Penn State Football 2015 Review

It has now been three weeks since Penn State’s 17-24 loss to Georgia in the Taxslayer Bowl to end the 2015-16 season. We now look back at the season that was.

September

The 2015 season got under way on the afternoon of September 5th, as James Franklin and his team traveled to Philadelphia to face Temple in the opener. The game started out favorable for the Nittany Lions, as they got Temple to go three and out to start the game. Penn State’s first offensive play of the season was a big one, as freshman receiver Brandon Polk took a jet sweep for 33 yards. The drive resulted in a 34 yard field goal from Sam Ficken’s replacement Joey Julius. Later in the quarter, Akeel Lynch took a 42 yard run to the house to give Penn State a 10-7 lead at the half.  The second half was all Temple as they scored 20 unanswered points and sacked Hackenberg a record 10 times during the game. Penn State was  upset in the opener 27-10 by a surprise Owls team.  Penn State’s star linebacker Nayeem Wartman-White was also lost in this one for the season with a knee injury.

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Penn State’s home opener went a little better as they defeated Buffalo 27-14 on a rainy afternoon. This game saw the emergence of freshman running back Saquon Barkley who quickly became a household name, rushing for 115 yards on 12 carries to go along with a 9 yard touchdown. Hackenberg was 14-27 for 128 yards with a touchdown to Hamilton. Senior defensive end , and former walk on, Carl Nassib also came into the spot light during this game as he totaled 3 sacks, 5 tackles, and a key interception.

The Lions next game, might have been their best showing of the season, 8PM start against Rutgers for the first ever “Stripe-out” at Beaver Stadium. The Lions ran the ball early and often with their two headed attack of Lynch and Barkley. The scoring did not start until the second quarter, but an eighty yard drive was capped off with 2 yard jet sweep touchdown by DeAndre Thompkins. Barkley later added a 15 yard run to make it 14-0. Right before the half, Akeel Lynch took a 75 yard run to the house to make it 21-0. Midway through the 4th quarter, Barkley took a 54 yard run to the Rutgers 16 yard line, and on the next play he punched it in. Penn State dominates 28-3. Penn State rushed for 330 yards in this one, Barkley responsible for 195 of it, and Lynch added 120 yards. Hackenberg only completed 10 passes, but that didn’t stop Hamilton from catching half of them for 86 yards. Marcus Allen had a big game with 11 tackles, while freshman John Reid got his first career pick.

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The month ended with a visit from the San Diego State Aztecs. The game started off well as Hackenberg threw a screen to Barkley who took it 22 yards for the score. The Aztecs answered on the kickoff as Rashaad Penny took it 100 yards to the house. Barkley and Lynch both suffered injuries in the first half, so Mark Allen took over as the lead back. SDSU would take a 14-13 lead in the second quarter, but Allen caught a 13 yard pass from Hackenberg for the score, Hackenberg followed that up with an 11 yard strike to Chris Godwin to make 27-14 at the half. The Aztecs took a drive deep into Penn State territory to start the 4th, only down by six. On 3rd and 11 from the Lions’ 25, Carl Nassib sacked the quarterback who fumbled, which was recovered by 323 pound defensive tackle Austin Johnson who took it 71 yards to the house. A late Julius’ field goal sealed the deal for the Lions who would win 37-21. In the absence of his running backs, Hackenberg stepped up going 21-35 for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Lions end the month 3-1.

October

The second month of the season started with a visit from the Black Knights of Army-West Point. It was a rainy afternoon and the Lions were without their top two backs in Barkley and Lynch. Nick Scott and Mark Allen would take the snaps. Penn State held a 10-0 lead at the half, behind an 11 yard Scott touchdown. After another Julius field goal, Army quarterback A.J. Schurr punched it in from three yards out. Hackenberg answered with a 33 yard strike to Gesicki to make it 20-7. Penn State’s offense struggled, and found themselves only up by 6 after a couple big plays from Schurr. With a 1:21 left on the clock, Army had a 4th and 5 from the Penn State 43, Schurr went back to pass for only the second time all game, and was sacked by linebacker Jason Cabinda who saved the game. Penn State survives 20-14. Army only threw the ball once for a 32 yard gain, but Penn State’s defense would surrender 260 rushing yards.

