Blue White Illustrated

KEY MATCHUPS P E N N   S T A T E   V S .   G E O R G I A   S T A T E | B Y P H I L G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 197.5 YPG, 6.8 YPC // GEORGIA STATE RUN DEFENSE238.0 YPG, 6.8 YPC THE LOWDOWNEven though Penn State was only able to run for 148 yards on 24 carries against Pitt, it will enter this game with the Big Ten's sixth-best rushing attack and its second-best yards-per-carry average. Saquon Barkley is the league's third-leading rusher at 130 yards per game, and his average of 9.3 yards per carry ranks second behind Ty Johnson's astounding 15.1-yard rate for Maryland. Penn State's second-leading rusher is QB Trace McSorley with 113 yards on 20 carries. Tommy Stevens, Miles Sanders and Andre Robinson have combined to rush only eight times for 26 yards. Penn State should enjoy considerable success against Georgia State. Opening their season against Tennessee State, an unranked Football Championship Subdivision team, the Panthers surrendered 238 rush- ing yards and two TDs on the ground. Their leading tackler was FS DeAndre Applin, a juco transfer who totaled nine stops. ILB Trey Payne and SS Bryan Williams finished with eight tackles apiece. NT Julien Laurent accounted for two of the Panthers' four tackles for loss. Tennessee State was able to run the ball both inside and outside the tackle box, so Barkley and McSorley should have success with the zone read option. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State tackles Ryan Bates and Chasz Wright will face Georgia State defensive ends Mackendy Cheridor and Marterious Allen. In the middle, Penn State C Connor McGovern will take on the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Laurent. Expect Penn State to total over 250 yards rushing. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME 243.0 YPG, 13.5 YPC // GEORGIA STATE PASS DEFENSE 145.0 YPG, 12.1 YPC THE LOWDOWN Penn State will enter its game against Georgia State with the sixth-best pass offense in the Big Ten. Mc- Sorley completed 33 of 53 attempts for 444 yards, with five TD passes and two interceptions in the first two games of the season. His average of 13.45 yards per completion ranks second in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions' leading receiver is TE Mike Gesicki with 10 catches for 97 yards and four touchdowns. His longest catch is 35 yards. Barkley is the Lions' second-leading receiver with seven catches for 99 yards and one TD. DaeSean Hamilton is next with six catches for 119 yards and a team-leading average of 19.8 yards per catch. Juwan Johnson has five catches for 88 yards (17.6 ypc). Georgia State allowed Tennessee State to complete only 12 of 25 attempts for 145 yards. That's a continuation of a trend from last year, as the Panthers ranked eighth in the country in pass defense aBer allowing only 17.3.9 yards per game. But that number was partly due to the problems with their run defense; opponents attempted fewer than 20 passes per game. One additional concern coming out of the Tennessee State game is that Georgia State finished with only one sack. // KEY MATCHUP Johnson will face Georgia State CB Jerome Smith, against whom he will enjoy a 6-inch height advantage. Also, Gesicki will go up against Williams, who is Georgia State's top defensive back. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. GEORGIA STATE PASS DEFENSE GEORGIA STATE RUNNING GAME 49.0 YPG, 1.7 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE114.0 YPG, 2.9 YPC THE LOWDOWN Georgia State's rushing offense was one of the worst in the FBS last year, ranking 126th nationally with an average of only 87.7 yards per game. Against all odds, things got worse for the Panthers in this year's opener, as they rushed for only 49 yards vs. Tennessee State. RB Taz Bateman, a 5-8, 190-pound junior, was their leading rusher with 31 yards on 11 carries (2.8 ypc), while QB Aaron Winchester was second with 12 yards on eight carries (1.5 ypc). Heading into Saturday's game, Georgia State is 130th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing offense. Penn State goes into this game on the heels of a disappointing aBernoon against Pitt in which it gave up 155 rushing yards. The Nittany Lions are 10th in the Big Ten in rushing defense but they've allowed only 2.9 yards per carry, which ranks fiBh. FS Marcus Allen is the Lions' leading tackler with 15 stops, including nine solo tackles. MLB Jason Cabinda is the team's second-leading tackler with 11 stops, while OLB Koa Farmer is next with 10. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State DE Shareef Miller will face LT Hunter Atkinson, while defensive tackles Parker Cothren and Tyrell Chavis will go up against Georgia State RG Alex Stoehr and C Gabe Mobley. Miller and Chavis lead the Penn State defense with three TFL apiece. // EDGE Penn State GEORGIA STATE RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE GEORGIA STATE PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N G E O R G I A S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. GEORGIA STATE RUN DEFENSE S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 GEORGIA STATE PASSING GAME 224.0 YPG, 12.4 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE136.5 YPG, 7.2 YPC THE LOWDOWNA year ago, QB Conner Manning led the Sun Belt Conference in passing with an average of 268.4 yards per game and tied for second in the league with 16 TD passes. He opened his senior season by completing 14 of 17 passes for 159 yards. Winchester, meanwhile, was 4 of 6 for 65 yards with one interception. The Panthers' leading receiver was Bateman with six catches for 74 yards and one touchdown. WR Penny Hart had five catches for 36 yards, and TE Ari Werts had two for 62. Penn State enters its game with the Panthers ranked second in the

• Cover