Blue White Illustrated

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 17 Given the injuries it sustained, espe- cially the injuries on offense to Saquon Barkley and Akeel Lynch, as well as the special teams mistakes, it would be easy to overlook the positives in Penn State's 37-21 victory over San Diego State. But it would be a big mistake to write off this game as a step backwards, or even a step sideways. The area where I saw Penn State make its biggest improvement was in its pass- ing game. The Nittany Lions went into the game against San Diego State with the Big Ten's 13th-ranked passing of- fense. They were producing only 124 passing yards per game, and Christian Hackenberg had completed just 35 of 71 passes (49.3 percent) for 372 yards with one interception and two TD passes. The most troubling statistic for Hackenberg and the pass offense was Penn State's av- erage of only 5.2 yards per pass attempt and 10.6 yards per completion. Aside from a 48-yard completion to DaeSean Hamilton against Rutgers and a 38- yarder to Chris Godwin, the longest re- ception by a Penn State receiver in the team's first three games was an 11-yard catch by Geno Lewis against Buffalo. Penn State's passing game had essentially become one-dimensional. It had lost the ability to stretch the field vertically. With Hackenberg's performance against San Diego State, Penn State's passing game took on a completely dif- ferent dimension. Hackenberg com- pleted 21 of 35 passes [60 percent] for 296 yards with three TD passes and no interceptions. But the statistic that jumps out at me with the passing game is the fact that Penn State averaged 9.1 yards per attempt and 14.9 yards per completion. But even more impressive than those two passing game statistics was the fact that Penn State had six different re- ceivers against San Diego State whose longest reception was 14 or more yards. Saeed Blacknall led the way with four catches for 101 yards (25.3 ypc), with his longest reception covering 46 yards. Godwin's longest catch went for 32 yards, Kyle Carter had a 35-yard catch, Barkley had a 22-yard TD catch, Mark Allen had a 16-yard TD reception, and Hamilton's longest reception went for 14 yards and gained a crucial first down. Head coach James Franklin and offen- sive coordinator John Donovan did their best job of the season giving Hacken- berg a passing game blueprint that used the entire field, horizontally and verti- cally. It was certainly no surprise to see Hackenberg working sideline to side- line, but for the first time this year, he was looking deep downfield, attempting some long passes in addition to the short throws that had been the focus of the passing game in Penn State's first three games. He and his receivers ended up having a big a@ernoon, and it could easily have been even better. Had Hackenberg not overthrown deep passes to Lewis and Godwin, Penn State could have thrown for more than 350 yards and averaged close to 10.3 yards per pass attempt and 16.8 yards per completion. The biggest benefactor of Hacken- berg's passing performance was Black- nall. The sophomore wideout totaled four catches for 101 yards against the Aztecs, including receptions of 46 and 31 yards. Going into the game, he was still looking for his first reception of the season. The fact that he didn't make much of an impact in Penn State's first three games – coupled with his per- formance last year, in which he averaged 10.2 yards per catch – might have made Blacknall an unlikely candidate to emerge as a deep threat in the passing game against San Diego State, but that's just what happened. "Every day in practice, we always take our shots [downfield]," Blacknall said. "When we have the opportunity to get it, and the defense gives us that look, we take a shot. It gives the offense a spark. It could be any given receiver at any time." With San Diego State blitzing and sending six players on almost every running and passing down, you have to give Penn State's offensive line a pat on the back for surrendering only two sacks and allowing Hackenberg to be hit only a handful of times. Those two sacks occurred a@er Barkley and Lynch exited the game – a clear indication of the improvement that the offensive line has made in its pass protection. Penn State's offense at that point for most of the second half became one- dimensional with no running game at all. Don't get me wrong, Barkley is the stick of dynamite that sets off an explo- sion with Penn State's offense, but there was another element with Barkley's and Lynch's play that had an impressive impact on the success of Penn State's pass offense against San Diego State. Against San Diego State, Barkley and Lynch were impressive in pass protec- tion, effectively picking up the fi@h and sixth players in the Aztecs' blitz pack- ages. Barkley threw key blocks on Blacknall's 31- and 46-yard receptions, and Lynch was solid with his pass- blocking responsibilities whenever he was on the field. It may have been the most overlooked aspect of their per- formance against San Diego State, but it was a major factor in the success that Hackenberg had throwing the football against the Aztecs. The big question now with Barkley and Lynch possibly out of the lineup due to the injuries they suffered against San Diego State is whether Penn State's newfound balance will disappear against Army. Only time will tell. Nittany Lions' passing game shows flashes of potential vs. San Diego State PHIL'S CORNER

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