Army @ Penn State preview

With both of his running backs injured in the first half of last week’s home contest with San Diego State, Christian Hackenberg picked a great time to get Penn State’s dormant passing game on track. With Saquon Barkley (ankle) and Akeel Lynch (knee) questionable this week, the Nittany Lions will count on the junior signal-caller once again along with a stifling defense when they seek a fourth straight victory Saturday when Army visits.

After completing 49.3 percent of his passes for an average of 124 yards in the first three contests to receivers struggling to create space when they weren’t dropping the ball, Hackenberg connected with seven different receivers en route to 21-of-35 performance for 296 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over San Diego State last week. "I thought we had some drops early on in the season, but I think overall we're doing some good things,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. "We need to continue building there. But as we continue to build confidence in our offensive line and grow with experience there, (the receivers) will be able to have a bigger and bigger impact as the season progresses.” That offensive line, which allowed 10 sacks in an opening-week loss at Temple, has yielded just two over the past three weeks. Army will provide a test for the vaunted Penn State defense as the Black Knights’ and their triple-option offense recorded their first win of 2015 by rolling up a school-record 654 yards - including 556 yon the ground - in a 58-36 victory at Eastern Michigan last week.

TV: Noon ET, ESPNU. LINE: NL

ABOUT ARMY (1-3): The Black Knights, who average 31 points, rank ninth in the nation in rushing yards per game (294.5) and are led by quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw (341 yards, 4 TDs, five yards per carry), and running backs Aaron Kemper (216, 1, 6.6) and Joe Walker (157, 1, 9.8). Army averages 50 rushes to nine passes per game and 5.9 yards per carry, and Bradshaw has completed 11-of-22 passes for 194 yards with three scores against one interception. Jeremy Timpf leads the team with 31 tackles, while fellow linebacker Andrew King has already amassed eight tackles for loss on a defense that allows 28 points and 418.3 yards per contest.

ABOUT PENN STATE (3-1): Running the ball against the Lions’ front four will be a challenge, as Penn State ranks 14th in FBS in yards rushing allowed (90.5) and yields just 2.55 per carry. "We practice hard every play. That's coach Franklin's philosophy," defensive end Garrett Sickels said."(Against the triple-option) we just have to be disciplined. Everyone has to take care of their job. We have to do our job every play.” Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel (career-high seven tackles against San Diego State) earned conference co-Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance one day after the passing of his father, and defensive end Carl Nassib leads the nation with seven sacks and three forced fumbles.

EXTRA POINTS

1. In a series that dates to 1899, Penn State leads 13-10-2, but the schools are squaring off for the first time since 1979.

2. Penn State's defensive line finished with 21 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, two pass break-ups and a touchdown against the Aztecs.

3. The win over Eastern Michigan snapped a 21-game road losing streak for Army.

PREDICTION: Penn State 42, Army 7