Penn State - Central Florida Official Game Thread

[Crimson's Ghost]

Hackenberg may not be a top 5 qb, but he is certainly among the top in the nation. To say he is not in the top 25 if foolish.

He also may not be Marino or Elway, but chances are he will be a top 10 pick in the draft following next season. He is that good. Do you think announcers didn't talk like James Connor was the second coming of Tony Dorsett when he ran all over bowling green? It's what announcers do.

However, the announcers were beyond bad,

I get that's what they do, but saying things like "wow what a great under-thrown pass, he definitely meant to do that" when he clearly didn't is what I thought was funny.

[abpk2903]

Putting what the announcers did or didn't say aside. He did throw for a school record on then 1st game of the season against a defense that just came off a BCS bowl victory and returned 8 starters. Not to mention 4 of 5 new lineman in front of him and his top 2 WR targets from last year left. Plus I think we all agree that we see where he could have had a much a better game with a few better decisions.

[Crimson's Ghost]

He looked very sharp after the first drive and the line settled down. Made some bad plays in the second half, but still got them into position to win and broke a school record in the process. Should I be shocked that PSU has never had a 400 yard passer ever? I know those games aren't common, but they aren't uncommon either.

He may not be top 5 or 10, but there is no way there are 25 QBs better than him. He has the tools to be a first round pick in 2 years, but he still has to play 20 some games before that happens.

[El-Moldo]

There's an old saying, "Inside every silver lining, there's a dark cloud". Glad that everyone is optimistic after the PSU victory. Here's some thoughts though. How do you throw for 454 yards in a game, and have only 1 TD pass, which obviously was the result of a breakdown in defensive coverage? How does a team have over 500 total yards running and passing, and score ONLY 2 TD's? Where was the running game for the Nits? Even when they scored their 1st TD, it took them 3 chances to run it in from 1st and goal at the 2. Again, numerous times Hackenberg was picking himself off the ground after a pass play. Despite the good defensive stats, PSU still has the penchant for giving up the big play. And it still goes to show you what a difference there is playing at a neutral field, instead of at an opponents home field. Did UCF get MORE money from playing in Ireland, since they were the one's who gave up a home game? And the quote of the day came from Sam Ficken who said (courtesy of BWI) about his game winning kick, "as soon as I saw it go in, I knew it was going to be good".

[Bedrock]

You're a dark cloud

[El-Moldo]

I'm a realist. How can you judge Hackenberg and PSU after one game? Too bad we won't find out what kind of team they are until the Michigan game.

[DragonsDoExist]

Nobody is judging Hack after 1 game...pretty sure he started 12 games last year. The team, yes it is too early to tell but reasons to be optimistic. Reminder they were the underdogs going in and some even predicted them to get "waxed"! Lol

[El-Moldo]

Underdogs? Yes, PSU, the giant killers!!! And YES, there are those on here judging Hack THIS year after ONE game with his NEW supporting cast.

[DragonsDoExist]

Nothing wrong with being optimistic after winning a game u were supposed to lose. Didn't see anyone calling them the best team in the B1G or anything like that. Lots to work on but pleased to get out of Ireland with a W and positives to build on!

[KirkHerbstreit]

The one interesting thing about Penn State games is Pitt fans usually have opinions too, because they can't watch their game without a laptop/internet connection.

Hackenberg clearly underthrew Lewis on the TD pass. He took a little off it to make sure the pass was complete. He made 2 poor reads all game. The first it looked like he didn't even see the UCF defender. The other he rolled right, threw across his body, and tried to fit it into a window. As stated earlier, he is playing with a pieced together Oline and 2 receivers who have very little experience, so throwing for 454 against one of the better defenses in the nation last year with 9 returning starters is pretty good. "The knowledgeable" Pitt fans should just be glad he will be no where to be found when Penn State plays Pitt in 2016.