STATE COLLEGE — It took Christian Hackenberg about three hours to do something in Penn State’s season-opener that no Nittany Lion quarterback had done in the program’s previous 128 years.

And if throwing for more than 400 yards becomes necessary to win, Penn State’s sophomore star is up for trying.

Hackenberg completed 32 of 47 passes for a team-record 454 yards and became the first Nittany Lion quarterback to exceed 400 in one game while leading Penn State to a 26-24 victory over Central Florida in Ireland last week. Hackenberg capped his game by leading an eight-play, 55-yard drive that resulted in a game-winning field goal by Sam Ficken.

Hackenberg knows he might be asked to do it all again because of the way football is evolving.

“It goes back to doing whatever it takes for us to win football games, whether it’s handing the ball off 40 times or throwing the ball 40 times,” Hackenberg said. “That’s really a key because you never really know how a game is going to go.”

Hackenberg led Penn State to a 7-5 season in 2013 by throwing for 20 touchdowns and nearly 3,000 yards. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.