The last of five straight home games came on October 10th as Indiana came to town. Indiana was having a good year at the time, their only loss being Ohio State, and many picked them to win. Again without the top two backs, Hackenberg knew this one was on him. Hackenberg hit Polk for a 39 yard touchdown , which Indiana would answer. Hackenberg added a 39 yard pass to Hamilton and a 1 yard QB sneak to make it 19-7 at the half, as Joey Julius missed two straight PATs and was replaced by Tyler Davis. The only second half scoring was another Hackenberg run and a Davis’ field goal as Penn State rolls 29-7 behind Hackenberg’s four total touchdowns.

Penn State took their 5-1 record to the Horseshoe to face the #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The good news for Penn State was the return of Lynch and Barkley, the latter  was about to make a name for himself. Penn State got off to a good start with a 33 yard field goal from Julius, who had his job back for the moment. The game could have been totally different if an “ify” holding call hadn’t been called on a 40 yard Barkley touchdown which would made it 10-0. Instead, Ohio State, led by the running attack of Ezekiel Elliot and QB J.T. Barrett, scored on three straight drives to make it 21-3 at the half. Penn State made it interesting after half when it only took them a minute to score on an 8 yard pass from Hackenberg to Hamilton. The offense stalled and Barrett fired two 4th quarter touchdowns to seal the deal 38-10.  Barkley showed up for the primetime match up rushing for 194 yards, including a 56 yarder. He would’ve had almost 250 and touchdown, if it hadn’t been called back.

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The following week was another big showing from Hackenberg. Penn State traveled to  Baltimore to face Maryland. The game would be a shoot out from the beginning. Late in the first, Barkley took it in from 6 yards out, but it took Maryland less than a minute to answer. Maryland held a 13-7 lead before Hackenberg linked up with Godwin for the 37 yard strike. Julius added a field goal to make it 17-13 at the half. Maryland took the lead back on a Brandon Ross 10 yard run, but again Hackenberg answered hitting Hamilton from 20 yards out. Perry Hills answered that with a TD pass of his own. Early in the 4th, Hackenberg linked up with Geno Lewis for the 27 yard score. Maryland added a field goal to make it 31-30, but a late interception off  Hills sealed the deal for the Lions. Hackenberg only completed 13 passes but went for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns, Chris Godwin caught 4 of those catches for 135 yards and a score.

The month ended with an afternoon home game on Halloween against Illinois. Hackenberg picked up where he left off against Maryland, tossing two 1st quarter touchdowns. Julius missed both extra points and would not kick a field goal the rest of the season. Hackenberg caught a 14 yard touchdown from running back Nick Scott to blow this one open 22-0. Saquon Barkley had another highlight as he hurdled a defender to land in the endzone for the score. The defense dominated only giving up 167 total yards in this one as Penn State rolls 39-0 behind a balanced offensive attack.

November

November can be summarized in one way:

No win November

Early on a windy afternoon in Illinois, Penn Sate faced a talented Northwestern. There was no scoring in the first quarter, but Northwestern quickly scored two touchdowns and jump out to a 13-0 lead. Saquon Barkley answered with a seven yard touchdown run. Unfortunately, Solomon Vault returned the following 96 yards and the Wildcats took a 20-7 lead into the half. Mid way through the third, Geno Lewis took an end around, which he fumbled and picked it up and  threw to Daesean Hamilton who caught it for a 32 yard touchdown. After a couple of defensive stops, Saquon Barkley took a direct snap for a 13 yard touchdown, Penn State leads 21-20. Penn State had the ball on their own 15 with just over three minutes left, on 3rd and 1, Barkley took a direct snap and was stuffed. Penn State punted, on second down, Grant Haley nearly intercepted a pass, which would’ve ended the game. Northwestern now faced a 3rd and 15, and Haley blew his coverage and allowed Zack Oliver to hit Austin Carr for 23 yards. After Justin Jackson gained 14 yards on 3 straight runs, Jack Mitchell hit the 35 yard game winner. Penn State loses 23-21. Barkley with 120 yards and 2 scores.

