Blue White Illustrated

WORST DROPThe Nittany Lions dropped a pair of would-be touch- downs in the first half. First, Andre Robinson couldn't haul in a lob from McSorley while sliding into the end zone. Fortunately for him, Penn State scored later on the drive. Later, how- ever, DaeSean Hamilton failed to come down with a pass in the end zone. The Nittany Lions weren't able to make up for Hamilton's mistake, as the drive ended in a missed field goal. BEST SACKTyrell Chavis plowed through Akron's offensive line, collaps- ing the pocket as Curtis Cothran came around the end with a burst of speed. The duo met in the middle for Penn State's first sack of the game. BEST HITParker Cothren pushed through the Akron offensive line and brought the hammer down on Zips quarterback Thomas Woodson just after he released the ball. Cothren's hit helped establish a standard of physical- ity that the Nittany Lion defense would adhere to all game long. BEST EFFORTNobody can turn a routine short- yardage catch over the middle into a five-second highlight reel quite like Barkley. He made what seemed like the entirety of Akron's sec- ondary miss as he turned upfield, hur- dling another Zip before finally being dragged down with one of the hardest- earned 17-yard gains you'll ever see. BEST INTERCEPTIONIsolated in a one- on-one situation against a taller wide receiver, Amani Oruwariye took advan- tage of a slightly underthrown pass from Woodson in the middle of the first quarter to secure the Nittany Lions' first takeaway of the year, sprawling along the sideline and snagging the throw at full extension. BEST KICKTyler Davis opened the scoring in the second half with a 47- yard field goal, the longest of his career. It was a necessary rebound for Davis, who had missed his first kick of the day. WORST KICKDavis lined up from the left hash in the second quarter for a 39- yard attempt. Normally steady from short yardage, Davis got his senior sea- son off on the wrong foot, shanking the attempt wide to the left and failing to add to the Nittany Lion lead. BEST RETURNOn a punt that a less daring return man may have elected to fair-catch, DeAndre Thompkins avoided a defender bearing down on him after he secured the ball, and the rest was simple. Thompkins broke for the left sideline streaking untouched before cutting toward the middle of the field to avoid the punter and coasting into the end zone to score the first Penn State points of the new season. BEST DECISIONJames Franklin elected to go for it on fourth-and-2 from Akron's 37-yard line late in the second half, and was rewarded when Johnson brought down an impressive catch to keep the drive alive. Penn State scored on the next play to go into halftime with a 35-0 lead. WORST DECISIONAkron elected to punt on fourth- and-3 from Penn State's 46-yard line down 35 points early in the second half. For an offense that struggled to put anything together all game, it was somewhat of a white flag from coach Terry Bowden. The Zips pinned the Nittany Lions inside their own 10, but Penn State still managed to drive down the field and kick a field goal. MOST TELLING MOMENTThe Lions waited for much of the first quarter to get Barkley involved in the game as any- thing more than a decoy. But when they did start giving him the ball, it became clear that the Akron defense had no an- swer. Barkley ripped off an 8-yard gain on his first carry of the season. The Nit- tany Lion offensive line had no prob- lems with the defensive front of the Zips, and Penn State's offense moved the ball at will for the majority of the game. 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 5 Johnson's catch on the sideline just before halftime kept a Penn State drive alive and set up a touchdown run by Barkley mo- ments later to put the game out of reach. The sophomore wideout finished with four catches for 84 yards. Photo by Steve Manuel

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