Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/617289
TALE OF THE TAPE GEORGIA PENN STATE RECORD 9-3 (5-3 Southeastern Conference) 7-5 (4-4 Big Ten) RANKING – – HEAD COACH Bryan McClendon (Georgia, '05) James Franklin (East Stroudsburg, '95) COACH'S RECORD 0-0 (Overall record: same) 14-11 in one season (Overall record: 38-26) COACH'S BOWL RECORD 0-0 3-1 SCHOOL'S BOWL RECORD 28-19-3 28-15-2 TAXSLAYER (GATOR) BOWL RECORD 2-1-1 1-2-1 MOST RECENT BOWL Defeated Louisville, 37-14, in the 2014 Belk Bowl Defeated Boston College, 31-30, in the 2014 APPEARANCE New Era Pinstripe Bowl BASIC OFFENSE Multiple (26.5 ppg, 381.4 ypg) Multiple (23.7 ppg, 344.0 ypg) RUSHING LEADER Sony Michel (199 att, 1,076 yds, 7 TDs, 5.4 ypc) Saquon Barkley (165 att, 1,007 yds, 7 TDs, 6.1 ypc) PASSING LEADER Greyson Lambert (1,526 yds, 11 TDs, 2 int, 64.4 pct) Christian Hackenberg (2,386 yds, 16 TDs, 5 int, 53.3 pct) RECEIVING LEADER Malcolm Mitchell (53 rec, 751 yds, 4 TDs) Chris Godwin (63 rec, 968 yds, 5 TDs) BASIC DEFENSE 3-4 (16.9 ppg, 298.0 ypg) 4-3 (21.7 ppg, 324.2 ypg) TACKLE LEADER Jake Ganus (55 asst, 41 solo, 96 total) Jason Cabinda (56 asst, 36 solo, 92 total) SACK LEADER Leonard Floyd (4.5, 22 yds) Carl Nassib (15.5, 107 yds) INTERCEPTION LEADER Dominick Sanders (5, 205 yds) Grant Haley (2, 0 yds), John Reid (2, 44 yds) But it's not as if Georgia has struggled to find worthy successors to Walker in the decades since he left for the pros. The list of great Bulldog running backs includes Tim Worley, Terrell Davis, Garrison Hearst, Knowshon Moreno and Todd Gurley, among others. Franklin, who for three seasons coached against Georgia when he was at SEC East rival Vanderbilt, knows quite well how successfully it has recruited over the years. "It seems like the University of Georgia goes out and recruits the best running back in the country year after year," he said. "I always say, there's no way they're going to go sign another one, and Coach [McClendon] and their staff will go out and find another great player." They had one lined up this year, too: Nick Chubb. A 220-pound sophomore, Chubb was averaging more than 8 yards per carry through five games and was seemingly well on his way to a 1,000- yard season. But during a visit to Ten- nessee in October, his left cleat got stuck in the turf while he was tumbling out of bounds, and his knee flexed backward gruesomely. It was his first carry of the game and his last of the season. Chubb suffered serious ligament damage (al- though not to his ACL) and was forced to have surgery. The injury thrust another sophomore, Sony Michel, into the lineup. A former Rivals.com five-star prospect from Plan- tation, Fla., Michel responded with 145 yards on 22 carries against the Volunteers and went on to finish the regular season with 1,076 yards. But as a team, the Bulldogs never com- pletely regained their stride on offense. They scored nine points in a win over Missouri, three points in a loss to Florida and 13 in a lackluster victory over Georgia Tech in the final game of the regular season. In addition, they needed overtime to defeat Georgia Southern in their home finale. Michel was the hero that night, sprinting 25 yards through a hole in the middle of the line to score the decisive touchdown. The struggles on offense contributed to > >