Two weeks later, Penn State welcomed in 12th ranked Michigan for senior day. Penn State got off to a good start with a field goal to open the game. Michigan answered with a touchdown to go up 7-3. The teams traded touchdowns right before half as Michigan led 14-10. With 10 minutes left in the third, Michigan punted to Penn State 9 yard line. Punt returner DeAndre Thompkins muffed the punt which was recovered by Michigan, they scored 3 plays later, and Penn State never recovered. Penn State did manage to make the score 21-16 at one point, but a late Michigan touchdown sealed the deal. 28-16 Michigan.

The last game of the regular season was one to forget. Michigan State jumped out to a 20-10 lead at the half. Chris Godwin did have a receiving touchdown in the first half. In the second half, Michigan State scored 35 points while Penn State scored just 6. Penn State was greatly hurt by 4 turnovers, three of which were on drives where points could have been had. Instead, the points went the other way. Penn State would somehow still get 418 total yards of offense in this one.

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The regular season was over with Penn State going 7-5, but the season was far from over.

The next day after the MSU game, offensive coordinator John Donovan was let go. His offense ranked 101st in scoring and 79th in yards in 2015.

December

December can be remember for two things, the hiring of Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead as offensive coordinator and Penn State finding out they will play Georgia in the Taxslayer Bowl on January 2nd.  During this month, former walk on senior defensive end Carl Nassib racked up the awards.  Nassib led the nation with 16 sacks while only playing in 11 of Penn State’s 13 games. Nassib was an all- American, winner of the Lombardi award, the Ted Hendricks award and the Lott Impact trophy. Carl also was the Big Ten defensive player of the year and first team All-Big Ten. Freshman running back Saquon Barkley was Penn State’s other bright spot. Rushing for 1,076 yards with 7 touchdowns, he won Big Ten freshman of the year from Big Ten’s tv and internet network. He was 2nd team all Big Ten and a freshman all- American for USA Today Sports.

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January

The final month of the season was a hectic one. It all got started on January 2nd as Penn State faced Georgia in the Taxslayer Bowl. Quarterback Christian Hackenberg had taken 86 sacks the last two seasons, and he only missed one snap due to that. That all changed in this one. Early in the second quarter, Hackenberg was being rushed and tried to escape the pocket, he was tackled from behind and landed on his throwing shoulder. He stood up and began favoring the shoulder. Hackenberg  held in there a few more plays and his last completion as a Nittany Lion was a big one as he hit Godwin for 51 yards and set up the game tying field goal. 3-3 at this point. Georgia answered with some trickery as wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell caught a 44 yard pass from fellow wide out Terry Godwin. Trace McSorley replaced Hackenberg at quarterback and his first two drives were ugly as the Lions turned the ball over on downs and then went 3 and out on their following possession. Georgia added a touchdown right before half to make it 17-3. Both teams got little done on their first two possessions after half, then Georgia put together a solid drive capped off by a Sony Michal 21 yard run touchdown. James Franklin now found himself down 24-3 in the third quarter with a redshirt freshman quarterback and a non-existent running game from Barkley. McSorely put together a 9 play 75 yard drive on Penn State’s next possession, he completed a 21 yard pass to Godwin and Barkley broke a 29 yard run. On 4th and 7 from the Georgia 12, McSorley fired a strike to Geno Lewis in the back corner of the endzone. After the defense rose to the occasion like they did all season, McSorely led another scoring drive which ended with a highlight play as McSorely threw a dart to Hamilton who made a great diving catch for the 2o yard score. With just under two minutes remaining, Georgia had a 4th and 2 from the Penn State 23, with their kicker out with an injury, they opted to go for it. Keith Marshall was met at the line by stand out defensive tackle Austin Johnson. Penn State had one less chance. The redshirt freshman quarterback had never run a two minute drill in a game before, and that hurt Penn State, McSorley did convert two 4th downs on the drive, but with no time left from the Georgia 40, McSorley’s hail Mary fell short. Penn State loses 24-17.

