Penn State Football News and Notes

Penn State loses two seniors.

Penn State head football coach James Franklin announced that senior running back Zach Zwinak and senior safety Ryan Keiser have suffered season-ending injuries.

Zwinak suffered a lower leg injury on the opening kickoff of Saturday’s 31-24 double-overtime loss against No. 13 Ohio State. The team has not released any specifics on his injury. Keiser, a co-captain, underwent bowel surgery after he fractured a rib in last Thursday’s practice.

It was previously reported that Keiser had sepsis, which is a potentially fatal infection that results in widespread inflammation and can shut down the functioning of important organs. Franklin put an end to those rumors Tuesday, saying that Keiser’s condition is improving after undergoing surgery and that he does not have an infection.

Zwinak completes his collegiate career ranking 15th on Penn State’s career rushing list with 2,108 yards. In the past three seasons, he has appeared in all 31 games and is tied for 10th on the school list with 11 career 100-yard rushing games. The former Linganore High School standout scored 18 career rushing touchdowns and started 12 career games.

In 2012, the senior running back became the 14th different Nittany Lion to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He finished with exactly 1,000 yards after rushing for a career-high 179 yards in the Senior day overtime win against Wisconsin. Zwinak graduated with a degree in Criminology in May.

Keiser started the first six games of the season at free safety before he was replaced by freshman Marcus Allen in Saturday’s loss. Allen is expected to start again this week against Maryland. This season, Kieser recorded 25 tackles (17 solo), two pass deflections, and an interception that clinched Penn State’s win at Rutgers. The former Selinsgrove High School standout played in 42 of a possible 43 career games, including 11 starts. He finishes his career with four interceptions, which include two in the end zone to seal victories over Illinois and at Wisconsin last season. Keiser graduated with a degree in Kinesiology in August.

With Keiser and Zwinak done for the year, Penn State will take the field against Maryland this Saturday afternoon with 46 recruited scholarship players. The Nittany Lions now have six healthy scholarship seniors.

DeSean Hamilton wins his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week award.

Sophomore receiver DeSean Hamilton was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for a second time this season following another record-setting performance.

Hamilton broke Penn State’s single game record with 14 receptions in the Nittany Lions’ double-overtime loss to No. 13 Ohio State. The record was previously held by Freddie Scott, who caught 13 passes against Wisconsin in 1995. Hamilton gained 126 yards in the process, which extends his school freshman record to four 100-yard outings in his first seven career games.

In Saturday’s contest, he recorded three catches during the Nittany Lions’ 77-yard drive late in the fourth quarter. The drive ended with kicker Sam Ficken’s game-tying field goal to force overtime at 17-17. Hamilton’s 14 receptions are the most by a Big Ten player this season and tied for eighth-highest in the nation.

The redshirt freshman leads the Big ten and is No. 8 in the nation with 8.1 receptions per game. He ranks second in the conference and No. 16 in the Football Bowl Subdivision rankings at 98.0 receiving yards per game. The number puts him at the highest average among all freshmen in the country.

This season, Hamilton has recorded 57 catches for 688 yards on 12.0 yards per catch and one touchdown. He needs just six yards to surpass Deon Butler’s Penn State freshman record of 691 yards.

After missing the entire 2013 season with an injury, Hamilton started this season strong in the team’s season opening win over UCF to earn his first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor. He broke two school freshman records in that game with 11 catches and 165 yards. He eclipsed Butler’s 125-yard effort against Wisconsin in 2005 and Maurice Humphrey’s eight receptions vs. Northwestern in 2003.

Rushing offense falls to worst in the country.

After rushing for an underwhelming 16 yards total against Ohio State, Penn State’s rushing offense fell to dead last in the nation, averaging just 82.1 yards on the ground per game.

Behind an offensive line that has struggled mightily in both run and pass protection this season, the Nittany Lions’ rushing attack has garnered just 575 total yards on the season between their three running backs Bill Belton, Akeel Lynch and Zack Zwinak. Belton leads the team with 266 total yards, followed by Lynch’s 187 yards, and Zwinak’s 112 yards.

Penn State’s rushers are behind Kent State, which is ranked 1-7 this season. Although the Nittany Lions have a higher per game average than Kent State (82.1 compared to 74.4), the Golden Flashes have rushed the ball seven fewer times and still have 20 more yards. Penn State is also ranked last in the country with 2.5 yards per carry.

The Lions’ 16 yards rushing in Saturday’s game were the fewest by the team since rushing for -14 yards against Michigan in 2006. In that year, Penn State’s rushing offense finished No. 42 in the nation.

 

*Section photo credit to Alex Goodlet, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Matthew O’Haren, USA Today Sports. 

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