STATE COLLEGE, PA – Penn State (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) just couldn’t get its offense rolling as they fell to Northwestern (2-2, 1-0 Big Ten) in its first loss of the season.
It didn’t take Northwestern long to draw the first blood. A one-yard rush by senior quarterback Trevor Siemian just 5:31 into the game whetted Northwestern’s appetite on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley. The Wildcats liked the feeling enough to do it again, scoring another touchdown less than five minutes later.
Penn State couldn’t get its act together through the first half. Despite ending the first quarter on two completed passes by quarterback Christian Hackenberg that ignited the crowd, the Nittany Lions couldn’t find their inspiration. The defense was riddled with holes, made even more obvious by a surgical passing game from Siemian. He was 11-15 in the first quarter and an instrumental piece to Northwestern as they maintained their lead.
Last week’s hero, senior kicker Sam Ficken, had his first attempt blocked by a strong Northwestern defense, but connected on his second try as time expired in the second quarter to put the Nittany Lions on the board.
Despite Jesse Della Valle’s inspiring 41-yard punt return, the Nittany Lions’ frustration became visible as Hackenberg’s accuracy suffered in the opening minutes of the third quarter. An interception by senior safety Adrian Amos set Penn State up to take a drive, but Hackenberg could only complete 6-8 passes in a failure to produce a scoring opportunity. Northwestern’s Nick VanHoose, a junior cornerback, plagued the receivers, bringing them down on three of the completed passes in an impressive show of athleticism. Ficken connected on his third and final field goal attempt, giving Penn State its only points of the game.
The scariest moment of the afternoon came when Hackenberg rushed up the field, colliding with Northwestern sophomore cornerback Matthew Harris. Harris was unable to stand on his own, and it was nearly 15 minutes before he was loaded into a stretcher and taken off the field, though he was able to give a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was carried out. Penn State head coach James Franklin expressed his concern for Harris in the post-game press conference, calling the staff that took care of him “first class.”
Northwestern drew inspiration from this tragic injury and scored its third touchdown in the first 11 seconds of the fourth quarter, but couldn’t convert the extra point. Another touchdown with 7:22 left in the game finalized the score at 29-6 as the clock ran down, Northwestern handily taking their first conference win and handing Penn State their first loss of the season.
Franklin accepted the blame for his team’s loss, stating, “I take full responsibility; we weren’t ready to play today… We made a lot of mistakes today. The bye week couldn’t come at a better time. We need to clean up some things there. I take full responsibility. We will get this fixed. We will absolutely get this fixed.”
He later reaffirmed Penn State’s dedication to excellence. “There is nobody who cares more than this coaching staff and these players and we will get this fixed.”
Photo credit: Evan Habeeb/USA Today Sports
