Penn State Hands EMU First Loss of 2013 Season

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped its first game of the 2013 campaign, 45-7, to Penn State University Saturday afternoon, Sept. 7, in non-conference action at Beaver Stadium. Losing in its first contest away from Rynearson Stadium, the Eagles fall to 1-1 on the season.

EMU held on to the football, not turning it over once all afternoon while the EMU defense forced two turnovers, including an 11-yard fumble return by Hunter Matt (Wyandotte, Mich.-Roosevelt) for the Eagles' only score of the game.

Penn State (2-0) racked up 574 yards on the ground compared to 183 total yards for EMU. Quarterback Tyler Benz (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine Township South) completed 17-of-26 passes for 115 yards, including finding tight end Tyreese Russell (Chicago, Ill.-Walther Lutheran) eight times for 73 yards. The number of receptions and yards were both career highs for the EMU junior. On the ground, Bronson Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Catholic Central) carried the ball 13 times for 38 yards to lead the EMU rushing attack.

PSU freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg led the Nittany Lions throughout the contest, going 23-of-33 through the air for 311. The Penn State ground game tallied five touchdowns on the afternoon, including two from Bill Belton who rushed nine times for 108 yards. Teammate Akeel Lynch also recorded 108 yards rushing on 13 carries.

The Eagles controlled field position early, driving 30 yards on their opening drive before pinning the Penn State at its own 12-yard line. Following a holding penalty on PSU, the Green and White defense forced a three-and-out. A Demarius Reed (Chicago, Ill.-Simeon Academy) punt return to the Penn State 33-yard line set the EMU offense up with a short field.

However, the Eagles were unable to gain a first down and were forced to set up a 45-yard field goal. As Dylan Mulder (Saline, Mich.-Saline) was ready to attempt the kick, holder and backup quarterback Mark Iannotti (Schaumberg, Ill.-Schaumberg) fumbled the snap; the Eagles were unable to get the attempt off, turning the ball over on downs to Penn State.

Benz connected on his first seven passes of the game, helping Eastern move the ball downfield. As the Eagles crossed midfield, a deep ball hit the ground followed by a pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage, forcing EMU to punt the ball back to Penn State.

After not allowing a first down on Penn State's first two drives, the EMU defense picked up right where it left off. As Hackenberg dropped back to pass on the first play of the drive, the PSU freshman lost the ball, allowing Matt to scoop and score from 11 yards out. The first career touchdown for the sophomore linebacker gave the Eagles a, 7-0, lead with 4:01 to go in the first quarter.

Matt's fumble return was the first touchdown recorded by the EMU defense since Pudge Cotton's pick-six last year at Purdue, Sept. 15, 2012. It was the Eagles first fumble return for a touchdown since Derrick Hunter took the ball 80 yards the other way against Ohio, Oct. 13, 2007, in a 48-43 loss to the Bobcats.

The Nittany Lions wasted no time responding to the Eastern touchdown. Hackenberg led his team 67 yards down the field in six plays to tie the contest up, 7-7. The PSU quarterback's 43-yard connection with Allen Robinson set up a two-yard touchdown run by Zach Zwinak with 1:41 left in the opening quarter.

Penn State overtook the lead on its next drive, a similar one that went 68 yards in 6 plays. Following an EMU three-and-out, Bill Belton led the Nittany Lions to the end zone, rushing three times for 24 yards on the drive, including a five-yard scamper to give PSU a seven-point advantage, 14-7.

The Eagles tried to answer the PSU score. On third-and-long, Benz scampered 16 yards up the middle for a first down, the second longest run of his career. Hill followed that with a powerful 13-yard rush of his own. However, Benz fumbled a snap before throwing back-to-back incomplete passes to set up a 42-yard field goal for Mulder. This time, the snap and hold were successful, but Mudler's attempt sailed wide right as the deficit remained at seven.

As the Nittany Lions marched down the field again, the EMU defense forced a mistake out of the young Hackenberg. On a play-action pass from the EMU 25-yard line, Hackenberg threw into double coverage, the ball was tipped around, and Mycal Swaim (Chico, Calif.-Pleasant Valley (Butte C.C.) came up with the first interception of his career to get the ball back to the Eagles.

Penn State closed out the half with a 39-yard field goal, and EMU headed in the locker room trailing by 10, 17-7.

The Eagles managed 139 yards in the first half, recording 93 through the air courtesy of Benz going 12-18. Hill led the EMU rushing attack with 38 yards on 11 carries. Eastern did not turn the ball over in the game's first 30 minutes, while the defense forced two turnovers, including Matt's 11-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

The Nittany Lions tallied 265 total yards in the first half, including 207 from the arm of Hackenberg. Hackenberg's favorite receiver was Brandon Felder who made five catches for 51 yards. He also hooked up with Robinson four times for 70 yards.

The EMU defense started the second half strong, forcing Penn State to punt on three straight drives. However, the offense struggled to get anything going. PSU controlled field position, eventually beginning a drive at the EMU 33-yard line. The Eagles forced a third-and-24 after back-to-back sacks by Matt and Pat O'Connor, but Penn State converted the yardage in two plays, including a fourth-and-four. Following the fourth down conversion, Zwinak found a hole on the left side, crossing the goal line to give Penn State a 24-7 lead that it would take into the fourth quarter.

The Eagles stay east and on the road for their next contest to battle the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Sept. 14. The game is set to kickoff from Piscataway, N.J. at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.

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Team Stats

Tyler Benz

Brogan Roback

Players Mentioned

Tyler Benz

Pudge Cotton

Bronson Hill

Mark Iannotti

Hunter Matt

Dylan Mulder

Pat O'Connor

Demarius Reed

Tyreese Russell

Mycal Swaim

Players Mentioned

Tyler Benz

Pudge Cotton

Bronson Hill

Mark Iannotti

Hunter Matt

Dylan Mulder

Pat O'Connor

Demarius Reed

Tyreese Russell

Mycal Swaim

Eastern Michigan Athletics