STATE COLLEGE - The injury bug certainly hasn't been kind to the Penn State Nittany Lions this season.

Although Penn State was able to come away with a 37-21 victory over San Diego State on Saturday, the injury bug bit again and it bit hard.Running backs Saquon Barkley, Akeel Lynch, safety Marcus Allen, and defensive end Evan Schwan were all injured against the Aztecs.Without speculating too much, it seemed Barkley was held out mostly for precautionary reasons as the Nittany Lions were up on the scoreboard. At halftime, Barkley could be seen running full speed, jogging, and making cuts, so whatever the injury actually is doesn't look to be season-ending.Lynch's injury on the other hand looked to be a bit more serious as initially he needed help to get off the field. He did start to walk after getting off the field, but very gingerly.After the losses of Barkley and Lynch it was evident that the Penn State offense lost some punch, but the bottom line was that the team banded together and still came away with a "W.""The fact that we lost Akeel Lynch, Saquon Barkley, Mark Allen, and Evan Schwan during the game and didn't have Jordan Lucas, Nyeem Wartman-White and Andrew Nelson available to us hurt our game but we grinded through it," said Penn State head coach James Franklin. "Overall, we found a way to get a win.""We were not as consistent running the ball after we lost Lynch and Barkley. My biggest take away is that we are showing flashes in all three phases but we must be more consistent."With the offense struggling in the second half due to the losses of Lynch and Barkley it was once again the defense that came through for Penn State.The biggest defensive play of the day and biggest play overall of the day as well was a 71-yard fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown by defensive tackle Austin Johnson.Defensive end Carl Nassib (nine tackles for a loss - seven sacks), who has been an absolute terror on opposing defenses this season sacked San Diego State quarterback Maxwell Smith, causing him to fumble the football and Johnson was there for the scoop and score.The Johnson score put Penn State up 34-21 with 13:44 remaining in the fourth quarter."Gotta love the big plays, you know the sideline ignited and carried on. I think other things too; our defense is doing a good job when the ball is on the ground and you never know how the officials are going to call the play whether they call it incomplete or a fumble recovery and live until the play is over," said Franklin."I think all of those things we handled really well. Austin Johnson and Carl Nassib are two guys that we've talked about over and over and I expect Anthony Zettel to get back to his big play potential really soon here."Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg was able to put a solid day through the air as well, throwing for 296 yards and three touchdowns. "Hack" did miss some open receivers on the day that could've possibly scored touchdowns if the ball was put in the right place. But all in all in was a successful day in the passing department for a team that has been struggling mightily."I thought he played well. I think there are obviously some things that he can do better, that we can do better, there's no doubt about it," said Franklin. "But I thought he did some really good things tonight. I think he's done some really nice things the last three weeks, especially with run game, blitz checks and things like that."With the rash of injuries that have been plaguing the Nittany Lions it will be "the next man up" approach next week as the Nittany Lions take on an 0-3 Army team. If all goes well even with the injuries Penn State should be able to handle Army. The real test will be in two weeks when a 4-0 Indiana team comes to Happy Valley.One thing is for sure with the 2015 Nittany Lions and that is that nothing is ever for sure with this team. The added injuries and the effect it will have on the Penn State offense is just one more intriguing story line to add to an already interesting season.