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N O V E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 Just how good is this Penn State of- fense? And is it close to reaching its full potential? Those are two questions that head coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead will hope to answer by the time Penn State closes out its 2016 season in late December or early January. But it is clear coming off of the Nit- tany Lions' 62-24 demolition of Purdue that the offense still has plenty of po- tential for growth. In that game, Penn State was firing on all cylinders for only two quarters, but it still racked up 511 yards and showed that it has become far more explosive and punishing than it was a year ago or even a month ago. "We put up 62 points, and we started off so slow," Saquon Barkley said aBer the game. "We are a much better team than we were last year." When Penn State emerged from its trip to Michigan in September on the short end of an embarrassing 49-10 score, some fans expressed concerns that Moorhead's celebrated read-option of- fense might not work in the Big Ten. The Lions were going to need to field a bal- anced offensive attack, and in their first four games, they didn't do that. Coming out of their conference opener against the Wolverines, Penn State was averag- ing just over 102 rushing yards per game. It's only been five weeks since that game, but those concerns have largely subsided. Heading into their trip to Purdue, the Lions were averaging 147.9 rushing yards per game. They had rushed for 372 yards against Maryland, with Barkley supplying more than half of those yards (202), and he contributed 99 yards two weeks later in Penn State's victory over Ohio State. Those performances led to consider- able speculation about how he would fare against Purdue, which went into its game against Penn State with the most porous run defense in the Big Ten, with opponents averaging 249 yards per game and 5.7 per carry. Things didn't go well at first, as Penn State managed only 34 rushing yards in the first half. But just as they did in games against Minnesota, Maryland and Ohio State, the Lions made some excellent halBime adjustments. In the second half, they ended up rushing for 223 yards. I doubt anyone could have anticipated the type of offensive surge that Penn State was able to put together in the third and fourth quarters. ABer going into halBime with the score tied, 17-17, Penn State outscored the Boiler- makers 45-7 in the final 30 minutes. Barkley finished the game with 277 all-purpose yards: 207 rushing yards on 18 carries, and 70 receiving yards on three catches. Fellow running backs Mark Allen, Andre Robinson and Miles Sanders all got into the game and seized their chances. Allen had a 1-yard touch- down run, Robinson scored on runs of 4 and 19 yards, and Sanders caught a 21- yard TD pass. "I'm so proud of those guys [for] sticking with it," Barkley said. "We had a great week of preparation, and the opportunity came and they took full advantage." One of the most encouraging aspects of Penn State's performance against the Boilers was that all 62 points and 511 yards of offense were produced by under- classmen. Except for center Brian Gaia and leB tackle Paris Palmer, all of the players who started on offense against Purdue will still be eligible in 2017. "We are a young team, but we are han- dling things well," Franklin said. "We are maturing every single day. We still can get a lot better. We keep finding ways to win, and I think that is what you have to do if you are going to develop into a good team and a good program." Trace McSorley also believes there is plenty of room for Penn State to grow in the final four games this season. "I'm not going to say that we should have [scored] 80 points, but we'll go in the film room and make corrections," he said. "This is a good statement for us." To illustrate the confidence that Moor- head has in his players, consider what happened early in the fourth quarter of the Purdue game. With PSU getting set to take possession at its own 19-yard line, Moorhead told his players, "We're going to run this, and Saquon's going to pop it for an 81-yard touchdown." Then he turned to Franklin and asked him whether he wanted to go for two. We all know what happened next. Barkley took the handoff to his right, bounced outside and scooted 81 yards for a touchdown. "He called the play, and he told the of- fensive line, 'Block it right and 26 will take it 80,' " Barkley said. "When I got out [to the sideline], I saw something that I thought was a Purdue defender, but it was Ryan Bates. He was just running down the sideline with me. People joked around and said Ryan was faster than me. "I thought about pitching it back [to Bates], but I don't think Coach Franklin would have been too happy about that, or Joe Mo." ABer a messy first half against Purdue, Penn State ended up producing its best and most balanced offensive perform- ance of the season. The Lions finished with 257 rushing yards and 254 passing yards. They scored six touchdowns and put 45 points on the scoreboard in the second half – by far their most domi- nating 30 minutes of the season. "That's what we want to get back to," Barkley said. "We wanted to let people know we're going back to Penn State football. We're going back to dominat- ing teams." If all goes well for the Lions, that trend will continue not just for the rest of this season but for years to come. Offense shines at Purdue, but there's still plenty of room for improvement PHIL'S CORNER

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