Christian Hackenberg, Penn State look to improve vs. Rutgers

I was wrong about Rettig getting into the game last week. We felt like he’d be able to do it and get Paris back in there. He and Hackenberg chatted frequently on Saturday, with Franklin relaying plays from the sideline and debriefing his quarterback following each possession.

“I’m hopeful that we have the possibility of all three”, said Franklin, offering a pair of qualifiers.

“I’m glad that he brought that back out of his bag of tricks”. But the D-line comes through in the closing minutes with its third sack of Hack (or Hackensack, my hometown) and a fumble recovery. Sophomore Jason Wright is seventh at 2.6 per game and JP Correa is 10th with 2.25 per match. The Lions rank 13th in the conference after averaging 138.5 rushing yards in the first two games this season. That all changed after this past week.

[MORE BIG TEN: Rutgers’ receiver Leonte Carroo suspended for second time this season]. Forget everything that’s happened off the field.

This Saturday night, the Nittany Lions will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the inaugural Stripe Out game. He made his first career start last week against Washington State, posting a 23-of-29 effort. That won’t be the case this week. Michigan State is coming off one of its biggest home wins ever and will line up for an early kick against the triple-option attack of Air Force. And he added 33 more yards on the Lions’ last drive of the game. Now it has to go on and get sharper without its head coach. “I think it fits”.

Penn State football will again be offering a deal to students wishing to purchase tickets for this week’s prime time matchup against Rutgers. Yet, this is a rivalry game.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don’t want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly. PSU’s suffocating defense, (hopefully) improving offense, and 100,000+ striped out fans eventually overwhelm the State University of New Jersey. But if there was any hope of playing the Nittany Lions before, it may have been reduced with this series. Carroo was a hot National Football League commodity but chose to stay one more year and further build his Rutgers resume. Instant ESPN Classic.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. Everybody says they want to play as freshmen, but he approached it that way. He also returned a kickoff in the Scarlet Knights’ season-opener. Being in a hostile environment, they will either come together or fall apart. But now that you found this conference by sheer stupid luck, twenty years after the foul smelling brown spot seeped through the seat of your Jordache jeans as you contentedly ate non-toxic white paste, inexplicably…I couldn’t be more pleased you’ve joined the conference. Five players were arrested and charged with assaulting at least four people a day after the robbery, one of whom suffered a broken jaw. Will the motivation to get revenge be enough of an artificial factor to help Rutgers overcome some of the deficiencies created by the recent depletion of its roster? It was the longest for Penn State since Chaz Powell had a 92-yard return against Purdue in 2011. Luke Falk carved up the Rutgers secondary, but Hackenberg won’t be given the same opportunities.

But in the meantime, yes, there are still football games to be played. The mental exhaustion and distractions of the week can take over and drag a team down. “I really am proud of him”. Expect a tight grind ’em out affair where Rutgers wears down late. I think they will play with a chip on their shoulder, and are up for the challenge.

But even taking all of the turmoil into account, it’s still a game that Rutgers can win. Without those two, they honestly might not score (especially with a healthy Brandon Bell back in the lineup). Rutgers entered the season looking to replace veteran quarterback Gary Nova.

Nick traveled from Bucks County to Happy Valley to see his brother play.