Blue White Illustrated

The victory, which got its five-game homestand off to a happy if waterlogged start, evened Penn State's record at 1-1 and lightened the mood on the sideline a@er a dismal season-opening loss at Temple a week earlier. Barkley was one of the big reasons for Penn State's success, rushing for 115 yards on only 12 carries. He had a breathtaking run up the middle on the drive that led to Hamilton's score, hurdling a would-be tackler en route to a 17-yard gain. Later in the game, he scored a 9-yard touchdown to all but finish off the Bulls (1-1). "Saquon Barkley being able to make people miss and break tackles is helpful for us," Franklin said. "Other guys have been able to do that. [Brandon] Polk has brought something to our offense. [Chris] Godwin's consistency has really brought something. So we've just got to make more plays." Penn State's shorthanded defense also had a big day, surrendering only two scoring drives, allowing just 69 rushing yards and totaling six sacks even with three of this season's projected starters – linebackers Nyeem Wartman-White and Brandon Bell and cornerback Grant Haley – out of action. Buffalo helped out by committing 14 penalties for 107 yards in losses, but Penn State put it under considerable duress, particularly defen- sive end Carl Nassib, who finished with three sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. "I thought our defense had some mo- mentum-changing plays with sacks and interceptions and turnovers," Franklin said. "I thought at times, we started to create an identity for this football team, on offense and defense." But while the game eased some con- cerns, it exacerbated others, as starting le@ tackle Andrew Nelson went down late in the first half with a le@ leg injury. Penn State may not have surrendered any sacks against Buffalo – a 10-sack im- provement over last week – but the line was going to be a preoccupation under any circumstances this season, and Nel- son's injury has only made matters worse. Franklin said the injury was another manifestation of a problem that Nelson has been dealing with for a while, calling it "a nagging deal." In keeping with his policy, he declined to elaborate on Nel- son's condition or speculate about whether he would be forced to miss any more playing time. "That's going to be a discussion with the trainers this week," Franklin said. He did elaborate on the unit's overall performance, saying that he thought "we managed the O-line situation much bet- ter – being able to run the ball, being able to move the pocket, being able to throw quickly and have some success. I thought the O-line stepped up when they needed to." A@er a dreary, scoreless first quarter, Penn State finally had a breakthrough in the second. Capitalizing on a 58-yard punt return by DeAndre Thompkins, the Lions took possession just outside the red zone, and two plays later, Polk took a handoff on an end-around and scooted le@ for a 22-yard touchdown. Polk's TD, the first of his college career, broke a streak of 16 consecutive scoreless possessions for Penn State that had begun in the first quarter against Temple. Later in the quarter, Penn State got an- other big break when Nassib snared a batted pass with one hand, gathering in the ball and giving the Lions possession at the Bulls' 12-yard line. While the of- fense wasn't able to do much with the excellent field position, Joey Julius sal- vaged the drive with a 22-yard field goal to give Penn State a 10-0 lead. But the first half could hardly have ended on a worse note for the Lions. They were driving on Buffalo a@er taking pos- session with about a minute le@, but on second-and-5 at the 19-yard line, Nelson went down a@er being hit from behind by a Bulls player while blocking Demone Harris. Nelson had moved from right tackle, where he started against Temple, to le@ tackle against Buffalo, replacing Paris Palmer in the starting lineup. And making matters worse for the Lions, the automatic 10-second runoff that followed Nelson's injury deprived them of one last scoring opportunity a@er they had moved into the red zone. Buffalo rallied in the third quarter, as tight end Ron Willoughby outjumped Christian Campbell in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown catch to make the score 10-7. But the Lions outscored Buf- falo 17-7 from that point on, as Barkley and the offensive line – with Palmer playing in place of Nelson – took charge. Franklin said Palmer "got the week one jitters out and played pretty well." A@er the game, Franklin saluted the fans, particularly the students, who came out in a downpour to watch his team play and continued to offer support through- out the soggy a@ernoon. He called it "one of the more beautiful days in Happy Valley that I've been around," a comment that may have been intended ironically but nevertheless had a ring of truth. A@er last week's disaster, this victory was a beautiful thing to behold. SCORING SUMMARY 2ND 6:57 PSU Polk, Brandon 22-yard run (Julius, Joey kick) 2 plays, 24 yards, TOP 0:37........................................................................ 0-7 3:58 PSU Julius, Joey 22-yard field goal 4 plays, 7 yards, TOP 1:54........................................................................ 0-10 3RD 5:33 UB Willoughby, Ron 14-yard pass from Licata, Joe (Mitcheson, Adam kick) 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 4:48.................................................................... 7-10 00:20 PSU Julius, Joey 21-yard field goal 12 plays, 51 yards, TOP 5:07.................................................................... 7-13 4TH 12:04 PSU Hamilton, DaeSean 5-yard pass from Hackenberg, C. (Julius, Joey kick) 4 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:25...................................................................... 7-20 9:02 PSU Barkley, Saquon 9-yard run (Julius, Joey kick) 6 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:54...................................................................... 7-27 4:38 UB McGill, Marcus 10-yard pass from Licata, Joe (Mitcheson, Adam kick) 13 plays, 82 yards, TOP 4:18..................................................................14-27 S e P T e M b e R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5 b l u e w h i T e o n l i n e . c o M 2

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