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cally the one that quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw sustained last week. The 5-foot-11, 198-pound sophomore le@ with an undisclosed injury during Army's 58-36 victory over Eastern Michigan. Monken said on Tuesday he's "hopeful" that Bradshaw, the center- piece of Army's triple-option offense and the team's leading rusher with 341 yards through four games, will be healthy enough to play against the Nittany Lions. Like Franklin's injury update, though, Monken's came with a qualifier: "Right now, we don't know." With Bradshaw sidelined, senior A.J. Schurr helped stave off an Eastern Michigan comeback attempt last week, rushing for 67 yards and two touch- downs. Even if Bradshaw gets the go- ahead to play Saturday, Monken foresees a scenario in which Schurr remains part of the game plan. "I thought A.J. Schurr did a great job when he came in off the bench," Monken said. "He kept the game going and made some great plays himself, both running the ball and throwing the ball. I hope we'll have Bradshaw ready to go, too, and have both of those guys available to play." Even if Bradshaw isn't able to play, the Black Knights will have no shortage of potential ball carriers. Their offense is based upon a combination of two run- ning backs and a fullback position that is manned by four different players. Aaron Kemper is second only to Brad- shaw with 223 rushing yards, and Monken said the 5-foot-6, 210-pound junior has "emerged as the guy who's clearly set himself apart from everybody else" at fullback so far this season. Additionally, A-back Joe Walker and T- back John Trainor – the two starting running backs, who regularly go in pre- snap motion – are Army's big-play threats. Walker averages 9.8 yards per carry, while Trainor averages 9.9. The Black Knights are averaging 294.5 yards per game on the ground, ninth- best in the Football Bowl Subdivision. That's nearly three times as much per- game rushing yardage as Penn State is giving up, and Monken said he'll need a strong effort from all of his ball carriers in order to stay competitive in his first trip to Beaver Stadium. "They better run really hard this week," he said. "They're going to face a defense that's as good as we've faced all year and as talented of a team as we've faced all year." Franklin, however, agrees that if Army is able to establish the run against a PSU defense that allows 90.5 yards per game on the ground (No. 14 in the country), then the Black Knights could hang around in this one. "The triple option puts stress on every- body," Franklin said. "It always does – not just because of the scheme that they run, but also the style of play and the fact that you only see it maybe once every couple of years." Despite seeing option offenses infre- quently, Franklin is confident his staff knows the scheme well enough to adapt quickly. Linebackers coach Brent Pry worked under Monken at Georgia South- ern in 2010. Pry coordinated the defense and coached the team's safeties; Monken was the head coach and ran an offense that was very similar to the one he over- sees at West Point. "So [Pry] defended this type of offense every single day at practice," Franklin said. Franklin, Pry and Co., also played against Army in 2011 at Vanderbilt, win- ning, 44-21, and allowing 270 rushing yards on 51 carries. Pry helped direct the game plan prior to that game, and he's taking a similar role now. "This week he's going to have even a stronger voice just because of the history that he has with defending [Monken's offense]," Franklin said, emphasizing the need for his defense to know "how to de- fend the fullback dive, how to defend the quarterback, how to defend the pitch, and then how to defend their version of the speed sweeps and things that they do where they motion and then toss the ball out to the [running back] on the edge." Then, as Pry surely remembers, just when Army's offense has lulled the line- backers and safeties close to the line of scrimmage a@er a series of option runs, it'll send a receiver or two deep and air it out. "Once you overcommit, you're suscep- tible to giving up the big play in the pass- ing game," Franklin said. "[Pry's] experience, I think, is really valuable with [defending] that." NATE BAUER RECORD 3-1 One-trick ponies don't do well against this Penn State defense. Certainly, Army will gain some yards on the ground, but sustained success seems quite unlikely. Rain could dampen of- fensive output for the Nits, but a com- fortable win should be in the cards. PENN STATE 33, ARMY 9 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 3-1 Penn State's offense could have a breakout game against Army, weather permitting. The Black Knights are al- lowing over 260 passing yards per game and close to 14 yards per completion. And Penn State's defense has the ability to shut down an Army offense that runs the ball 95 percent of the time. PENN STATE 28, ARMY 7 MATT HERB RECORD 3-1 Eastern Michigan held the ball for only 18 minutes vs. Army last Saturday but still scored 36 points and totaled nearly 500 yards of offense. The weather and the injury list may impact PSU's scoring output on Saturday, but not enough to produce an upset loss. PENN STATE 28, ARMY 14 TIM OWEN RECORD 3-1 With a forecast full of rain and clouds, a triple-option offense coming into Beaver Stadium, and Penn State's two best running backs sidelined by injury, this one might be a little closer than some fans would prefer. PENN STATE 27, ARMY 14 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 3-1 It's expected to be sloppy on Saturday, and that will likely help Army more than PSU. It's never easy to prep for the option in only a few days, so this game will probably be closer than expected. PENN STATE 20, ARMY 14 S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 BWI'S FORECAST

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