Penn State 23, Syracuse 17: Christian Hackenberg passed for 273 yards and two second-half touchdowns in his collegiate debut as the Nittany Lions held off the Orange at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Hackenberg, one of the highest ranked freshmen in the nation, completed 22 of 31 passes, including a 51-yard TD pass to Allen Robinson and a 54-yard scoring strike to Geno Lewis. Robinson, who missed the first half for undisclosed reasons, finished with seven catches for 133 yards.

With just over seven minutes left, Syracuse’s Robert Welsh intercepted Hackenberg and returned it to the 1, setting up Jerome Smith’s second TD run of the game to make it 23-17. The Orange had a chance to go ahead in the final two minutes, but Trevor Williams’ tip-toe interception sealed the win for the Nittany Lions.

Syracuse’s Drew Allen, a transfer from Oklahoma making his first career start, was 17-of-38 for 193 yards and two interceptions. Ashton Broyld had a team-high five catches for 49 yards for the Orange, who were playing their first game under head coach Scott Shafer and their first contest as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Zach Zwinak, a 1,000-yard rusher a season ago, led the Penn State ground attack with 62 yards on 24 attempts. Smith finished with 16 carries for 72 yards for Syracuse.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Penn State was only 1-for-16 on third downs. … Nittany Lions K Sam Ficken converted just 14 of 21 field goals last season, including none longer than 38 yards, but made kicks of 36, 35 and 46 yards in this one. … Syracuse finished with 37 rushing attempts for just 66 yards, including 24 yards on 13 carries by Prince-Tyson Gulley.