Blue White Illustrated

T he national media didn't seem to know what to expect from Penn State when the Nittany Lions started preseason practice in early August, a month before the start of the 2018 sea- son. Gone were record-setting o9ensive performers Saquon Barkley, Mike Gesicki and DaeSean Hamilton. Gone, too, was innovative o9ensive coordina- tor Joe Moorhead, who decided to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State a;er two highly successful seasons in University Park. Meanwhile, on de- fense, eight starters had exited. There was a case to be made that Barkley was the best running back to ever play at Penn State. In three seasons, he rushed for 3,843 yards and 43 touch- downs, becoming the second-leading rusher in Nittany Lion football history. In his junior season alone, Barkley rushed for 1,271 yards and 18 touch- downs while also totaling 54 receptions for 632 yards and three more scores. He amassed 2,329 all-purpose yards last year, averaging 179.2 yards per game, and led the Big Ten with an average of 28.4 yards per kicko9 return. In short, it was easy to see why many analysts felt that Barkley was an irreplaceable part of Penn State's o9ense. It was also easy to understand why people wondered if Penn State would be able to replace the pass-catching pro- ductivity of Gesicki and Hamilton. Gesicki had caught 129 passes for 1,481 yards and 15 touchdowns during his col- lege career, becoming the Nittany Lions' all-time leader in receptions by a tight end. Hamilton 8nished his Penn State career with a school-record 214 recep- tions for 2,842 yards and 18 touch- downs. With Barkley, Gesicki and Hamilton no longer suiting up for Penn State, there was plenty of skepticism from people who didn't think that the return of quarterback Trace McSorley would be enough to ensure that the Nittany Lions remained among the more profi- cient offensive teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. McSorley's leader- ship had been a major factor in Penn State's rise to College Football Playoff contention. He amassed 4,061 yards of total offense as a redshirt sophomore and followed up that performance with 3,979 yards of total offense in 2017. But he couldn't have done all that without a great collection of playmakers around him. Last season, Penn State's o9ense was considered by most analysts to be one of the top two in the Big Ten along with Ohio State. The Nittany Lions averaged 460.3 yards of total o9ense per game (170.2 yards rushing, 290.2 passing) and were second in the conference in scoring with an average of 41.1 points per game. On the other side of the ball, Penn State ranked 8;h in the Big Ten in total defense (329.5 yards per game) last year. The Nittany Lions were 8;h in the con- ference in run defense (118.0 ypg) and eighth in pass defense (211.5 ypg). Just like on o9ense, Penn State 8nished the 2017 season ranked second in the con- ference in scoring defense, as opponents averaged only 16.5 points per game. Many national college football ana- lysts predicted that with eight starters gone, it would be extremely di:cult for Penn State's defense to repeat last year's accomplishments. The losses included both starting tackles, two starting line- backers and the entire starting second- ary. Then, just before the season was set to begin, James Franklin announced that the team's only returning starter at line- backer, senior Manny Bowen, had de- cided to give up football. Knowing all those facts, it seemed in- conceivable to a lot of people that Penn State's o9ense and defense could come close to matching their performances from the 2017 season. But here we are at the midpoint of the 2018 season, and while their record is not what they would like it to be, the Nittany Lions have in some ways equaled or improved upon what they did last year. Going into their game against Indiana, the Lions were second in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 44.2 points per game. They were 8elding the No. 2 rushing o9ense in the conference at 251.8 yards per game and 6.1 yards per carry and had scored 22 rushing touch- downs. That per-game average was 81 yards better than last year. What's more, the Lions' red zone performance was superb, as they converted on 27 of 28 scoring opportunities, producing touch- downs on 24 of those chances (96.4 per- cent). Of those 24 red zone touchdowns, 17 came via the ground game. With the improvement of the rushing attack, Penn State's passing statistics have taken an inevitable hit. Following the game against Michigan State, the Nittany Lions ranked eighth in the Big Ten with an average of 239.3 yards per game. It was a decline from last year, but the team's per-catch average had im- proved from 12.5 yards in 2017 to 14.8 yards through six games this fall. Fielding a more balanced offense than in recent years, the Lions were third in the conference through six games with an average of 491.2 yards per game, up from 460.3 yards in 2017. And it's important to note that they did that without Barkley, Gesicki and PHIL'S CORNER Amid season's highs and lows, these impact players have shined

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