. Racking up 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 47 carries, Lynch and Belton were able to provide the offense the burst it had been lacking through much of the season. Much credit to the Lions' offensive line for the turnaround. WORST DECISION Both quarterbacks made a few of them, but Walker's inter- ception that was thrown to Campbell late in the third quarter was dead in the water well before the ball ever left his hand. The decision killed a solid oppor- tunity for the Owls to even up the score, 20-13. MOST TELLING MOMENT When Haley grabbed that interception and worked his way into the end zone to give the Nittany Lions a commanding 27-13 lead, the ar- rival of Penn State's new class of young, talented, athletic defensive backs couldn't have been more pronounced. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' victory over Temple Steve Manuel N O V E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 BEST EFFORT With Miles Dieffen- bach and Donovan Smith in the lineup, Penn State's O-line had its best perform- ance of the season.

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