Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME Christian Hackenberg overcame early struggles to help lift Penn State to victory. By the time the clock expired, the junior quar- terback had thrown for 315 yards and three touchdowns without an intercep- tion. And really, receivers Chris God- win, DaeSean Hamilton and Geno Lewis probably all deserve some big props in this space as well. PLAY OF THE GAMEWas it the pass or the catch? Either way, Hackenberg's hookup with Lewis for a crucial fourth- quarter touchdown was as sharp as they come. On the key second-and- 10, Hackenberg took a shot to the back corner of the end zone, where Lewis jumped and hauled in the 27-yard touch- down. The score gave Penn State a 31-27 lead with 13:39 left to play. BEST PASSHackenberg started slow, but on the Nit- tany Lions' first touchdown of the afternoon late in the first quarter, the junior signal-caller turned it on. He connected with Hamilton deep down the sideline for 38 yards, then again on a floater to Godwin for a 40- yard pickup to set up Saquon Barkley's touchdown carry and a 7-0 lead. BEST RUNComing out of a timeout on a key third down, Maryland running back Brandon Ross took an inside hand- off and bounced to the sideline, beating Penn State linebacker Troy Reeder and sprinting into the end zone to give the Terps a 20-17 third-quarter lead. BEST CATCHHamilton's 38-yarder was great, but Godwin's 40-yard catch was even better. He was battling for po- sition the entire time, finally pulling his hands free to make the catch. Godwin's one-armed touchdown catch in the second quarter, a 37-yard bullet from Hackenberg, might have been even bet- ter. Maryland wideout DeAndre Lane's third-quarter touchdown deserves a nod here, too. Not mentioning Lewis's touchdown here would be an oversight. WORST DROPBarkley's first fumble bounced into the arms of Brian Gaia. His second? That one found its way to Maryland defensive back A.J. Hendy. The turnover was costly, giving the Terps the ball right back at the Nittany Lions' 31-yard line mere moments after Mary- land's missed 51-yard field goal attempt. Brad Craddock wouldn't miss the second time around, connecting to give the Terps a 10-7 second-quarter lead. Akeel Lynch had trouble, too, failing to haul in a wide open double-pass attempt at the end of the third quarter. BEST SACKMarcus Allen came out of nowhere to sack Maryland's Perry Hills midway through the first quarter, erupting on a delayed blitz to secure the 9-yard loss. Carl Nassib's takedown on Hill on third-and-5 for a 5-yard loss was huge. The Terps would come up just short on fourth down. BEST HITPenn State cornerback John Reid absolutely gutted Hills on a quar- terback run late in the first quarter. The stick produced a fumble that just sat on the turf for Allen to recover. The play gave Penn State possession at its own 19-yard line. BEST EFFORTMaryland took its initial possession of the game straight down the field, all the way to Penn State's 30- yard line. But a false start followed by a 6-yard loss forced the Terps into a sec- ond-and-21, and Hills took the bait. Grant Haley caught up to the under- thrown ball, leaping to secure the inter- ception and give Penn State the ball at its own 4-yard line. BEST KICKPenn State's final posses- sion of the first half needed to produce points, and Joey Julius's 40-yard field goal with 31 seconds left extended the Nittany Lions' lead to 17-13. WORST KICKJulius picked a bad time to miss on his fourth-quarter kickoff, sending the blast many yards to the left and out of bounds to give the Terps prime 35-yard field position. He also missed a 45-yard field goal left that would have given the Nittany Lions some much-needed breathing room in the fourth quarter. BEST DECISIONMaryland started finding some success through the heart of the Penn State defense on designed quarterback draws and in the third quarter exploited the weakness to great success. Hills' long carry moved the Terps into the red zone, where they came away with a touchdown to take a 20-17 third-quarter lead. WORST DECISIONWith Penn State reeling following a Maryland touch- down at the end of the third quarter, a bonehead unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Hendy pushed the Nit- tany Lions up to their 40-yard line. MOST TELLING MOMENTMaryland took a chance on fourth-and-2 midway through the fourth quarter, opting to air out a deep pass instead of punting. The end result was a Trevor Williams inter- ception that gave PSU possession at its own 38-yard line. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' victory over Maryland O c T O B E R 2 4 , 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 Godwin had several high- ligh-reel grabs vs. Maryland, in- cluding a 40- yarder and a 37-yarder. Photo by Steve Manuel

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