Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/629829
keeled," McSorley said. "It was good for
me to see that."
As for taking over the o=ense without
any warning in a reasonably high-pro-
;le game against a nine-win opponent,
well, that was "just business as usual,"
McSorley said. But it wasn't, really.
Hackenberg had taken all but a handful
of snaps during Penn State's previous
three seasons. Even through McSorley
was listed as the second-team quarter-
back in 2014, he redshirted as a true
freshman and didn't see game action
until replacing Hackenberg late in the
fourth quarter of a 28-3 romp over Rut-
gers this past September. And yet, fac-
ing the top-ranked pass defense in the
country in the TaxSlayer Bowl, he kept
his composure, nearly bringing Penn
State all the way back from a 24-3
de;cit with fourth-quarter touchdown
passes of 17 yards to Geno Lewis and 20
yards to DaeSean Hamilton. He ;nished
the game with 14 completions in 27 at-
tempts for 142 yards.
"Guys kept telling me, it's the same
game you've been playing since you
were 9 years old," said McSorley, who, in
addition to his on-;eld exploits, stepped
in for senior center Angelo Mangiro to
deliver a hal?ime pep talk. "You just
come out, execute and play for the love
of the game. That's what we always
preach. Go out there and have fun, let it
all hang loose."
In the ;rst half, the only thing that ap-
peared to be hanging loose was Hacken-
berg's right arm. He had tried to keep
playing a?er spraining his throwing
shoulder, but he winced as he slung a 51-
yard pass to Chris Godwin, and that
completion would turn out to be the last
of his college career. He had completed 8
of 14 passes for 139 yards in a little over a
quarter of action, but a tipped pass had
scuttled his most promising drive of the
game. Meanwhile, star running back
Saquon Barkley was ;nding few holes
S T A F F P R E D I C T I O N S L O O K I N G A H E A D T O N E X T S E A S O N . . .
NATE
BAUER
WEBSITE
EDITOR
THE PICK
The Penn State masses will
be convinced Joe Moorhead is a genius
following the 2016 season.
THE RATIONALE Not that he isn't a
genius, per se, but Moorhead's ;rst year
with the Nittany Lion o=ense is going to
be a signi;cant improvement over the
past two – and not just because of his di-
rection. Even without knowing which
quarterback will take the ;eld, the in