Blue White Illustrated

surprise some fans is because Penn State didn't run the ball e6ectively against Kent State, Pitt, Temple and especially Michigan. In Moorhead's RPO o6ense, both the running back and the quarter- back have to be pro5cient at running the ball o6 the read option, and neither Barkley nor McSorley were able to 5nd much room in those 5rst four games. Barkley ran for 317 yards on 66 carries, averaging 4.8 yards per carry, and even though he also scored six rushing touch- downs in those games, his yardage totals were not what fans had been hoping for from a running back whom some con- sider to be the best in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, McSorley's running totals were entirely unacceptable. In the 5rst four games of the season, he rushed for 32 yards on 41 carries, averaging less than a yard per attempt. Those statistics alone showed exactly why Kent State, Pitt, Temple and Michigan placed eight men in the box to prevent Barkley from running the football. But in the 57h and sixth games of the season against Minnesota and Maryland, McSorley turned into a very e6ective runner. He was Penn State's leading rusher against the Gophers, picking up 73 yards on eight carries, and if you exclude his lost yardage on sacks, he gained 111 yards on 15 carries against the Terrapins. McSorley's success opened things up for Barkley. Against Minnesota and Mary- land, Barkley ran for 265 yards on 51 car- ries, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt. Penn State rushed for 136 yards and had 471 yards of total o6ense against the Go- phers and rushed for 372 yards and had 524 yards of total o6ense against the Terps. Those performances proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Moorhead was accurate in his assertion that if Penn State could e6ectively run the football with its running back and quarterback o6 the read option, his o6ense was capable of producing a dynamic, balanced attack at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. In addition to the surge in production by both Barkley and McSorley, Penn State's o6ensive line performed above many fans' expectations throughout most of the 5rst half of the season, and particularly in the games against Min- nesota and Maryland. The past two seasons, Penn State al- lowed 83 sacks – 44 in 2014 and 39 last season. But through its 5rst six games this year, the o6ense had surrendered only 14 sacks for 101 yards, with just three sacks for 30 yards against Min- nesota and Maryland. Brendan Mahon, who will most likely replace Andrew Nelson at right tackle for the rest of the season following Nel- son's knee injury against Maryland, has emerged as one of Penn State's most productive linemen, even though he started the team's 5rst six games at le7 tackle, a position he had never played before this year. Ryan Bates just might be the team's most e6ective lineman when it comes to getting to the second level with his blocks, and the whole unit appears to be comfortable with Moor- head's zone blocking scheme. The reason why Penn State produced 471 yards against Minnesota and 524 against Maryland is because McSorley has done a terri5c job with his post- snap reads. "I think it really helped us [to get] Trace more involved in the running game," Franklin said in his press confer- ence following the Maryland game. "It's one more thing for [opponents] to de- fend. I know when I sit in with our de- fensive coaches and watch tape, it's frustrating for defenses when you stop the run then you do a great job in cover- age, you stop the pass, and all of a sud- den the guy takes o6 and runs for 12, 15 yards or even 6 yards. It's just one more thing you have to deal with on defense. "So the mobility of the quarterback position is going to be important for our o6ense moving forward this season and in the future for our o6ense to reach its full potential." With all the injuries that have ravaged its defense this season, the only way Penn State has a chance to improve on last year's 5nish is for the o6ense to 5eld a balanced attack. That's exactly what happened in the victories over Min- nesota and Maryland. If the Lions keep doing that, a 7-5 or even an 8-4 record isn't out of the question. ■

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