While not the most dominant performance we’ve seen from Penn State on an opening weekend, it was a solid win and something that head coach James Franklin and the coaching staff can build upon going into next weeks matchup with Pitt at Heinz Field in the Keystone Classic. That was roughly the point spread heading into the game. Dynamic running back Saquon Barkley churned out 105 yards, but his deep corps of backups were a nonfactor. He completed 16-of-31 passes for 209 yards and two TDs. Last season, he rushed for 1,076 yards and seven scores.
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Running back James Conner, the 2014 ACC Player of the Year, missed the 2015 season while battling cancer. DaeSean Hamilton added a touchdown reception. “All this is, is a confidence booster, so I just need to keep doing it each and every game”.
Penn State kicker Joey Julius is a folk hero, and although he’s reasonably good at kicking, that’s not what makes him a folk hero. On offense, would Trace McSorley be an adequate replacement to Christian Hackenberg, who was drafted by the New York Jets in the 2nd round of the National Football League draft in May? There were points left out there that could have been gained by the Lions. “It was a first game”. The Golden Flashes trail Penn State 26-13 with 4:22 left in the third quarter. Kent State has been held to a combined 10 points in their last three meetings with Penn State. A bunch of missed tackles against Kent State is further evidence that Penn State’s offense will have to pull more weight than it has in the two previous years when elite defenses could bail it out. The Nittany Lions put 10 shots on goal.
The lone mistake McSorley made was fumbling while stepping to throw the ball down-field in the second quarter. Kent State scored on a 42-yard field goal, after a (dumb) late hit out of bounds on the QB by Penn State, and a couple of blitzes the defense got burned on.
The ninth-ranked Stanford women’s volleyball team swept No. 13 Penn State on Sunday in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge on Sunday at the Coors Event Center in Boulder, Colorado. That should not be the case.
Penn State hasn’t run a quarterback deliberately as often as Saturday for more than decade. As the season moves on those plays will be made and the production numbers will reflect that change. They did salvage three points on Hynes’ 43-yard field goal that tied the game at 6.
On the defensive side, the Lions flipped the script from last season’s disappointing first game loss. But first they’ll have to dispatch with Kent State, which is traveling from one state over in OH for the season opener. Several times, Kent State shifted its safeties forward in run support, leaving its cornerbacks in single coverage against Penn State’s receivers. The calls for more turnovers caused by Brent Pry’s defensive unit were answered as the team grabbed two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
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Kent State’s front seven kept the game within reach by limiting Barkley’s running room early. Miller, a backup defensive end, was credited with 1.5 sacks in his first career game. And Franklin likely pressed the competition between McSorley and redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens so deep into camp to have two quarterbacks ready in case of injury.
