Penn State : Penn State Pulls Away to Defeat Akron

Penn State pulls away to defeat Akron
By Chris Adamski
http://triblive.com/sports/college/c...#axzz3CSal2mjG

UNIVERSITY PARK — Appearing sluggish at times on a muggy afternoon six days after a transcontinental flight, Penn State pulled away late for a 21-3 win Saturday against Akron in the Beaver Stadium season opener.
For the second week in a row, Christian Hackenberg threw two interceptions — but he also passed for 296 yards and three touchdowns. Two went to tight end Jesse James.
Just like in beating Central Florida in Dublin last week, the Nittany Lions (2-0) again held a significant yardage advantage (425-277) but did not have a significant scoring edge — at least until late. It was a 7-3 game until James' first touchdown catch with 2:38 to play in the third quarter.
Senior running back Bill Belton had the other touchdown among his 85 yards from scrimmage. Only 36 of those came via rushing, though, continuing a trend for Penn State. The Lions managed 106 rushing yards — much of it after the game was decided — after accumulating 57 against UCF.
Akron (1-1) is expected to be one of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference, and the Zips moved the ball with relative ease on the opening drive of the game. Akron drove almost 60 yards but, two sacks and a missed field goal later, came away with no points.
Two Lions possessions later, they took a 7-0 lead on a four-play drive that included completions to Geno Lewis, DaeSean Hamilton and Belton — the latter wide open and able to walk 22 yards into the end zone.
Unlike in the season opener in Dublin the previous week when it moved the ball between the 20s seemingly at will, Penn State's offense struggled through much of the middle part of the Akron game. Hackenberg missed on six consecutive passes during the second quarter and completed just 50 percent of his passes in the first half.
When Robert Stein kicked a 28-yard field goal 3:49 into the third quarter, Akron pulled to within 7-3.
Finally, midway through the third quarter, Hackenberg and the PSU offense found their rhythm. The sophomore went 6-for-6 for 81 yards — including three consecutive third-down conversions — as a 79-yard drive was capped by a James 13-yard touchdown reception.
On the second play two PSU drives later, James scored on a 44-yard pass.
The Lions defense limited Akron to 69 rushing yards and has allowed 93 through two games this season. Zips quarterback Kyle Pohl was 24 for 46 for 208 yards.
The announced attendance of 97,354 was more than 9,000 short of Beaver Stadium's official capacity.