Blue White Illustrated

different ways, and to see DeAndre Thompkins get a punt return for a touch- down is awesome." Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • Offense is what put Penn State back on the map in the past year, but the de- fense really came to play on Saturday, particularly the line. It didn't matter who was out there for the Lions at defensive tackle, Warren Ball had nowhere to go. Ball, an Ohio State transfer, gained only 27 yards on 13 carries vs. Penn State. And this is a guy who gained 71 yards on only seven carries a year ago against Wiscon- sin, owner of a pretty good defense. (Ball was hurt vs. the Badgers; this year's opener against Penn State was his first game back.) As a team, Akron managed only 159 yards. Said Franklin, "I thought our de- fense came out and played really well. We were dominant up front. I'd like to see a little more pass rush, but we were domi- nant up front, especially inside." • Not that the offense was overshad- owed. Barkley didn't get his first touch until nearly 10 minutes into the first quarter and didn't play in the fourth quarter but still finished with 172 yards rushing and 54 receiving. In addition, Trace McSorley completed 18 of 25 passes for 280 yards, with two TDs and an interception. And Juwan Johnson did a nice job in his starting debut, finishing with four catches for 84 yards. As a team, Penn State totaled 569 yards. "Early on, as the head coach, you're saying, we probably have to get Saquon Barkley more touches," Franklin said. "But they were putting us in a position to not put the ball in Saquon's hands, and if you're going to do that, we have other guys who can hurt you. You look at Saquon's stats, and obviously he had a great game, was very productive. But I love the fact that we've got quarterbacks who can beat you, we've got tight ends who can beat you, we've got receivers who can beat you. When you're one-di- mensional in any phase, you can be stopped. But when you have so many people in so many phases who can be ex- plosive and make plays, you're going to be difficult for people to game-plan against." • Thompkins' 61-yard touchdown on a first-quarter punt return was a very en- couraging sign for a Nittany Lion team that has been overdue for some big plays in the return game. Also encouraging: the 42-yarder he produced in the second quarter. The abundance of playmakers the Lions have recruited under Franklin is starting to show in the kicking game. • The Lions got contributions from a number of freshmen. Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos and cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields were all on the field in the first half while the outcome was still in doubt, and another cornerback, Lamont Wade, also saw action. THE BAD • DaeSean Hamilton's drop of a poten- tial big-gainer on Penn State's first drive was disconcerting. If the Lions are going to adequately replace Chris Godwin, the senior slot receiver is going to have to be part of the equation. On a positive note, Hamilton did catch three passes for 74 yards. • Tyler Davis missed a 39-yard field goal in the second quarter, although the field conditions were not great. He atoned by hitting a career-long 47- yarder in the third quarter. • Calling on Barkley to return the sec- ond-half kickoff seemed like a risky move. He may be the best man for the job, and there may come a time when the Lions need an explosive kickoff return to jump start their offense, as was the case late in the Rose Bowl when they put Barkley deep and got a 33-yard runback. But the second half of a 35-0 game was not a moment of desperation. • Not much else to report here. Except for this: The pace of the game was slowed by a number of video reviews of plays that had clearly been ruled correctly on the field. For those who argue that the re- play system has morphed from a fail-safe aimed at preventing egregious mistakes to a boredom-inducing time-suck, the first half of this game was Exhibit A. THE TAKEAWAY On to Pitt and the battle for in-state bragging rights. Those rights have be- longed to the Panthers since the begin- SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 8:13 PSU Thompkins, DeAndre 61-yard punt return (Davis, Tyler kick).......................................................................... 0-7 0:49 PSU Gesicki, Mike 13-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:49..................................................... 0-14 2ND 8:48 PSU McSorley, Trace 4-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 3 plays, 87 yards, TOP 0:51........................................................0-21 4:49 PSU Barkley, Saquon 3-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 5 plays, 62 yards, TOP 2:30......................................................0-28 0:23 PSU Barkley, Saquon 30-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 5 plays, 45 yards, TOP 1:51........................................................0-35 3RD 6:01 PSU Davis, Tyler 47-yard field goal 8 plays, 62 yards, TOP 4:03..................................................... 0-38 1:02 PSU Gesicki, Mike 2-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 3 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:23.......................................................0-45 4TH 10:20 PSU Stevens, Tommy 5-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 1:56...................................................... 0-52 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 2

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