Penn State Football: Week 1 studs and duds against Appalachian State

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 01: Amani Oruwariye #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after intercepting a pass in overtime to clinch the win against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on September 1, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Penn State survived a scare from a very game Appalachian State team on Saturday. Who were the players that stood out, both good and bad, for the Nittany Lions?

Penn State opened the 2018 campaign with a win more difficult than most predicted. After surviving a 45-38 OT scare from Appalachian State, the Nittany Lions may have more questions than answers as we head into Week 2 – a nationally televised contest against in-state rival Pitt.

The scrappy Mountaineers gave the Nittany Lions all they could handle. On more than one occasion, Appalachian State was a single play away from walking out with another signature win over a Big Ten power, but it was not to be. Penn State was able to find a way to eek out the win.

While the game did not play out like typical Penn State season openers usually do, the final result still remained the same. The Nittany Lions have now won three consecutive openers with their last loss coming against Temple in 2015.

With all that transpired on Saturday, there were a number of Nittany Lion players that directly contributed to the win while others had an off game. In this new weekly feature we take a look back at the Penn State players who had a positive impact on the previous game – the “Studs,” and who were the players that didn’t quite live up to the hype or expectations – the “Duds.”

Without further ado, who were the Week 1 Penn State studs?

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