Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME A day after the devastating loss of his father, Terry, Penn State defensive tackle Anthony Zettel led the Nittany Lions with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and a pass breakup. Tormenting San Diego State's offensive line all after- noon, he was a constant presence in the Aztecs' backfield and was a critical part of the win. PLAY OF THE GAMEWith Penn State slogging through a dogfight with the Aztecs at the start of the fourth quarter, Carl Nassib stripped quarterback Maxwell Smith, knocking the ball into Austin Johnson's hands. What hap- pened from there isn't likely to be for- gotten anytime soon by the Beaver Stadium crowd. Johnson, a 325-pound defensive tackle, found a few blocks and outran the offensive linemen chasing him down, rumbling 71 yards into the south end zone to put the Nittany Lions ahead 34-21. On an afternoon that at times felt like a sleepwalk for the Lions, the play shook the team out of its lethargy and prompted the win. BEST PASSChristian Hackenberg took advantage of a late-first-half gift from San Diego State. On third-and- goal, with his options quickly dwin- dling, the Nittany Lion signal-caller delivered a strike to Chris Godwin – di- rectly over an official's head – to deliver a 12-yard touchdown and 27-14 lead going into the half. BEST RUNTechnically, Saquon Barkley's first-quarter touchdown was a reception. Really though, everything about this play was a testament to Barkley. He cut, juked and spun out of tackles for a 22-yard score. The true freshman has made highlight reel plays look easy. BEST CATCHSan Diego State's Smith wasn't sharp Saturday afternoon, but his 19-yard touchdown to Mikah Holder in the left corner of the end zone was picture perfect. Holder brought it in over two defenders. WORST DROPSan Diego State punt return specialist Lloyd Mills misplayed Chris Gulla's floater late in the first half, sending the ball to the turf and straight into the hands of Chris Godwin at the Aztec 27-yard line. BEST SACKJames Franklin said on his radio show that Garrett Sickels would soon start to make more of an impact on the defensive line. The New Jersey na- tive wasted no time Saturday, securing his first sack of Smith within the game's opening three minutes. Of course, Nas- sib's hit to spring Johnson for the 71- yard touchdown run was pretty impressive, too. BEST EFFORTNassib looked to have no shot at a second-quarter sack on Smith, but the PSU defensive end stayed with the play – and the obvious hold – and dragged the Aztec quarter- back to the turf with only his left arm. BEST KICKSan Diego State punter Tanner Blain blasted an absolute beauty early in the second half. The punt trav- eled 48 yards and was dropped by DeAn- dre Thompkins. The botched return handed possession right back to the Aztecs at the Nittany Lions' 21-yard line. BEST RETURNFranklin has praised his kickoff coverage units this season – with good reason – but a first-quarter breakdown of epic proportions led to Rashaad Penny's 100-yard touchdown to put SDSU on the board. The return itself was fine, but the Lions let them- selves down more than anything else. BEST DECISIONMark Allen's first ca- reer reception was a doozy. With both Barkley and Akeel Lynch out of the game, Allen took a swing pass 13 yards at the very end of the first half, laying out for a touchdown. Officials called Allen down at the 2. A replay review proved otherwise. The score gave Penn State a 20-14 lead. WORST DECISIONSan Diego State would have been better served sitting on the ball at the end of the first half. Tailback Donnel Pumphrey fumbled after being hit by Sickels, immediately handing the ball back to the Lions with just under a minute to play. Penn State took advantage with a 12-yard Godwin touchdown reception. MOST TELLING MOMENTAn offense that had been firing, thanks in large part to Barkley's contributions, ap- peared lost at times when he left the game. How the Nittany Lions respond from here remains to be seen, but a sec- ond-half rushing average of 0.7 yards per carry is not particularly encourag- ing for the unit. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' victory over San Diego State S E P T E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 4 BEST RUN Barkley lunges for- ward on a 22-yard touchdown reception early in the game. The true fresh- man was having an- other big day before suf- fering a lower leg in- jury. Photo by Bill Anderson

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