Blue White Illustrated

KEY MATCHUPS P E N N S T A T E V S . R U T G E R S | B Y P H I L G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 138.5 YPG, 4.2 YPC // RUTGERS RUN DEFENSE39.0 YPG, 2.0 YPC THE LOWDOWNGoing into the fourth quarter in this past Saturday's game with Buffalo, Penn State had only 108 yards rushing, and freshman RB Saquon Barkley had just four carries for 14 yards. But in the game's final 15 min- utes, Barkley rushed for 101 yards on eight carries, averaging 9.6 yards per attempt. It now appears that Penn State has a three-man rotation at running back, with redshirt junior Akeel Lynch still atop the depth chart ahead of Barkley and redshirt freshman Mark Allen. Lynch is Penn State's leading rusher with 124 yards on 29 carries (4.3 ypc), while Barkley has gained 116 yards on 13 carries (8.9 ypc). Freshman WR Brandon Polk is also a threat in the run game. He ran the fly sweep five times in Penn State's first two games, gaining 95 yards and scoring a 22-yard TD against Buffalo. Rutgers is allowing only 39 rushing yards per game, best in the Big Ten. But that statistic is deceiv- ing in that the Scarlet Knights' first two opponents, Washington State and Norfolk State, have two of the least-pro- ductive rushing offenses in the country. Washington State ran the ball just 16 times for 81 yards against Rutgers, while Norfolk State had minus-3 rushing yards on 23 attempts. The defense is led by junior LB Steve Longo, who has 18 tackles. Redshirt freshman DB Isaiah Wharton is second with 10 tackles, followed by senior LB Quentin Gause with nine. A year ago, Rutgers held Penn State to 64 yards rushing. // KEY MATCHUPPenn State guards Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia need to get to the second level and control Longo and Gause. // EDGERutgers PENN STATE PASSING GAME 115.5 YPG, 9.2 YPC // RUTGERS PASS DEFENSE 338.5 YPG, 10.4 YPC THE LOWDOWNEven though Christian Hackenberg has struggled in the first two games of the season, completing only 25 of 52 passes (48.1 percent) for 231 yards with just one TD pass against Temple and Buffalo, Penn State still has the edge here. That's because three prominent players in Rutgers' secondary – juniors Nadir Barnwell and Delon Stephenson and sophomore Dre Boggs – have been thrown off the team. All three were expected to be starters this season, and without them, Rutgers is ranked 11th in the Big Ten in pass defense. Washington State threw for 478 yards against the inexperienced unit, which has produced just one interception so far (by junior CB Anthony Cioffi). Penn State's leading receiver is sophomore Chris Godwin with 10 catches for 156 yards. Redshirt sophomore Dae- Sean Hamilton is its second-leading receiver with just four receptions for 20 yards. // KEY MATCHUPWith Andrew Nelson most likely out of action for Penn State, Paris Palmer will start at left tackle and will go up against redshirt sophomore DE Kemoko Turay. Turay enjoyed a breakthrough freshman season, finishing with a team-best 7.5 sacks. Through Rutgers' first two games this season, he has one sack for nine yards. // EDGEPenn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. RUTGERS PASS DEFENSE RUTGERS RUNNING GAME 244.5 YPG, 5.8 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE109.0 YPG, 2.9 YPC THE LOWDOWNThe Knights enter this game with the Big Ten's top-ranked scoring offense (48.5 points per game) and its fourth-ranked rushing offense. They have used three tailbacks in their first two games: sophomores Josh Hicks (34 yards, 209 yards, two TDs) and Robert Martin (19 carries, 130 yards, one TD) and redshirt junior Paul James (21 car- ries, 105 yards). Hicks, Martin and James will provide Penn State's defense with a challenge similar to the one they faced in their opener, in which Temple's Jahad Thomas ran for 135 yards on 19 carries. Penn State's defense is led by defensive tackles Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel. Johnson is tied for the team lead with 15 total stops, including 3.5 tackles for loss. Zettel is Penn State's fifth-leading tackler with 10 stops including 2.5 tackles for loss. The big sur- prise on the Nittany Lions' defense has been senior DE Carl Nassib, whose 15 tackles include 5.5 tackles for loss and a team-leading four sacks. The big question here is whether junior OLB Brandon Bell will be effective after injuring his ankle against Temple and sitting out last week's game against Buffalo. Penn State leads the country with 22 tackles for loss through two games. // KEY MATCHUP Rutgers' starting guards – redshirt sophomores Chris Muller and Dorian Miller – will be called on to neutralize Johnson and Zettel. It won't be easy. // EDGEEven RUTGERS RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE RUTGERS PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N R U T G E R S H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. RUTGERS RUN DEFENSE S E P T E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 RUTGERS PASSING GAME 226.0 YPG, 12.6 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE186.5 YPG, 9.3 YPC THE LOWDOWNRutgers leads the Big Ten in total offense (470.5 ypg) and is fourth in passing offense. Redshirt soph- omore Chris Laviano is the Knights' No. 1 QB, having completed 81.4 percent of his passes for 342 yards and four TDs with just one interception. He has a pass-efficiency rating of 202.8 to lead the conference, but the Knights have a big problem here, as All-Big Ten WR Leonte Carroo has been suspended indefinitely and will likely miss the Penn State game. Carroo is the Scarlet Knights' leading receiver with seven catches for 181 yards and three TDs. His

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