Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/604314
amount of improvement was expected as the o7ensive line gained experience, and there were some who no doubt thought that Saquon Barkley would work his way into a prominent role in the o7ense. But I doubt many people anticipated just how big a jolt the true freshman running back would provide. Even though he played intermittently early in the season before getting healthy and seizing control of the posi- tion, Barkley went into the Michigan game ranked third in the Big Ten with an average of 104.5 yards per game. To that point in the season, he had rushed for 836 yards on 133 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. It's remarkable that Barkley has been so productive considering that he car- ried the ball just once in the season opener against Temple and missed the second half of the San Diego State game, as well as the Army and Indiana games. In my mind, Barkley should not only end up on the Big Ten's 6rst-team All- Freshman squad but should also be in the running for Freshman All-America notice. He has set or tied a number of Penn State freshman rushing records and is the top true freshman rusher in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Barkley is only the second Penn State true fresh- man running back to have back-to-back 100-yard games, topping that plateau against Bu7alo (12 carries for 115 yards) and Rutgers (21 for 195). The only Penn Stater to do that previously was D.J. Dozier, with four consecutive 100-yard games in 1983. Defensively, Penn State's statistics through its 6rst 10 games were down from its impressive performance last season. A year ago, the Nittany Lions were 6rst in the Big Ten and second in the country in total defense, allowing just 278.7 yards per game. Through 10 games this season, Penn State ranked 68h in the conference with an average of 311.2 yards per game. The Lions' rushing defense last season ranked second in the Big Ten and third in the country at 100.5 yards per game. This year? Its average was up to 152.5 yards per game, 68h- best in the conference. The only area where Penn State has made statistical improvements from last year is in pass defense. The Lions were excellent last season, allowing 178.2 yards per game to rank third in the Big Ten and ninth nationally. This year they've fared even better, ranking 6rst in the conference in passing yards allowed (159 per game), intercepting nine passes and holding opponents to a 55.4 percent completion rate. Given Penn State's pass-defense numbers, it shouldn't surprise anyone that at least one player on the starting unit is statistically one of the best in the Big Ten and the country. What is surprising is the identity of that indi-