Penn State Notes: Hackenberg likes playing on the road

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The atmosphere was electric Saturday night at High Point Solutions Stadium, and it had to excite Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who calls playing on the road "a fun challenge."

"Being the guys that are hated, coming out there and not having all the support, you understand that you have the opportunity to sort of throw everyone off in the stadium and quiet the stadium down," Hackenberg said last week. "I think it runs a lot on your mental focus and your preparation coming into the game."

The Nittany Lions were 1-3 in Big Ten road games last season, losing at Indiana, Ohio State, and Minnesota before gaining a 31-24 victory at Wisconsin in the 2013 finale.

Penn State will play a second road night game, Oct. 12 at Michigan, marking the first time they've played two away games in prime time since 2008.

Rutgers coach Kyle Flood likes not only the pay raise and the security of the two-year contract extension he received Thursday, but the stability it shows prospective recruits.

"I think it's important," Flood said on the Scarlet Knights website. "When you are recruiting a young person, they want to know that you are going to be here. They want to know that you are going to be the head football coach. I think stability in college football is critical, and it's important to programs, and it's important to recruiting."

The contract extension runs through February 2019. Flood's salary will increase from $950,000 this year to $1.25 million next year. He will get a pay increase of $100,000 each year from 2016 through 2018.

Two true freshmen, Trace McSorley and Michael O'Connor, are the backups to Hackenberg. Neither have played a snap in a varsity game, but Nittany Lions quarterbacks coach Ricky Rahne likes the way they have worked in practice to learn the offense.

"I feel very confident in both of them," Rahne said. "They both have a very good grasp of the offense. I've been really pleased with both of them in terms of how they've approached the mental aspect of it. I feel very comfortable with those guys. I think they're ready to go."

Visiting teams can only take 70 players on the road for Big Ten games, but Penn State coach James Franklin made sure that fifth-year senior guard Miles Dieffenbach was on the travel list even though he is sidelined with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"He's been great with how he's handled everything from the beginning," Franklin said. "His attitude from the day he got that injury, he was so positive, his dad was so positive.

"I truly believe in the power of how you think, how you see your life, and how you see the world. His body is healing so much faster than how it's supposed to heal. He's out there every day, and we've got him coaching. We have him on every trip because he's just too valuable from a coaching perspective."

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