Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2021 Penn State started the September portion of its 2021 schedule ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and ended it at No. 4. The Nittany Lions opened with a gritty 16-10 road victory over No. 12 Wisconsin. Jahan Dotson supplied nearly a third of PSU's total offensive output with a pair of catches — a 49-yard touchdown grab early in the third quarter that broke a score- less tie and a 42-yarder to help set up a 2-yard scoring run by Noah Cain with just more than nine minutes to play. Cain's score gave the Lions a 6-point lead, and they were able to hold on thanks in large part to late interceptions by safeties Jaquan Brisker and Ji'Ayir Brown. Penn State's other ranked win in Sep- tember came in a White Out clash with No. 22 Auburn. Sean Clifford outdueled Bo Nix, completing 28 of 33 passes for 280 yards and 2 touchdowns in lifting the Nittany Lions to a 28-20 victory. Dotson had 10 of those catches for 78 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter to get PSU on the board. Nix, the future Oregon and Denver Broncos star, was held to 185 yards on 21-of-37 passing in Penn State's first regular-season victory over an SEC opponent since a 9-0 shutout of Alabama in 1990. 10 YEARS AGO, 2016 The first month of James Franklin's third season at the helm was a mixed bag, with signs of progress evident under new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead but familiar problems resur- facing in road losses at Pitt (42-39) and Michigan (49-10). With Saquon Barkley returning to the backfield after a promising freshman campaign and Trace McSorley taking over for Christian Hackenberg at quar- terback, the Lions surpassed 30 points in their first three games. Penn State sandwiched a pair of wins around their failed comeback against the Panthers, routing Kent State, 33-13, on opening day and outlasting Temple, 34-27, in Week 3. Barkley left the game against the Owls with an apparent leg injury he sustained on PSU's first play from scrimmage. McSorley shined in his absence, helping the team build a 21-10 halftime lead and finishing with 18 completions in 24 at- tempts for 287 yards and a touchdown. Barkley returned to the game in the second half and ended up carrying 9 times for 68 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown gallop midway through the fourth quarter that helped Penn State finish off the stubborn Owls. There were more hard times ahead with a trip to Ann Arbor coming up next, but the Barkley-Mc- Sorley tandem was flash- ing the explosiveness that would soon enough trans- form the Lions into Big Ten champions. 25 YEARS AGO, 2001 The mood was celebra- tory ahead of Penn State's season opener on Sept. 1. Adam Taliaferro, less than a year removed from a spinal injury that had initially left him para- lyzed, led the Nittany Lions into a newly expanded Beaver Stadium for their na- tionally televised prime-time clash with second-ranked Miami, a matchup that offered PSU a chance to reintroduce it- self to the college football world after the previous year's dreary 5-7 finish. Then the game started, and the visi- tors quickly dashed those hopes. Start- ing quarterback Matt Senneca com- pleted just 1 of 7 passes before being knocked out of the game with an elbow injury. His backup, redshirt freshman Zack Mills, fared better, hitting 12 of 24 attempts, but the Lions couldn't get anything going on the ground, with Omar Easy, Eric McCoo, Sean McHugh and Larry Johnson Jr. combining for 102 rushing yards. Led by Ken Dorsey, who threw for 344 yards, the Hurri- canes were ahead by 30 at halftime and coasted to a 33-7 victory. The Lions wouldn't play again for an- other three weeks. They had been slated to face Virginia in Charlottesville fol- lowing a bye week, but that game was postponed until Dec. 1 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. When the season resumed, Penn State was still dogged by the same problems that had proved insurmountable versus Miami — instability at quarterback and a dearth of speed and playmaking abil- ity at the offensive skill positions. The Lions were outgained by 303 yards in an 18-6 loss to visiting Wisconsin, and in a 24-18 defeat at Iowa the next week, half of their points came via a safety and a blocked punt that Johnson returned for a touchdown. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History TixManJim@gmail.com www.TixManJim.com at Sean Clifford threw for 280 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Nittany Lions' 28-20 victory over Auburn on Sept. 18, 2021. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL