In the first week of the Christian Hackenberg error, there were good times, and bad times but at the end of the day, he is now 1-0. This week he will be facing off against an Eastern Michigan team that many don't expect to challenge Penn State, or many teams for that matter. For the first time this year, Penn State will be playing in Happy Valley and looking to go 2-0. It would be a shock if the Eagles of Eastern Michigan pull out the victory, but in college football, you just never know.
Kirk Herbstreit's selection: Penn State Nittany Lions!
Alright, week one is down and over with, was a great game, just found a way to win. Hoping to not give up that many yards and first downs all season but let's see what happens. Might play the game tonight or tomorrow so should have an update tomorrow at some point.
EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES (0-1, 0-0 MAC) vs. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (1-0, 0-0 BIG) Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA -- September 7th, 2013 -- 12:00 PM EST!
HUGE SECOND HALF, PENN STATE ROLLS OVER LOWLY EASTERN MICHIGAN!
After last week's comeback win, this week seemed to be no trouble. At halftime, a lot of people thought the score would be out of hand but with it only being 14-3, it seemed like the second half could get tricky. However, a strong showing from the defensive line and some big plays in the passing game, Penn State rolled just like everyone thought they would to go 2-0. The biggest play might have been a screen pass that ended up going 42 yards for a touchdown, to push the score 21-3 and put the final nail in the coffin of the hopes of Eastern Michigan.
The defensive line really had a strong outing, having 8 sacks in total when the final whistle blew to end the game, led by C.J Olaniyan who has 6 sacks in the first two games of the season, had 3 this week. Besides that, Christian Hackenberg had another strong outing finishing the game 13/19, throwing for 276 yards with 3 TD's and 1 INT. Zach Zwinak also had another good game, running for 122 yards on 24 carries, and getting his first TD of the season as well. Eastern Michigan seemed ready to play but couldn't get past the strong defense, and the hostile crowd to have much success all day.
Next week, Penn State will be staying at home to face a 2-0 UCF Knights in what could be the toughest test for the Nittany Lions yet. While many expect Penn State to move to 3-0, turnovers have been a bit of a problem in the first two weeks (5 turnovers) and if it keeps going, they might not be able to overcome the mistakes whether it's this week against UCF or in Big 10 play.
Eastern Michigan Eagles at Penn State Nittany Lions
Sep 7, 2013
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Eastern Michigan Eagles (0-1, 0-0 MAC)
0
3
0
7
10
Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0, 0-0 B1G)
7
7
21
14
49
Team Stats Comparison
EMU
PSU
Total Offense
239
450
Rushing Yards
23
174
Passing Yards
216
276
First Downs
11
16
Punt Return Yards
15
68
Kick Return Yards
0
18
Total Yards
254
536
Turnovers
0
2
3rd Down Converstion
4/14 (28%)
8/11 (72%)
4th Down Conversion
1/3 (33%)
0/0 (0%)
2-Point Conversion
0/0 (0%)
0/0 (0%)
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
0-0-0 (0%)
4-4-0 (100%)
Penalties
0-0
2-30
Posession Time
15:26
16:34
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
EMU
PSU
4:49
(PSU) TD PSU: B. Belton, 1 Yd run (S. Ficken kick)
0
7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
EMU
PSU
6:54
(PSU) TD PSU: Z. Zwinak, 4 Yd run (S. Ficken kick)
0
14
0:00
(EMU) FG EMU: D. Mulder, 47 Yd FG
3
14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
EMU
PSU
4:24
(PSU) TD PSU: B. Belton, 42 Yd pass from C. Hackenberg (S. Ficken kick)
3
21
3:16
(PSU) TD PSU: M. Lehman, 33 Yd pass from C. Hackenberg (S. Ficken kick)
3
28
1:42
(PSU) TD PSU: M. Lehman, 57 Yd pass from C. Hackenberg (S. Ficken kick)
3
35
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
EMU
PSU
5:36
(PSU) TD PSU: B. Belton, 2 Yd run (S. Ficken kick)
3
42
2:15
(EMU) TD EMU: D. Reed, 29 Yd pass from T. Benz (D. Mulder kick)
10
42
1:00
(PSU) TD PSU: T. Ferguson, 13 Yd run (S. Ficken kick)