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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 12 T I M O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . c O M Saquon Barkley's campaign for the 2017 Heisman Trophy has officially begun. And it begins in earnest. Saturday in Beaver Stadium in front of more than 101,000 fans, the junior from Coplay, Pa., sprinted past, leaped over and barreled through defenders en route to Penn State's 52-0 season-opening win. By the time that Barkley was pulled early in the fourth quarter, he had amassed 172 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He added 54 more yards on three receptions. It's the third time in his career that he surpassed 225 total yards from scrimmage and the first time it oc- curred on his home turf. "I just put a lot a work in it, a lot of work in my cra? and a lot of work in catching the ball, running the ball, seeing blitzes, pass blocking and all the little things, trying to be a complete player," Barkley said a?er the game. "That's why I see a difference. I put a lot of work in it. Hopefully as the season continues to go on, it shows." Although he started the season with one of his best regular-season games, which included a long of 80 yards, a ca- reer-high at home, he's not feeling con- tent with his own performance or that of the offense as a whole. "A lot of improvements to be made," Barkley said. "Obviously we put up 52 points, we ran the ball pretty well, threw the ball pretty well, but no one ever plays a perfect game. You try to be perfect. You try to be a perfectionist, but obviously it doesn't really happen. Until I get to that point I'll never be satisfied." The game started without Barkley touching the ball on Penn State's opening series, as an interception from quarter- back Trace McSorley ended the drive just short of the end zone. PSU's first score came on a punt return by DeAndre Thompkins a few minutes later. Penn State found itself with a 7-0 lead, and the majority of the first quarter had elapsed before Barkley took his first carry – an 8-yard rush to open the Nittany Lions' second drive. "With the offense we run, [Akron was] putting us in a position to not put the ball in Saquon Barkley's hands," head coach James Franklin said. "If you're going to do that, we have a number of other guys who can hurt you. When you look at Saquon Barkley's stats, obviously, he had a great game and he was very productive, but I love the fact that we have quarter- backs who can beat you, we have tight ends who can beat you, we have receivers who can beat you. When you're one-di- mensional in any phase then you can be stopped. When you have so many differ- ent people in so many different phases who are explosive and can make plays, then you're going to be difficult for peo- ple to game-plan against." When the offense regained possession – a?er a highlight-reel interception by cornerback Amani Oruwariye – Barkley was ready to roll. He opened with that 8-yard carry, and then had a 4-yarder and then a 10- yarder. Despite a limited number of touches in the first quarter – five, includ- ing two receptions – by the time PSU went into the locker room for hal?ime Barkley had already eclipsed 100 yards rushing. That was due in large part to that 80-yard scamper, which almost went for a touchdown. As Barkley him- self acknowledged a?er the game, how- ever, his heel stepped out of bounds at the 7-yard line. "Oh yeah," he said. "I stepped out." A?er gaining 145 yards in the first half, Barkley would go on to carry the ball just five more times a?er hal?ime and catch one more pass before his day was done. He also fielded a kick to open the sec- ond half, which he returned 20 yards and was something he was happy to do, al- though many fans could be heard ques- tioning the move to put the team's best player back deep when the game already appeared to be in hand. For Barkley, though, there was never any hesitation. "I don't play with that mindset of, oh, we're up 35, why am I back here?" he said. "When you play with that, that's when I think bad things start to happen. If anything is going to happen, it's going to happen anyway. I'm a real firm be- liever in that. I just come out every single day and try to work my butt off, push myself and push the guys and try to be a great leader and take advantage of every opportunity because you never know when it'll be your last." READY FOR HIS CLOSE-UP Saquon Barkley's off-season work pays off in a dazzling opening-day performance Barkley gained 172 rushing yards and scored two touch- downs against the Zips. Photo by Steve Manuel

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