San Diego State @ Penn State preview

Quarterback Christian Hackenberg has been unable to crank up the Penn State passing game but freshman running back Saquon Barkley has begun picking up the slack. Barkley seeks his third consecutive 100-yard outing Saturday as host Penn State looks for a third straight win when it plays San Diego State for the first time in school history.

The 5-11, 220-pound Barkley, who splits carries with junior Akeel Lynch, gained 195 yards on 21 totes and scored two touchdowns in last week's 28-3 victory over Rutgers. The much-maligned offensive line, which yielded 10 sacks and couldn’t open any holes for the backs in the 27-10 loss at Temple in the opener, did not yield a sack for a second straight week and spearheaded a rushing attack that netted 330 yards – the Lions' most since gaining 338 against Illinois in 2009. "I think Saquan has brought something to our offense. He and Akeel are a nice one-two punch right now and I’m really proud of our offensive line,” coach James Franklin said this week. San Diego State, which allows 161.3 yards per game on the ground, had its nine-game regular-season home winning streak snapped when it failed to hold a 14-point first-half lead in a 34-27 overtime loss to South Alabama last week.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: Penn State –15

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE (1-2): Junior Donnel Pumphrey, who scored a TD last week with 2:05 left to provide the Aztecs a 27-24 lead, has run for 249 yards, one score and a 3.7-yard average, and he also leads the team with nine receptions for 92 yards. Quarterback Maxwell Smith, who started 11 games at Kentucky over three seasons before sitting out 2014, has completed 31-of-66 passes for 394 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Defensive back Damontae Kazee, who had a career-high 11 tackles against South Alabama, leads the team with 18 solo tackles and three interceptions.

ABOUT PENN STATE (2-1): Hackenberg has completed 49.3 percent of his 71 passes for 372 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions with Chris Godwin leading the receivers with 14 receptions for 205 yards. A Penn State defense that ranks third in FBS in sacks (13) and 12th in rushing yards allowed (87), is led by NFL prospects Anthony Zettel, Austin Johnson and Carl Nassib across the front line, but Franklin would like them to be even more assertive. "Although they were very disruptive (against Rutgers), I talked to them about having more of an impact in the first, second, and third quarters," Franklin said. "I still think more sacks earlier in the game would be helpful.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Barkley’s 195 yards last week was the most for a Penn State true freshman since Eric McCoo ran for 206 against Michigan State in 1998.

2. Penn State is 4-0 all-time against current Mountain West Conference schools while San Diego State is 2-14 all-time against Big Ten opponents.

3. The Nittany Lions have amassed 530 yards rushing in their past two games, their most in consecutive games since racking up 623 against Illinois (338) and Eastern Illinois (285) in 2009.

PREDICTION: Penn State 31, San Diego State 10