Blue White Illustrated

Minnesota and Ohio State earlier in the season, they came roaring back in the fourth quarter. The win over the Gophers was clinched by Saquon Barkley, while the special teams came up big vs. the Buckeyes. Against Indiana, it was Trace McSorley's turn to shine, as he passed the Lions to victory with their ground game stymied. "It was a gutsy, gutsy win on the road," coach James Franklin said. "You look at our wins, every win is different. When you have a young, developing, growing team, that's an important trait, finding different ways to win. That's what this team is doing right now, so I'm proud of them. I really am." Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • No surprise here: Penn State showed tremendous resilience and composure in rallying back from a 10-point third- quarter deficit. McSorley connected with Saeed Blacknall for 43 yards and Chris Godwin for a 21-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, the Lions used a 54-yard flea- flicker to DaeSean Hamilton to set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Barkley. They then scored on a 2-yard run by Barkley aAer Indiana had retaken the lead, and clinched the victory with Brown's 9-yard fumble return. McSorley showed his toughness all af- ternoon. He was hit hard several times aAer delivering the ball, and briefly leA the game in the first half to have his ankle taped. But he continued to sling passes downfield, eventually completing 16 of 30 throws for 332 yards and two touch- downs. "He's a tough sucker, he really is. I wanted him to take a knee a couple times so we could make a substitution," Franklin said. "He kind of waved me off and hobbled down the field. He is tough. He is smart. He is resilient. He's a play- maker. The guys believe in him, they re- ally do. Our guys really believe in Tommy [Stevens] as well. We really have a fortu- nate situation. We're blessed." • The Lions were opportunistic in the first half, falling on three fumbles and jumping on a punt aAer it grazed return man Isaac James. For the game, they came away with five takeaways, more than making up for McSorley's two in- terceptions. Lagow had gone into the game with 13 interceptions, tied for the highest total in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Lions weren't able to pressure him into throw- ing it their way on Saturday, but their success in scooping up loose balls was critical to their victory. • Frequently punting from deep in Penn State territory, Blake Gillikin averaged 38.8 yards on six attempts, four of which resulted in fair catches. Playing with his hand wrapped due to an apparent injury, he let a snap slip through his hands early in the game, but still managed to pick up the loose ball and get off a running punt that was fair caught by Mitchell Paige. Subtract that 22-yard punt, and his av- erage improves to 42.2 yards. Said Franklin, "I thought our special teams were really solid." THE BAD • At the position where it could least afford an injury, Penn State suffered a big one when senior tackle Paris Palmer was forced to leave the game aAer his leg was hurt on the Lions' first offensive series. Palmer's exit forced the Lions to impro- vise. They moved guard Ryan Bates out to tackle, with Steven Gonzalez and Derek Dowrey filling in at guard. With the offensive line ailing – starting SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 11:28 PSU McSorley, Trace 10-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:32.........................................................7-0 2ND 12:13 IND Jones, Ricky 5-yard pass from Lagow, Richard (Oakes, Griffin kick) 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:40.........................................................7-7 4:43 PSU Godwin, Chris 6-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 1 play, 6 yards, TOP 0:06............................................................ 14-7 1:00 IND Redding, Devine 12-yard run (Oakes, Griffin kick) 5 plays, 32 yards, TOP 1:05...................................................... 14-14 3RD 11:38 IND Oakes, Griffin 47-yard field goal 9 plays, 52 yards, TOP 3:22...................................................... 14-17 3:13 IND Redding, Devine 6-yard run (Oakes, Griffin kick) 5 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:41.......................................................14-24 1:09 PSU Godwin, Chris 21-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 4 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:04.....................................................21-24 4TH 12:23 PSU Barkley, Saquon 4-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 5 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:06....................................................28-24 11:06 IND Westbrook, Nick 40-yard pass from Lagow, Richard (Oakes, Griffin kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:17........................................................ 28-31 3:58 PSU Barkley, Saquon 2-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 7 plays, 57 yards, TOP 2:53..................................................... 35-31 1:07 PSU Davis, Tyler 39-yard field goal 4 plays, 0 yards, TOP 1:42........................................................38-31 0:29 PSU Brown, Torrence 9-yard fumble recovery (Davis, Tyler kick)......................................................................45-31 N O V E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 2

• Cover