Penn State is expected to win, but it will be on the shoulders of Christian Hackenberg. Their first touchdown, we had a guy playing the gap there, [linebacker] Bayle Wolf, and he just overran a little bit and reached back and missed the tackle and then [defensive back] Rhyan [England] missed the tackle.
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The Black Knights finally got on the board for the first time midway through the third.
But Schurr, who started in place of injured starter Ahmad Bradshaw, wasn’t finished. At the time, Frisby was at the prime age of 39, coming off years in the military as an Army Ranger with service in the first Gulf War and Kosovo. Three plays later, Schurr scooted into the end zone for a 3-yard score. Penn State hasn’t had the Jimmys and the Joes on the field long enough to know how good they can be on offense.
The only time the Nittany Lion offense showed a spark throughout the afternoon came late in the third quarter when they covered 91-yards in just three plays and capped the drive with a 33-yard scoring pass from quarterback Christian Hackenberg to tight end Mike Gesicki. Army outgained Penn State by 29 yards, a statistic born of a combination of weather, injuries and the Lions’ inability to execute their run-first approach.
Without that threat, Army geared up for Penn State’s run, making six tackles for loss.
– Penn State has won four consecutive games for the first time since starting last season 4-0.
Although the Nittany Lions do not release official injury reports, both Barkley and Lynch appeared on the sideline in street clothes.
Penn State has been nearly impenetrable up the middle, where 323-pound Johnson and 284-pound Zettel lurk. Blacknall made his season debut last week against SDSU and hauled down four catches for 101 yards.
CASE OF FUMBLITIS >> One of Army’s biggest strengths heading into Saturday’s game was its ability to hold onto the football. But Saturday was a different story.
Gesicki and Carter are not traditional tight ends, yet PSU insists on utilizing them as blockers, rather than creating mismatches with either in the passing game.
The Knights did not attempt a single pass the entire first half. Army quarterback A.J. Schurr dropped back to pass and had to scramble into the backfield.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are led the Army Black Knights at halftime, but when the Penn State marching band took to the field, the focus was on the US armed forces more than the score. For the season, the Nittany Lions have turned 11 turnovers gained into 34 points.
The touchdown was set up by a forced fumble, which was recovered by Garrett Sickels.
The Lions scored first in the opening quarter on an 11-yard run by tailback Nick Scott.
UTILIZING THE PASS >> It’s no secret that Army struggles defending the pass. The great former Penn State defensive coordinator, Tom Bradley, used to offer the greatest truism ever uttered in sports: It’s not the X’s and the O’s, he’d say, it’s the Jimmys and the Joes.
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Punting was again a problem, though, both while Chris Gulla was in (one punt sailed just 12 yards) and when he left with injury and was replaced by Daniel Pasquariello.
