S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M
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FULL THROTTLE
Franklin hails 'complete' effort in PSU's rout of Zips
The Mid-American Conference may have a his-
tory of pulling off early-season upsets against the
Big Ten – a history that James Franklin recounted
in detail at his weekly presser a few days ago – but
Penn State ended that discussion in the first half
on Saturday, at least as it related to the Nittany
Lions' season opener against visiting Akron.
Saquon Barkley and Mike Gesicki finished with
two touchdowns apiece, DeAndre Thompkins
scored on a punt return, and the defense posted a
shutout, as the Nittany Lions romped to a 52-0
victory.
"Overall I thought [it was] the most complete
football game we've played since we've been here
– offense, defense, special teams," Franklin said.
"We've been investing in special teams in a lot of
M A T T H E R B
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M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M
P O S T G A M E R E P O R T W E E K 1 P E N N S T A T E 5 2 , A K R O N 0
Thompkins
had a couple
of big punt re-
turns against
the Zips, in-
cluding a 61-
yarder for a
touchdown in
the first quar-
ter. "We've
been investing
in special
teams in a lot
of different
ways,"
Franklin said
after the
game.
Photo
by Steve
Manuel
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