Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
3 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 4 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Barkley had the game's most spectacu- lar play, galloping 92 yards to give ninth- ranked PSU a 28-7 lead in the second quarter. His scoring sprint down the left sideline, which tied the school record for longest run from scrimmage, was part of a 137-yard, 2-touchdown parting gift to Nittany Nation. Even more impressive, though, was McSorley's performance. The junior quarterback carved up the Huskies' sec- ondary, throwing for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns. On third down alone, he hit 12 of 12 attempts for 194 yards. It all added up to Penn State's seventh Fiesta Bowl victory in as many visits to the Arizona desert. 5 Penn State 21, Iowa 19 Sept. 23, 2017 | Iowa City, Iowa Barkley put on a breathtaking show for the prime time TV audience, total- ing a Penn State-record 358 all-purpose yards. On a key third-and-6 play late in the fourth quarter, he hurdled an Iowa defender and landed on his feet despite being hit in midair by a second Hawkeye, giving fourth-ranked PSU a first down in one of the game's signature moments. "I cannot imagine that there's a better player in all of college football," Franklin said afterward. "I've been doing this for 23 years, and this guy is special. I don't know what his stats were or what he did, but every time he touched the ball, I don't care if it was a 20-yard run or an 8-yard run, it was something special." While Barkley shined brightest, the game's final moment belonged to Mc- Sorley and receiver Juwan Johnson. With four seconds remaining and the ball at Iowa's 7-yard line, McSorley spotted Johnson streaking through the end zone and dropped a pass in between three de- fenders. Johnson's catch silenced Kin- nick Stadium and gave Penn State its first walk-off touchdown in a non-overtime game since 1929. 6 Penn State 42, Michigan 13 Oct. 21, 2017 | State College The Nittany Lions had gotten pounded in Ann Arbor the year before, but with Barkley and McSorley leading the way, PSU paid the Wolverines back in 2017, much to the delight of 110,823 fans, the most ever to see a game at Beaver Stadium. Barkley took a direct snap and bolted 69 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game, and the second-ranked Lions led the rest of the way. The junior running back finished with 108 rushing yards, McSorley threw for 282, and the Lions totaled 506 yards against the 19th- ranked Wolverines, who had been leading the FBS in total defense prior to their visit. "I thought their offense played ex- tremely well," Michigan coach Jim Har- baugh said. "That's an understatement. The [running] back is really good, as ad- vertised. The quarterback, McSorley, played extremely well. They were hitting on all cylinders. Their quarterback was hot, and the receivers made plays down- field and it was impressive." 7 Penn State 29, Minnesota 26 (OT) Oct. 1, 2016 | State College This is an underrated game in Penn State's football lore. The Lions had gone 16-14 in their first 30 games under Frank- lin and were coming off a 49-10 loss to Michigan when the unranked Gophers Most Disappointing Losses 1. Ohio State 39, Penn State 38 Oct. 28, 2017 | Columbus, Ohio The Nittany Lions had won the year before on a crazy play, but there was nothing fluky about their performance in the rematch. They outplayed the hosts for more than three quarters, starting with the opening kickoff, which Saquon Barkley returned 97 yards for a touchdown. Then in the final 11 minutes, everything unraveled. The sixth-ranked Buckeyes rallied back from a 15-point deficit, saddling second-ranked PSU with arguably its most haunting loss of the Franklin era. 2. Ohio State 27, Penn State 26 Sept. 29, 2018 | State College We used the word arguably above because the 2018 game was another heartbreaker. The Lions had a 12-point lead with less than seven minutes to play, thanks in part to an electrifying 93-yard touchdown catch by KJ Hamler in the first half. Again, the Buckeyes came storming back, this time with a couple of Dwayne Haskins scoring passes. Perhaps it's best not to contemplate how the program's recent history might have unfolded if PSU had beaten Ohio State three years in row, as it very nearly did. 3. Minnesota 31, Penn State 26 Nov. 9, 2019 | Minneapolis The undefeated Nittany Lions were ranked No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff poll of the year when they met the unbeaten Gophers. It did not go well for the visitors. PSU spotted Minne- sota a 24-10 lead and wasn't able to rally. A controversial offensive pass interference call scuttled PSU's late comeback bid, but 3 interceptions by Sean Clifford were even more costly. 4. Iowa 23, Penn State 20 Oct. 9, 2021 | Iowa City, Iowa The Lions had bolted out to a 17-3 lead in a matchup of top-five opponents, but everything changed when Clifford left in the second quarter with an upper-body injury. The Lions were inef- fectual on offense from that point on, and while the Hawkeyes were no juggernaut either, they had enough firepower to eke out a narrow victory. What made this game especially dispiriting was that Clifford's setback cast a pall over the rest of the season. He continued playing but was clearly in pain, especially in PSU's nine-overtime rock fight against Illinois two weeks later — a game that could easily have made this list. 5. Indiana 36, Penn State 35 (OT) Oct. 24, 2020 | Bloomington, Ind. It's entirely possible that the Lions' 2020 season would have gone awry even if they hadn't been stunned on opening day by the unranked Hoosiers. The COVID year was a disjointed mess, even though Penn State was one of only two Big Ten teams that managed to play all nine of their scheduled games. Still, eighth-ranked PSU lost this one in the most gut-wrenching way possible. Running back Devyn Ford scored an unwanted, undefended touchdown with the Lions trying to run out the clock. That lapse, which left Penn State with an eight-point lead, gave Michael Penix Jr. just enough time to guide the Hoosiers down the field to tie the score. They eventually won it in overtime. — Matt Herb