After the game, the injured Hackenberg announced he was going to the NFL and not coming back for his senior year. He leaves Penn State as the program’s all time leader in completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. Many people often questioned Hackenberg’s toughness and loyalty to Penn State, but they we’re all wrong. In the course of two seasons, Christian was sacked 86 times and missed one play due to it. Although his relationship with Franklin could be questioned, no one should even question his loyalty to the program. Hackenberg was a 5 star prospect in the 2013 recruiting class, he could’ve went to any school he wanted to, including Alabama where he was almost guaranteed a national championship. Instead, he came to a school reeling from sanctions due to the Sandusky case, knowing that he wouldn’t be eligible to play in a bowl  game until his senior year and that with reduced scholarships, he would not have a great team around him. But, he stuck with the program and the sanctions were lifted and he led Penn State to a bowl victory in 2014, and he was the man that kept Penn State football afloat when it should’ve hit rock bottom. All Penn State fans should be thankful to say that Christian Hackenberg was their quarterback.

Fellow junior, defensive tackled Austin Johnson also declared for the draft, he had a breakout year with 47 tackles, 7 sacks, and 11 tackles for loss. He is one of three starting defensive linemen for the Lions to head to the draft, along with seniors Anthony Zettel and Carl Nassib, all project to be 2nd and 3rd round picks.

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A week after the loss to Georgia Penn State got more bad news, defensive Coordinator Bob Shoop was leaving to take the same job at Tennessee. Shoop’s defense ranked 2nd nationally in 2014 and 14th this past season. Linebackers coach Brent Pry was promoted to the vacant spot the next morning. Penn State hired Tim Banks this past week to fill the void left at safeties coach by Shoop. Two days later, more bad news, offensive line coach Herb Hand was headed to Auburn for the same job. Franklin moved quickly to fill the void by hiring former Minnesota offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover. Minnesota allowed only 19 sacks this past year compared to Penn State’s 38.

Penn State has also dealt with a lot of transfers as of late. Three year starting receiver Geno Lewis is transferring to Oklahoma for his final year of eligibility, because they offer his graduate program, Penn State does not. Lewis was third on the team with 3 receiving touchdowns this past year. Running back Akeel Lynch is also transferring for his final year. Lynch saw minimal playing time once Barkley became the starter, and with two more running backs set to join the group in 2016, Lynch has decided to leave. Linebacker Gary Wooten is leaving for his final year as well, he saw little time this year. The biggest transfer in my opion is linebacker Troy Reeder who is headed to Delaware to play, which is his home state. Reeder was second on the team with 51 tackles this season, a crushing blow to the defense. Sophomore tight end Adam Breneman has ended his career after only seeing action in one game the past two years. Breneman caught three touchdowns as a freshman then missed all of last year with injury, which gave him another year of eligibility, but after injury only allowed him to see one snap this season, he is now pursuing a career in politics instead.

Last Thoughts

This season was full of plenty of hardships with a subpar offensive line, an inexperienced secondary, and a poor special teams unit.  Hackenberg had a far better year than last year, throwing for 2,525 yards, 16 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions. His completion percentage was very low at 53.5%. Chris Godwin was the leading receiver this season with 1,101 yards and 5 touchdowns. I predicted the team to go 9-3, and it seemed very likely, except the offensive line failed against a surprise Temple team and the Lion’s were inches away from beating Northwestern. Penn State and James Franklin have a lot of questions to address this off season, such as who will the quarterback be and what will the offensive line look like. There is a three man competition between the hero of the bowl game Trace McSorley, redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens, and true freshman Jake Zembiec. The offensive line returns four starters with three talented redshirt freshman ready to play this year, and the #1 offensive guard and center in the nation are in the incoming recruiting class. The defensive line will have to replace three starters as well. Luckily, Penn State has an incoming punter for this recruiting class, because Penn State’s punting was horrible again in 2015 and cost them field position and points.

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There is plenty to look forward to in 2016, but improvement must come from James Franklin’s team. Learning from mistakes made in 2015 can help this team moving forward. A new offensive approach with Joe Moorhead could help this team become a contender, an asset they missed in 2015 with John Donovan. 2015 was also the last time that players who played for the late Joe Paterno will ever step foot on the field for the Nittany Lions again. 2015 showed  glimpses of hope that hopefully will prevail in 2016 and beyond.