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and-5 at the Penn State 43-yard line, Jason Cabinda and Von Walker put pres- sure on quarterback A.J. Schurr, and Cabinda brought him down deep in the backfield. That was the end of the Black Knights' comeback bid, and although the Lions' performance was far from artistic, it leA them with a 4-1 record. "It's a step in the right direction," Franklin said. "We just have to keep grinding." Army (1-4) had put itself in position to upset the Nittany Lions when Schurr galloped 56 yards for a touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter. His run countered Penn State's most impressive offensive possession of the aAernoon, on which Christian Hackenberg went 3 for 3, in- cluding a 49-yard completion to Chris Godwin and a 33-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki to give the Lions a 20-7 lead. But that drive notwithstanding, it was a rough aAernoon for Penn State's of- fense, which was without its top two running backs, Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley, as well as tackle Andrew Nelson. The Lions were outgained 293-264 by an Army offense that was without its key playmaker, starting quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw, who had been injured a week earlier. Franklin said the rainy conditions that Penn State has played in throughout much of the early season have con- tributed to the team's disappointing of- fensive output to date, but only to a degree. "I do think the weather has been a factor in some of that," he said. "But that's one of many factors. … We've got a lot of work to do in that area, which is obvious to everybody." With Lynch and Barkley out, Penn State rotated freshmen Mark Allen, Nick Scott and Johnathan Thomas at running back, the latter making his collegiate debut. The threesome combined for 99 yards on 25 carries. The slick field conditions appeared to hinder the Nittany Lions' passing game, at least to start the game, as Hackenberg struggled through three quarters before hitting some big throws in the fourth. He finished with 10 completions on 19 at- tempts for 156 yards and a touchdown. Said Franklin, "We had some plans to throw the ball more early on with all the rain. We weren't as effective at that as we wanted to be." The one thing Penn State did do well throughout the game was hold onto the ball. Hackenberg didn't throw any inter- ceptions, nor did Penn State fumble, and ball security was one of the keys to its victory, as Army fared much worse. The Black Knights fumbled seven times, leading to three Nittany Lion takeaways. Army was coming off one of the best offensive performances in school history, a 58-36 victory over Eastern Michigan in which it rushed for 556 yards and totaled 654 yards of offense. But Bradshaw was injured in that game, and his absence was felt on Army's first snap against Penn State, as Schurr fumbled the center ex- change, and the Nittany Lions recovered at the Army 42-yard line, setting up an 11-yard touchdown run by Scott. Army continued to have difficulty holding onto the ball, but the Nittany Lions weren't able to capitalize on a Jor- dan Asberry fumble in the second quar- ter. And aAer a bad pitch by Schurr later in the quarter gave the Lions the ball at the Army 41, they had to settle for a 37- yard Joey Julius field goal. They led 10-0 at halAime, but the fact that they weren't up by two or three touchdowns aAer en- joying terrific starting field position for much of the first half felt like a victory for the Black Knights. Said Franklin, "Turnovers were real big for us, but we've got to capitalize on them." AAer another Julius field goal early in the third quarter, Schurr led Army back, hitting a 32-yard pass to Edgar Poe – the Black Knights' first completion of the game – and diving in from the 3 to trim Penn State's lead to 13-7. That six-point edge ended up being the difference in the game. AAer exchanging touchdowns, Army appeared to be rolling again, but its final drive hit a roadblock when Antony Zettel stopped Drue Harris for no gain on third-and-5, and Cabinda, who finished with 14 tack- les, clinched it for Penn State with his sack. "That," Franklin said, "was a heck of a deal." Having wrapped up their nonconfer- ence season, the Nittany Lions now turn their full attention to the Big Ten. Indiana is 4-1 and even its loss – a 34-27 heart- breaker vs. Ohio State on Saturday – was impressive. The Lions will certainly need a more polished performance against the Hoosiers than they turned in against Army if they're to improve to 2-0 in con- ference play. They'll be hoping to get Barkley and some of their other injured players back, a list that includes line- backer Brandon Bell and safety Marcus Allen. That alone would bring a little sunshine to their world, but the real thing wouldn't hurt, either. SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 9:57 PSU Scott, Nick 11-yard run (Julius, Joey kick) 8 plays, 42 yards, TOP 3:29.........................................................0-7 2ND 0:25 PSU Julius, Joey 37-yard field goal 7 plays, 21 yards, TOP 3:17..........................................................0-10 3RD 9:53 PSU Julius, Joey 27-yard field goal 5 plays, 19 yards, TOP 2:40....................................................... 0-13 5:36 ARMY Schurr, A.J. 3-yard run (Grochowski, D. kick) 8 plays, 76 yards, TOP 4:11......................................................... 7-13 0:00 PSU Gesicki, M. 33-yard pass from Hackenberg, C. (Julius, J. kick) 3 plays, 91 yards, TOP 1:13......................................................... 7-20 4TH 11:04 ARMY Schurr, A.J. 56-yard run (Grochowski, D. kick) 7 plays, 84 yards, TOP 3:49.................................................... 14-20 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 2

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