Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/869393
PLAYER OF THE GAME Saquon Barkley lived up to his off-season hype. The star running back needed only 14 carries to accumulate 172 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, highlighted by an 80- yard scamper in the first half. He also made a significant contribution in the passing game, hauling in three passes for 54 yards. PLAY OF THE GAMEBarkley burst through a gaping hole at the line of scrimmage, showing off his speed as he scampered untouched through the Akron secondary for a gain of 80 yards. Barkley lost his balance and stepped out of bounds at the Zips' 7-yard line, but Trace McSorley finished off the job two plays later with a touchdown BEST PASSMcSorley found Barkley on a wheel route down the left sideline late in the third quarter after the Penn State offense had gone stagnant for most of the period. McSorley hit his running back in stride, allowing him to evade a few defenders and earn a huge 43-yard gain to set up Mike Gesicki's second touchdown catch of the day. WORST PASSThe Nittany Lion of- fense had all the momentum early in the first quarter, collecting yards in chunks. The Zips seemed helpless to do any- thing about the onslaught. Still, Mc- Sorley tried to force a pass to Juwan Johnson through double coverage. The ball was intercepted by Akron's Zach Guiser, and Penn State's momentum briefly stalled. BEST RUNGiven the ball on a play that appeared to be designed to go around the right edge, Barkley was met by a wall of Akron defenders. So he impro- vised. Barkley stopped in his tracks and reversed field, beating everyone to the right sideline before the Zips finally caught up with him after a gain of 25 yards. BEST CATCHJohnson showed on sev- eral occasions why Penn State's coach- ing staff raved about him throughout camp, but none was more impressive than a sideline grab he made to extend a Penn State drive that culminated in a Barkley touchdown run. On fourth down, McSorley rolled to his right and fired a dart to Johnson, who managed to keep one foot inbounds for a 7-yard gain along the sideline. JUDGMENT CALLS 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 4 D A V I D E C K E R T | B L U E W H I T E c O N T R I B U T O R The best and the rest from Penn State's decisive victory over Akron