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<b>First Posted:</b> 9/19/2014<br><br><p>They won&#8217;t come out and phrase it this way. But for Penn State coaches, Saturday&#8217;s top two, three, 10 priorities are getting the offensive line back into a rhythm.</p>
<p>If the Nittany Lions actually have some success in the run game and keep Christian Hackenberg upright, well, that&#8217;s a nice side effect for them.</p>
<p>To be fair, as tough as it was to watch the Penn State offense for much of last Saturday&#8217;s win, things actually did improve up front down the stretch. Not by a lot, mind you. But the unit could use anything to build on for this week.</p>
<p>Enter UMass. The Minutemen are lacking in size and talent on defense. To make up for this, they try to mix up their schemes and coverages to try and confuse offenses, starting with a 3-4 look and mixing it up throughout the game.</p>
<p>It hasn&#8217;t worked out all that well. The number of most interest to Penn State this week is 218 &#8212; the average rushing yards the Minutemen are allowing per game. They also have just three sacks so far through three games.</p>
<p>Both of these figures put them near the bottom of the country. If the Lions can&#8217;t find a way to exploit it and get some sort of momentum in the run game going heading into the bulk of the Big Ten schedule, it will be very tough to match last year&#8217;s four conference wins.</p>
<p>Penn State has an above average defense off to a good start and a future NFL quarterback. If the Lions can find a formula for the run game, they&#8217;re going to be a major pain to just about everyone they face.</p>
<p>Right now, that&#8217;s a big if.<hr/><table style="width: 750px;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td><img style="float: left;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/umass-13a_zps4b148900.gif" height="113" width="150"/></td><td style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"></p>
<p><strong>UMASS (0-3)</strong></p>
<p><strong>at PENN STATE (3-0)</strong></p>
<p>4 p.m., Saturday, BTN</td><td><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>QUARTERBACK</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Despite being hammered over and over again, frustrated by a stingy defense, dropped passes and getting little help from his line, Christian Hackenberg got it done. The physical abuse actually seemed to make him put some extra zip on the ball. When a winning score was wiped out by a flag, he calmly came back with another beautiful throw to Eugene Lewis. Impressive. UMass will start 6-foot-6 Marshall transfer Blake Frohnapfel, who has benefited from coach Mark Whipple&#8217;s tutleage but still has a sub-50-percent completion percentage. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>RUNNING BACK</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Bill Belton got a big mental boost by getting to score that winning touchdown. This is a guy who enjoys the spotlight and was happy to rub a little salt in the wounds of the Rutgers guys who called him out during the week. Zach Zwinak could use some sort of pick-me-up this week after looking particularly frustrated against Rutgers and getting animated with some of his linemen on the sideline. Zwinak is a proven 1,000-yard back, but he just hasn&#8217;t had any room. UMass, meanwhile, has split time between three backs equally with little success. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>RECEIVER</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Eugene Lewis has had some quiet stretches in games this year, but he has fueled Penn State&#8217;s biggest scoring drive each week so far. He set up Sam Ficken&#8217;s winning kick vs. UCF, converted a third-and-25 against Akron with PSU leading just 7-3, leading to a touchdown and he had the two biggest catches of the night against Rutgers before Belton&#8217;s TD. Lewis and DaeSean Hamilton are the only duo in the nation to average over 100 yards per game. Tajae Sharpe is UMass&#8217; top target, but watch for former Lion Alex Kenney on a trick play. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>OFFENSIVE LINE</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>This has been more or less beaten to death at this point, but any progress here will start with confidence, which will improve communication in calling out assignments and, in theory, lead to something that resembles a real running game. It was surprising to see junior center Angelo Mangiro struggle in particular, but the entire interior line had some missed assignments, as did right tackle Andrew Nelson. UMass has been flailing just as much to run the ball at 82.7 yards per game while allowing eight sacks in pass protection. Rough start for both sides. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>DEFENSIVE LINE</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Anthony Zettel&#8217;s performance last Saturday seemed to get better and better on each viewing of the tape. The junior DT was timing snaps, spinning off blockers and completely disrupting Rutgers regardless of the playcall, recording three TFL. He has seven TFL to put him among the league leaders. Deion Barnes had one of his best games since his freshman year, C.J. Olaniyan forced a fumble and Austin Johnson continued to be the anchor for the entire defense. UMass typically uses a three-man front, but the group doesn&#8217;t have the size to free up the LBs. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>LINEBACKER</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Mike Hull&#8217;s transition to middle linebacker has gone well. And while he may have a more utilitarian role that doesn&#8217;t put him in position for big plays, he has been solid and has led the team in tackles throughout the early going. Nyeem Wartman is getting the most reps of his young career and has benefited from Bob Shoop&#8217;s scheme on defense. As always, the concern here is threat of injury. The UMass defense has been on the field long enough for Jovan Santos-Knox to actually lead the country in tackles with 42, with three going for loss. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>SECONDARY</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>Jordan Lucas may be the playmaker in the group, but last week is Trevor Williams, Adrian Amos and Ryan Keiser each coming up with interceptions for one of the best performances by a Penn State secondary in recent memory. The Lions ended up needing all five of those turnovers. If Williams can carry his solid play into the conference schedule, that will go a long way to solidifying the entire defense, especially because there aren&#8217;t many strong QBs in the league. Cornerback Randall Jette has two picks and is the player to watch here for UMass. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>SPECIAL TEAMS</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>A blocked field goal and a blocked punt somewhat miraculously didn&#8217;t come back to cost the Nittany Lions the game last week. The punt return game is also a concern in part because the unit just isn&#8217;t giving Jesse Della Valle any room to run when he is able to field a lower-hanging punt. The gunners seem to be right on top of him just about every time. Sounds grim, but it beats UMass&#8217; situation. Mark Whipple actually fired his special teams coordinator this week after a fourth-quarter meltdown that saw a blocked punt TD and a missed tying field goal. <strong>EDGE: PSU</strong></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width: 750px; border: 2px solid black;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-size: x-large; background-color: #c00c00; color: white; border: 2px solid black;" colspan="3"><strong>PREDICTION</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: justify; font-size: small; border: 2px solid black; padding: 10px;" colspan="3"><img style="float: right;" alt="" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" height="113" width="150"/>UMass has been a pretty regular embarrassment since joining the FBS ranks a few years back and losing 27 of its last 30 games. Mark Whipple had actually led the Minutemen to an FCS national title in his first stint with the program, and he seems to be having a positive influence. The Minutemen could legitimately be 2-1 with wins over Colorado and Vanderbilt, but they&#8217;re not over that hump yet. James Franklin&#8217;s staff will benefit from the Vandy-UMass game film from last week for obvious reasons and it should lead to a rare comfortable win. <strong>PENN STATE 38, UMASS 10</strong></td></tr></tbody></table></p>

NITTANY NOTES: PSU-UMass game guide