Blue White Illustrated

in the 40-game history of the series. "Our locker room [chemistry] is really healthy right now. You've got guys like Saquon Barkley, who maybe early in the season had some games [in which] he didn't have the kind of production that people would have thought, and it never affected him. It was about the team. It was about doing his job. There was no bad body language, none of those things. It was about the team. When you keep a good attitude like that, and you influence others in a pos- itive way, you're going to build some- thing." The Lions (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) do indeed appear to be on the upswing. This was the second week in a row in which they beat an undefeated opponent, with their Homecoming win over the previously 4- 0 Terrapins coming on the heels of a rousing overtime victory over Minnesota last Saturday. Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • Barkley showed why Penn State's op- ponents have been so determined to stack the box. Whenever he could find an opening against the Terps, he gouged them, as he did spectacularly at the end of the first half when he took advantage of a prevent defense to sprint for a 45- yard touchdown. "I think our offensive line is getting physical," Franklin said. "That's going to be important for us moving forward. I thought we matched up well against this team on the O-line and the D-line. In the games where we've matched up well, we've had success." Barkley wasn't the only Nittany Lion to excel on the ground. Building on his strong performance a week earlier against Minnesota, Trace McSorley rushed for 81 yards. "The mobility at the quarterback posi- tion is going to be important for us mov- ing forward," Franklin said. "I thought it was a major factor in the game. That's a good defense, so it really helped us. It helped Saquon, and it continues to help our offensive line with the protection and some of the play-action things we're doing as well." The only blemish on an otherwise strong body of work was a fumble by Barkley. One play earlier, he had assured himself a place on the evening's high- light roundup by leaping over a tackler at the line of scrimmage and twisting through the defense for a 13-yard gain. But with the Lions poised for what ap- peared to be the knockout blow, he was stripped by Will Likely, ending the drive. • The defense held strong even though it was once again without its entire opening-day linebacker corps. A@er rushing for 400 yards against Purdue a week earlier, Maryland was held to 170. Losing dual-threat quarterback Perry Hills to an injury just before half- time didn't help the Terps' cause. But the Nittany Lions take a backseat to no one when it comes to injury-related ab- sences, and they came up big against Maryland. Ty Johnson, who rushed for 200 yards on just seven carries vs. the Boilermakers, managed only 11 vs. Penn State. The Lions also forced two turnovers, stopped two key fourth-down attempts and had four sacks. "Overall, I think we're playing really well on the defensive side of the ball con- sidering all the personnel changes that we've had," Franklin said. • Koa Farmer's move from safety to linebacker paid dividends for the Lions, as he made five stops, including a blind- side sack of Hills that resulted in a drive- ending fumble deep in Penn State territory. "It's nice to see him not only playing but making an impact," Franklin said. "He's always been a talented guy, but it was [a matter] of finding a home for him that fit our defense and also one that he embraced." • Can't complain about the Nittany Lions' start this week. In their first five SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 12:33 PSU Gesicki, Mike 5-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 7 plays, 84 yards, TOP 2:27..........................................................0-7 7:13 UMD Johnson, Ty 66-yard pass from Hills, Perry (Greene, Adam kick) 5 plays, 81 yards, TOP 1:43........................................................... 7-7 2ND 12:20 PSU Davis, Tyler 30-yard field goal 12 plays, 42 yards, TOP 4:46......................................................7-10 6:06 PSU McSorley, Trace 9-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:18....................................................... 7-17 0:52 UMD Pigrome, Tyrrell 7-yard run (Greene, Adam kick) 3 plays, 37 yards, TOP 1:03....................................................... 14-17 0:15 PSU Barkley, Saquon 45-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 3 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:26.................................................... 14-24 3RD 0:00 PSU Thompkins, DeAndre 70-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 2 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:42..................................................... 14-31 4TH 5:15 PSU Sanders, Miles 25-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 5 plays, 51 yards, TOP 2:25......................................................14-38 O c T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 2

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