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P O S T S E A S O N P R E V I E W >> P E N N S T A T E and 16 touchdowns on 247 carries, adding another 347 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver. His 1,666 all- purpose yards are good for sixth in a sin- gle season at Penn State, and he's moved into 14th place in both career rushing yards (2,378) and rushing touchdowns (23). He has also become only the eighth Nittany Lion to put together more than one season of more than 1,000 yards on the ground. Though Barkley's totals are certain to climb as Penn State travels to Pasadena to take on Southern California in the Rose Bowl, he's already cemented his place among the nation's best in the minds of postseason award voters. Beginning with the Big Ten's Graham- George Offensive Player of the Year and Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year awards, Barkley's collection of postsea- son accolades began growing a few days before the Nittany Lions defeated Wis- consin, 38-31, in the Big Ten Champi- onship Game. He was also the only Nittany Lion to be named first-team All- Conference by the coaches and media, and he was chosen a co-winner (along with Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett) of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award, which goes to the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player. He became only the fourth Penn State player to receive the honor, joining Kerry Collins, Michael Robinson and Daryll Clark. In mid-December, Barkley's list of ac- colades expanded further as he was named a third-team All-American by The Associated Press, becoming the first Penn State running back since Larry Johnson in 2002 to be saluted by the AP. In contrast to McSorley's outstanding season, Barkley's occurred with the eyes of college football fans and media fixed on him from the start, and with opponents setting up their defenses specifically to stop him. While McSorley succeeded in the face of modest expectations, taking advantage of opponents that frequently dared him to throw deep, Barkley wasn't underestimated by anyone. He was viewed as a primary threat by each and every defense he faced during the regular season. Heading into the Nittany Lions' con- frontation with a Wisconsin defense that had limited opponents to paltry numbers throughout the season, head coach James Franklin acknowledged as much. "Saquon Barkley, I think, is going to keep them honest. He's had one of these years around the offensive line where he kind of pounds and struggles and fights and scratches and crawls for any yards he can get. Then usually at some point during the game, usually at a critical time, he breaks a big one for us," Franklin said. "[Wisconsin's] game plan is going to be similar to what we saw probably the last four or five games of the year. People are going to try to overload us in the box. They're going to blitz and twist the front to try to cause challenges with our offen- sive line and eliminate Saquon from beat- ing them. They're going to play the secondary probably off and soft and say, 'We're not going to let Saquon run the ball, and we're not going to give up explo- sive plays,' because they've been the two secrets to success on offense, big plays in the passing game and Saquon Barkley being able to make plays as well. I don't see that formula changing against us." It didn't. Working his way back from an ankle injury he sustained in the Nittany Lions' victory against Michigan State the pre- vious week, Barkley provided just enough of a threat to keep Wisconsin honest. Running behind a makeshift of- fensive line that had been hindered by injuries of its own, Barkley didn't appear to be quite as explosive as usual, but he still forced the Badgers to defend the en- tire field. Like every opposing head coach, Wis- consin's Paul Chryst had gone into the game mindful of the challenges that Penn State's running attack poses – not just as a threat in itself but as a diversion that helps open up the passing game. Barkley, he said, "is a heckuva football SAQUON BARKLEY GAME-BY-GAME RUSHING RECEIVING OPP ATT YDS TD LG AVG REC YDS TD LG Kent State 22 105 1 28 4.8 1 17 0 17 Pittsburgh 20 85 4 29 4.2 2 45 1 40 Temple 9 68 1 55 7.6 2 7 0 8 Michigan 15 59 0 33 3.9 5 77 0 30 Minnesota 20 63 1 25 3.2 1 -3 0 -3 Maryland 31 202 1 45 6.5 0 0 0 0 Ohio State 12 99 0 37 8.2 0 0 0 0 Purdue 18 207 2 81 11.5 3 70 0 37 Iowa 20 167 1 57 8.4 1 44 1 44 Indiana 33 58 2 21 1.8 2 34 0 32 Rutgers 16 92 1 18 5.8 2 25 0 19 Michigan State 12 14 1 5 1.2 2 11 0 6 Wisconsin 19 83 1 22 4.4 2 20 1 18 TOTAL 247 1302 16 56 5.9 23 347 3 32

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