Penn State takes the field Saturday afternoon for the annual Blue White game, the final practice scrimmage of the spring practice period. Follow along here for news, notes, and observations.
Injury Report: A few Nittany Lion players aren’t expected to see the field on Saturday for injury reasons. Most players are recovering from minor injuries and with limited depth on the roster head coach Bill O’Brien has stressed the importance of health roster-wide. All of the players listed below are expected to be 100-percent healthy for training camp this August.
- Running back Bill Belton (toe)
- Tight end Adam Breneman (knee)
- Tight end Kyle Carter (wrist)
- Tackle Garry Gilliam (leg)
- Defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (back)
- Linebacker Ben Kline (shoulder)
- Safety Stephan Oben-Agaypong (shoulder)
Not Dressed: A few Nittany Lions were not listed on the injury report but were not dressed to play Saturday.
- Receiver Brandon Moseby-Felder
- Tight end Matt Lehman
- Fullback Jack Haffner
Scoring: The Blue White game features a unique scoring system which allows for both sides of the ball to score on almost every play.
Offense:
- Touchdown= 6 points
- Field Goal= 3 points
- Big play (15+ yards)= 2 points
- Two consecutive first downs= 2 points
- PAT= 1 points
Defense:
- Touchdown- 7 points
- Turnover (Unless TD)= 6 points
- Sack= 4 points
- Three-and-Out= 1 point
- Tackle for loss= 2 points
First Quarter: Penn State will be using a 12-minute timing period in the first half. Here are stats, big plays and notes for the first quarter.
12:00: White 0 Blue 0
- Michael Mauti gets a nice ovation from the crowd. He’s working in the both today for the Big Ten Network. Penn State guard Tim Frazier will join Mauti later in the game. Following Mauti’s recognition there is a brief moment of silence for those affected by the terrorist attacks in Boston.
- Steven Bench gets the start today under center. A deep ball to Allen Robinson down the left side is overthrown but Zach Zwinak runs for a first down only a play later.
- Allen Robinson takes the ball on an end-around for a 29 yard play. Robinson with a nice change of direction to bring it back across the field.
- Brad Bars gets a sack for the defense’s first big play of the day. Sacks include touching the quarterback so would expect a few on the day. A nice 18 yard pass from Bench to Matt Zanellato gets the ball close. Akeel Lynch punches the ball in two plays later.
7:40: White 15 Blue 4
- Tyler Ferguson gets a 8-yard pass to Allen Robinson for his first play under center for the White squad. Ferguson fumbles the snap on the ensuing play.
- Mike Hull gets a sack on the next play leading to a 4th and 10. Bill O’Brien overrides and resets the downs.
- Ferguson overthrows down the middle as the junior college transfer is getting a lot of presser from Penn State’s first team defense.
3:03: White 15 Blue 14
- Austin Whipple getting his first chance at quarterback. His first pass attempt is incomplete but he follows it up with a nice 10-yard run.
- The drive stalls and O’Brien resets. DJ Crook is under center and hands it off to Akeel Lynch for a nice 13-yard run. The redshirt freshman has averaged 5.8 yards a carry so far on four tries.
Second Quarter
12:00: Blue 23 White 15
- Tyler Ferguson is back under center. Akeel Lynch busts off a 27-yard run and Ferguson follows that up a few plays later with a 27-yard touchdown pass to to Jesse James after James began the play lined up in the backfield.
8:18: Blue 31 White 26
- Bench back at quarterback and gets one 7-yard pass to Jon Warner in between two incomplete attempts.
- After a rough few plays Bench gets back-to-back passes and a first down in the process.
- Akeel Lynch breaks off another nice run for 7-yards but the drive stalls.
5:04: Blue 33 White 26
- DJ Crook getting another shot at quarterback.
- Jesse Merise intercepts a floater from Crook to bump the Blue lead up to 39-28
3:59: Blue 39 White 28
- Austin Whipple back under center but handing the ball off for the most part. A good number of depth players have made their way into the game and will likely close out the half.
- The drive stalls and Sam Ficken just misses on his 37-yard attempt.
1:23 Blue 43 White 30
- Ferguson back at quarterback with the drive starting at the 35-yardline.
- Lynch with another carry and the redshirt freshman is closing in a 100 yards on the day.
- Ferguson makes two nice passes for 14 and 23 yards but can’t find the endzone before the end of the half.
Halftime: Blue 47 White 30
Running Back:-Akeel Lynch, 10 carries 76 yards
Receiver: Jesse James, 3 catches for 47 yards, Matt Zanellato 3 catches for 40 yards.
Quarterback:
- Tyler Ferguson: 10 attempts, 7 completions for 1 touchdown and 77 yards.
- Steven Bench: 9 attempts, 5 completions 50 yards.
Second Half
12:00: Blue 47 White 30
- O’Brien starts out the half wearing a stadium microphone. He tells the crowd that they can hear him call plays but not to tell anyone. Starts a few “We Are” chants in between plays as well.
- Bench starts the half much stronger making several nice throws while the offense moves down the field.
- Brent Wilkerson ends the drive with a nice 6-yard touchdown reception from Bench. O’Brien thanks the fans and removes the microphone.
- Bench goes 4-6 on the drive and looked much more composed than he did in the first half.
5:15 Blue 47 White 39
- Ferguson back at quarterback and just misses on a deep pass attempt down the left side.
- Deron Thompson breaks out a 41-yard run to get the ball down to the 10-yardline.
Fourth Quarter
12:00 Blue 50 White 41
- Ferguson scrambles and completes a short pass bringing up a fourth down attempt from four yards out. Ferguson converts with a throw on the run to Richy Anderson.
10:25 Blue 54 White 47
- DJ Crook back under center while most of the offensive starters have left the game. A running clock in the second half means a quicker second half for those players looking to distinguish themselves while deeper in the depth chart.
- Dominic Salomone makes a run up the middle for a first down but can’t repeat the effort a play later. The tackle-for-a-loss puts the defense up 60-47 with just under five minutes to play.
- An interception Jonathan Zuk puts the defense up 66-47 and all but ends any comeback hopes.
3:37 Blue 66 White 47
- No more Ferguson or Bench as the clock continues to roll. Both quarterbacks went 9-of-15, passing for 90 and 99 yards respectively. Ferguson did have the scoring edge with 2 touchdown passes to Bench’s one.
Final: Blue 67 White 47
More news and notes to come.
