Click here to subscribe today or Login.
(Overly?) dedicated Penn State fans may be familiar with the name Herb Combs.
Officially, his title is “Athletic Field Supervisor.” In plain English, he and his crew are responsible for the typically pristine grass at Beaver Stadium.
They’re being put to the test this season.
Not only are the Nittany Lions in the midst of an exceptionally rare five-game homestand, but the weather has not cooperated at all. The forecast for Saturday is calling for yet another rainy day, the third in the past four weekends.
Add in all of the rain during the week as well, and it’s a strain that the playing surface has rarely seen.
Will it have an impact on Saturday’s game against Army?
“We’ve had an unusual amount of rain, obviously, so that’s always a concern with that,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “But Herb and our turf management people I think are the best in the business. Our turf management program is probably one of the best in the country. So I have tremendous faith in those guys that the field will be in great condition come Saturday.
“I haven’t had a whole lot of issues with it overall, but when you go five straight games at home and also you include, possibly three games now in bad weather… We’ll see how the whole thing plays out. But I’ve got tremendous faith in those guys that the field will be in great shape and we’ll be prepared.”
Current forecasts have the highest likelihood of rain during the late morning, through the noon kickoff and into the first half.
Both teams will likely be focusing on the run game regardless of the weather. But it will be interesting to see how the conditions might affect Penn State’s passing game or Army’s willingness to pitch it with the option game.
 |
ARMY (1-3, Independent) vs. PENN STATE (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) Noon, Saturday, ESPNU |
 |
| QUARTERBACK | ||
| The first half last week looked a lot more like the Christian Hackenberg that most remember. Not just the statistics — two of his three TD passes were on a screen and a swing pass to running backs — but hitting Saeed Blacknall for gains of 46 and 45 when San Diego State sold out to stop the run. But he did misfire on two other potential scores as things still aren’t in perfect rhythm. Much of Army’s focus this week is on Ahmad Bradshaw, the team’s leader in rushing as well as passing. An ankle injury may force him out of this one. EDGE: PSU |
| RUNNING BACK | ||
| A healthy Penn State unit would be heavily favored here. But with Akeel Lynch almost certainly out and Saquon Barkley likely to join him on the sideline as a precaution, it may be up to a trio of redshirt freshmen to carry the load in Nick Scott, Mark Allen and Johnathan Thomas. It will be interesting to see how the playbook might be affected with inexperienced blockers and receivers in the backfield. Army, of course, lives on its armada of backs in the flexbone with fullbacks Aaron Kemper and Matt Giachinta getting the bulk of the carries. EDGE: USMA |
| RECEIVER | ||
| Saeed Blacknall didn’t have a catch in the first three weeks — partially a product of the heavier focus on the run game — before posting his first career 100-yard game against San Diego State. That should earn him some more snaps as he and Eugene Lewis continue to split time in most of the Lions’ three-wide sets. The Knights rarely pass, but the offense depends on picking its spots and waiting to hit the deep ball when the safeties cheat up too much. More importantly, one of Army’s starters is named Edgar Allan Poe. Seriously. EDGE: PSU |
| OFFENSIVE LINE | ||
| After two weeks of keeping Christian Hackenberg upright, the Lions allowed two sacks against San Diego State. But Hackenberg had time to go through his reads and connect on long and intermediate routes. The advantage this week comes from the edge in size the Lions will have in the trenches. Speaking of which, Army’s scheme calls for extremely light tackles — the starters are 6-2, 265 and 6-1, 250 — in order to get out in space more quickly. Penn State used tight ends Jonathan Holland and Nick Bowers to simulate them in practice. EDGE: PSU |
| DEFENSIVE LINE | ||
| Plenty to crow about this week for the Lions, who finished September leading the country in sacks with 18. Senior Carl Nassib had seven of them himself to also top the national rankings. Granted, the Lions haven’t faced the stiffest competition, but they have been noticeably better this year on the pass rush. They won’t have too many opportunities for sacks this week given that Army will only drop back a handful of times on the afternoon. Deepest condolences go out to Anthony Zettel, who lost his father last Friday and still played. EDGE: PSU |
| LINEBACKER | ||
| Army plays a 3-4 base on defense, but one of the outside linebackers will frequently walk up to the line as a stand-up end, so the assignments for the Lions’ O-line won’t be radically different. For the Lions, this will be a interesting test for OLBs Brandon Bell and Troy Reeder, as they must stay disciplined on the edge and keep their assignments along with the DEs in front of them. LB coach Brent Pry was the defensive coordinator for Army coach Jeff Monken at Georgia Southern, so he has plenty of experience with the flexbone. EDGE: PSU |
| SECONDARY | ||
| The Lions essentially played the entire game last week without either starting safety. Malik Golden and Troy Apke were serviceable, but the Lions will especially need Marcus Allen and Jordan Lucas in this game because of their tackling ability and comfort with coming up to stop the run. Both have battled apparent shoulder injuries in the early going, so their reps could be limited a bit this week. Regardless of who is in the game, they’ll have to remain alert as it’s extremely easy to get burned deep on the rare pass that follows 10 runs. EDGE: PSU |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||
| IA decent start to the season fell apart last week as the Lions surrendered a 100-yard kickoff return TD, fumbled away a punt return and had a long field goal blocked. That overshadowed a critical fumble recovery by Chris Godwin that abruptly turned the tide of the game. Punter Chris Gulla’s play also dropped well off from a nice debut against Rutgers. There’s plenty of things still to polish up before Big Ten play resumes. The Knights have two senior specialists, but kicker Daniel Grochowski hasn’t seen much work so far. EDGE: PSU |
| PREDICTION | ||
| Army may very well finish with the worst record out of Penn State’s opponents this season, but this hasn’t been an easy week to prepare for because of Army’s offense. James Franklin said this week that they had to start preparing for this game over the summer because defending the triple option is so much different than the rest of the games on the schedule. But the Black Knights are at a considerable disadvantage given that QB Ahmad Bradshaw likely won’t be 100 percent if he is even able to suit up. The Lions just want to stay healthy. PENN STATE 38, ARMY 13. |
