STATE COLLEGE — Penn State’s offensive line easily avoided another disastrous outing.
It may not, however, have avoided a disaster.
Sophomore tackle Andrew Nelson, who switched to the left side to protect quarterback Christian Hackenberg’s blind side in Saturday’s 27-14 win over Buffalo at Beaver Stadium, did not return to the game after suffering an apparent left leg injury on the last play of the first half.
Trainers tending to Nelson on the field loosened the knee brace that protected his left knee, helping him to the locker room. Head coach James Franklin said the injury was related to a problem Nelson has been having since the start of last season with that leg, although he wouldn’t disclose the nature of that problem.
It remained unclear whether the problem would keep Nelson out of the lineup for next Saturday’s Big Ten opener against Rutgers.
“Andrew has been dealing with a situation, really since we’ve been here and probably before that. It flares up at times,” he went on. “From what I’ve heard from the trainers, it’s the same thing.”
Nelson held down the fort at left tackle, switching from right tackle to replace inconsistent first-year player Paris Palmer after he was repeatedly beaten in the loss to Temple. Left guard Brendan Mahon moved to right tackle, with backup guard Derek Dowrey filling in for Mahon at left guard to cap Franklin’s promised line shuffling after Hackenberg was sacked 10 times by the Owls.
Buffalo never got to Hackenberg, and the new line cleared the way for a 5.1 yards-per-carry average for the running backs. Palmer, the Lackawanna College product, relieved Nelson in the second half and, as Franklin put it “got the first game jitters out and played pretty well.”
“We worked on blitz pickup all week, and they did a great job with that,” Hackenberg said. “We were able to execute.”
More injuries
Penn State battled through several more nagging injuries Saturday.
Kick returner Koa Farmer, who shined against Temple, missed the game with an undisclosed injury, but Franklin said he expected him to return next week.
Linebacker Brandon Bell (ankle) and cornerback Grant Haley (undisclosed) also missed the game. They were both listed as questionable heading into it.
Taking charge
A week after offensive coordinator John Donovan absorbed plenty of criticism for his play calling against Temple, Franklin could be seen on the sideline with a clipboard, often yelling instructions into his headset.
He acknowledged after the game he wanted to take a more active role in the play calling — in all aspects of the game, he added.
“I was much more active all week long,” Franklin said. “Obviously, we needed to be more effective. There are some challenges everyone is aware of, but nobody wants to hear it. We have to find a way to get better every single day.”
Moving on
Penn State fared pretty well at linebacker this week even with Nyeem Wartman-White out for the season.
Sophomore Jason Cabinda started at Wartman-White’s spot in the middle and recorded six tackles, receiving high praise from teammates for his ability to get the team in the right defensive alignment. Freshman Troy Reeder, who started at the weakside linebacker spot for Cabinda, had seven tackles.
What does it mean?
Asked whether beating Buffalo shows how much Penn State has improved or simply that the talent gap between the Nittany Lions and Bulls is so large, Franklin responded frankly.
“It’s probably a little bit of both,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt we made improvements. We made some plays. I felt like guys made plays they should make, but we still left some plays out there.”
Nittany notes
Penn State’s Saquon Barkley ran for 115 yards, making him the first true freshman to run for more than 100 yards in a game since Silas Redd gained 131 against Northwestern in 2010. ... Two true freshmen — Barkley and receiver Brandon Polk — scored touchdowns for Penn State. That’s the first time since 2005 that two true freshmen scored in the same game (Justin King and Derek Williams against Northwestern). ... Penn State did not allow a sack for the first time since the win at Wisconsin to close out the 2013 season. That was also the last time Penn State did not allow a sack or turn the ball over in the same game. ... The 14 penalties for Buffalo were the most committed by a Penn State opponent since Notre Dame in 2007. ... Kick returner Nick Scott’s 58-yard return to start the game was the longest for Penn State since Chaz Powell’s 92-yarder against Purdue in 2011; Punt returner DeAndre Thompkins’ 58-yard punt return in the second was the longest non-scoring punt return since 1993, when Mike Archie had a 62-yarder against Michigan State.