Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAMEPenn State sophomore running back Saquon Barkley exceeded already high expecta- tions for his performance Saturday af- ternoon. His 207 yards and two scores were produced on just 18 carries, high- lighted by an 81-yard TD, all of it sup- plemented by three receptions for another 70 yards. In sum, Barkley aver- aged a remarkable 13.2 yards per touch in the Nittany Lions' blowout win. PLAY OF THE GAMESlogging through an inconsistent first half on both sides of the ball, the Nittany Lions got the game-changing play they needed when Brandon Smith picked off Purdue to open the third quarter. Just four plays later, they were into the end zone to take a 24-17 lead. BEST PASSFacing second-and-11 from his own 38-yard line, Purdue's David Blough aired out a 62-yard touchdown strike to DeAngelo Yancey to make it a 34-24 contest in the third quarter. BEST RUNWith Penn State already owning a comfortable lead, Saquon Barkley scooted 81 yards up the Purdue sideline, weaving through traffic en route to the end zone. The run, both pa- tient and electric, gave the Nittany Lions a 48-24 lead to open the fourth quarter. BEST CATCHSaeed Blacknall beat his man to McSorley's deep ball down the sideline, reeling in the reception while falling to the ground for a 42-yard pickup. It set up a field goal that gave Penn State a 34-17 lead in the third quarter. WORST DROPLooking for a late score at the end of the first half, DaeSean Hamilton let an easy completion over the middle slip through his hands. The drop stunted Penn State's momentum and prevented a possible go-ahead score heading into halftime. BEST SACKAlthough the Lions opened the game with a long touch- down drive, Purdue's response evened the score. On Penn State's ensuing pos- session, a second-and-10 turned disas- trous, as Purdue put Trace McSorley on his back for a 10-yard loss. Evan Panfil's play swung field position right back in the Boilers' favor. BEST HITLate in the first half, Purdue safety Leroy Clark unloaded on Penn State wideout Chris Godwin after a re- ception at the right hash. The play picked up 17 yards and gave the Lions a first down, but Godwin isn't likely to forget Clark's hit anytime soon. BEST EFFORTBlacknall was 20 yards downfield from Godwin, but the junior wideout held his block on Purdue's Josh Hayes to help his teammate reach the end zone. The 38-yard touchdown evened the score at 14-14 in the second quarter. JUDGMENT CALLS O c T O B E R 2 9 , 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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