Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME Penn State linebacker Jason Cabinda racked up 14 tackles and two sacks on the afternoon against an Army team that demanded a disciplined performance by the Nittany Lions' defense. Even if there were some letdowns, too, he gets our nod here. PLAY OF THE GAMEStruggling to get anything going throughout the after- noon, Penn State quarterback Chris- tian Hackenberg and the Nittany Lion offense finally strung back-to-back big plays together through the air. First, Hackenberg hooked up with wideout Chris Godwin for a 49-yard strike, followed by tight end Mike Gesicki's 33-yard touchdown to close out the third quarter. The TD gave Penn State some much-needed breathing room, 20-7. BEST PASSArmy waited until midway through the third quarter to actually throw a pass, but the Black Knights ab- solutely made the most of it. Army QB A.J. Schurr dropped back and, with Penn State's defense lulled to sleep by the triple option, unloaded a 32-yard flutter ball to wideout Edgar Allen Poe, setting up a Black Knights touchdown a few plays later. BEST RUNOn first-and-10 at the Army 44-yard line, Schurr went inside, straight through the heart of Penn State's defensive front before cutting outside. His jaunt covered 56 yards to the end zone, as he bounced easily off Jordan Lucas's tackle attempt to make it a 20-14 game. BEST CATCHSetting up the play-ac- tion for what seemed like the entire af- ternoon, Hackenberg was finally able to air out a 49-yard pass downfield to Godwin, who made a spectacular out- stretched grab. WORST DROPArmy running back Jor- dan Asberry couldn't corral an option pitch midway through the second quar- ter, letting the ball bounce off his hands and drop into the arms of Penn State linebacker Von Walker. BEST SACKAgainst an Army team that rarely passes the ball, getting to Schurr proved to be more than a little difficult. Still, sack-king Carl Nassib finally brought him down at the start of the second half for a 5-yard loss. BEST HITSchurr took off on third- and-long to open the second quarter when no receivers opened up. He prob- ably wishes he hadn't, as Cabinda ab- solutely unloaded on the open field hit. Grant Haley put a similarly rough hit on him the next possession. BEST EFFORTHow can Army – the entire team – not get the nod here? Checking into Beaver Stadium as heavy underdogs, the Black Knights pounded away all afternoon against a Penn State team that might have been better off wearing pajamas instead of uniforms. BEST KICKOn a day that could best be described as "not ideal" for place-kick- ing, Penn State's Joey Julius sent home a 37-yarder with time winding down in the first half to give the Nittany Lions a 10-0 lead going into the locker room. WORST KICKChris Gulla's out-of- this-world performance from the Rut- gers game has come back to earth. His first punt of the game Saturday was the lowlight, a 12-yard shank out of bounds at the Army 27-yard line. BEST RETURNTaking Army's third- quarter punt at his own 46-yard line, Penn State return man DeAndre Thompkins sprinted left before stop- ping on a dime to make a great cut up- field to pick up another 20 yards. The return went for 25 yards down to the Army 29. BEST DECISIONWith Penn State fac- ing fourth-and-5 early in the first quar- ter, head coach James Franklin opted to go for it rather than attempt a 40-yard field goal. The decision paid off, as Hackenberg completed a 12-yard pass to DaeSean Hamilton, setting up Nick Scott's 11-yard touchdown run the very next play. MOST TELLING MOMENTOn fourth- and-41 at their own 12-yard line, the Black Knights went to punter Alex Tardieu. His 36-yard punt landed about 4 yards short of the Knights' original first-down marker. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' victory over Army O c T O B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 4 BEST CATCH After flounder- ing for much of the after- noon, Penn State's pass- ing game de- livered in the second half, as Godwin lunged to catch a 49- yard pass over the middle from Hacken- berg. The play set up what would turn out to be the win- ning touch- down one play later. Photo by Steve Manuel

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