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that can make life tough for any quarter- back, let alone a new starter. And yet, his intangibles were evident in both games, especially the road trip to Pitt in week two. Facing an aggressive defense, the Lions spotted the Panthers an early 14-0 lead and seemed headed for a blowout loss to their in-state rival. But they didn't panic, nor did they give up. Drawing on his ex- perience from the game against Kent State a week earlier, a game he was admit- tedly nervous for, McSorley embraced the challenge, keeping his emotions in check. Sparked by John Reid's 59-yard punt re- turn deep into Pitt territory, McSorley and the Lions quickly punched in a touchdown to cut their deficit in half. The Panthers responded with two more TDs, including a short-field score that fol- lowed a fumble by McSorley, his second of the half. But late in the second quarter, the Lions found their footing. They put together an eight-play, 83-yard posses- sion capped by a Saquon Barkley touch- down plunge and found themselves with a manageable 14-point halftime deficit. To head coach James Franklin, the re- sponse was one he had come to expect from the steely young quarterback. "That's who Trace has been. It's who he's been the whole time we recruited him. It's how he's been since he arrived. He doesn't get real high or real low. He's fiercely com- petitive," Franklin said. "This was his first real start on the road in a hos- tile situation. I thought he showed a lot of the things that allowed him to win a starting quarterback job. I think there's a lot to build on for our future. I get that everybody wants it now, and so do we. He showed some positive things with his composure and with his toughness. It's something to build on, especially at that position." The glowing comments came in the im- mediate aftermath of a 42-39 loss to the Panthers, but McSorley's performance was an encouraging sign. He helped engi- neer a 25-point second-half scoring out- burst, completing 12 of 19 passes for 202 yards and giving Penn State a chance to tie or win the game with less than two min- utes to play. Connecting on a breathless fourth-and-16 pass to DeAndre Thomp- kins to extend the comeback bid, the Lions had Pitt on its heels, but their hopes ended abruptly when McSorley's deep throw to tight end Mike Gesicki was intercepted in the end zone. The game's conclusion inspired mixed feelings in the Penn State locker room. The Nittany Lions were disappointed with the result, but they were invigorated by their performance on offense in the second half. In a hostile environment, their backs against the wall, they had pro- duced a flurry of points and explosive plays. Said McSorley, "I don't want to say you accept the loss and you're happy with the loss. You're never going to do that. But Coach [Joe] Moorhead is going to find the things we're doing right and he's going to try to find the positives that we have. It's something that Coach Franklin has as one of our core values: always having that positive attitude. Even in a tough loss, Coach Moorhead found the positives that we'll use to build off of and also the neg- atives that we need to fix." Convinced that confidence leads to success, McSorley is looking to improve as the season progresses, regardless of the challenges he faces along the way. Whether it's a detractor criticizing his play or the actual on-field onslaught that Big Ten opponents will be directing at him, McSorley has made up his mind: He's done it before, he'll do it again. "I just continue to want to prove to some of the people who are saying I can't do it [that they're] wrong, but also prove it to myself and to my teammates, that I am cut out for this and I'm confident in what I can do," McSorley said. "I feel like I've been able to kind of bring that confidence to the offensive side of the ball, and now we go out on the field and we have a little bit more confidence about ourselves." ■ TRACE McSORLEY GAME-BY-GAME PASSING RUSHING OPP ATT COMP PCT YDS TD INT LONG SACK-YDS EFFIC ATT YDS AVG TD Kent State 31 16 51.6 209 2 0 43 1-11 129.54 14 47 3.4 0 Pitt 35 24 68.6 332 1 1 40 4-33 151.97 9 -17 -1.9 0 Temple 24 18 - 287 1 1 52 0-0 180.87 9 8 0.9 1 TOTAL 90 58 64.4 828 4 2 52 5-44 151.95 32 38 1.2 1 GOING DEEP McSorley said he's been work- ing on instilling confidence in himself and his teammates this year. Photo by Steve Manuel

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