Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME The offensive stats – and the eye test – say Saquon Barkley or Chris Godwin should get the nod as Penn State's player of the game. Really, though, the Nittany Lion defen- sive line deserves an acknowledgment here given the off-season questions it had to endure after four of its vets went to the NFL. Shareef Miller, Garrett Sick- els, Kevin Givens, Parker Cothren, An- toine White and Evan Schwan were all disruptive in the backfield and helped force Kent State into costly errors. PLAY OF THE GAMEComing out of the half leading just 16-13, the Nittany Lions needed a jolt. Cornerback Amani Oruwariye gave it to them, slicing in front of a Kent State pass less than a minute into the third quarter and re- turning it 30 yards for a touchdown. The score gave Penn State a much- needed 23-13 cushion. BEST PASS Trace McSorley's bullet to DaeSean Hamilton late in the first quar- ter proved to be perfectly thrown. One pump fake and a laser through Kent State's linebacking corps allowed Hamilton to stretch for the unencum- bered catch, capping a nine-play, 79- yard drive. BEST RUNA beautiful play fake left Nittany Lion redshirt freshman defen- sive end Shareef Miller badly out of po- sition as Kent State quarterback Mylik Mitchell jolted 28 yards to the Nittany Lion 6-yard line. The progress of the second quarter jaunt was upended as a pair of penalties forced the Golden Flashes to even the score on a 43-yard field goal. Barkley, of course, was also sparkling throughout the afternoon, most brilliantly reeling off a 28-yard carry early in the third quarter down to the Kent State 29-yard line. BEST CATCHNittany Lion junior wideout Chris Godwin hauled in a lengthy reception from McSorley to the Kent State 41-yard line late in the first quarter, picking up a first down by keeping his feet in bounds. The recep- tion helped propel the Nittany Lions to their first points of the 2016 season on a touchdown pass to DaeSean Hamilton six plays later. DeAndre Thompkins' 43-yard reception in the third quarter deserves a nod here as well. WORST DROPKent State's Myles Washington picked an inopportune time to cough up his short reception. Trying to make a play deep in the Golden Flashes' own territory, Washington's plans went awry as Penn State safety Marcus Allen leveled a wicked hit, forced a fumble and picked it up in one fluid motion. Owning possession at the Kent State 13, the Nittany Lions needed just two plays for Barkley to punch in a 7-yard touchdown to take a 13-6 lead midway through the second quarter. JUDGMENT CALLS S E P T E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 4 N A T E B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M

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