Blue White Illustrated

S E P T E M B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 I don't have the words to adequately de- scribe Saquon Barkley's performance against Iowa. For me, watching him attack a very well-conceived Hawkeyes defen- sive scheme was a once-in-a-lifetime college football experience. Football is, by its very nature, an 11-man team sport, but if there is a player in the game today who is capable of putting an entire team on his back, it's Barkley. In a remarkable record-breaking performance last Saturday night, Barkley put Penn State's entire offense on his back and willed it to a victory over Iowa. He amassed a Penn State-record 358 all-pur- pose yards, including 211 rushing yards on 28 carries and 12 receptions for 94 yards. In so doing, he proved beyond any rea- sonable doubt that he's the most talented player in the country. He also impressed in the media room aBer the game. One of the more notewor- thy aspects of Barkley's career at Penn State is that he's remained extremely level-headed and humble amid an out- pouring of praise from both fans and media. "I can't take the credit for the perform- ance, it's an 11-man sport," Barkley told Greg Pickel of the Harrisburg Patriot- News following his performance against Iowa. "You can't do it by yourself." That's the right perspective, and it il- lustrates why I firmly believe Barkley is the great player and person he is today. He is never so self-absorbed that he needs the affirmation of outsiders to con- firm to him that he is great at what he does. BTN studio analyst Howard Griffith ex- plained Barkley's unique skill set suc- cinctly on the "Final Drive" following Penn State's 21-19 win over the Hawkeyes. "I don't think I've ever seen a [running back] with his size, speed and lateral mobility in my entire life," Griffith said. "He truly is a special player." Griffith's BTN colleague Chuck Long put it this way: "That was a Heismanlike performance. He reminds me of a guy I played with in Detroit [in the NFL]: Barry Sanders. I don't have a Heisman vote, but if I did he would have my Heisman vote. I can't imagine there is a better player in all of college football." Maybe the best accolade I heard thrown in Barkley's direction following his re- markable performance against the Hawkeyes came from columnist Tom Di- enhart of BTN.com: "While [Trace] Mc- Sorley provided the knockout punch with a laser pass [to defeat Iowa], make no mistake about it: This was Barkley's night. He didn't touch the ball on the final four plays of the game. But the junior's fingerprints were all over this instant classic. Sorry, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold and anyone else with Heisman dreams dancing in their head: But until further notice, Barkley is the leader for the prized bronze bauble." I've seen all the great Penn State run- ning backs firsthand in the 30-plus years I've been covering the Penn State football program: Charlie Pittman, Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell, John Cappelletti, Curt Warner, D.J. Dozier, Blair Thomas, Ki- Jana Carter, Curtis Enis, Larry Johnson, Evan Royster. When Barkley moves on to the NFL, he'll be at the top of the list for me. I agree with Griffith. In nearly four decades of watching and writing about college football, I've never seen a running back like Barkley. No single player has combined his size, speed, lateral mobility and pure football instincts and athleti- cism. My only regret is that this once-in-a- lifetime Penn State football experience will almost certainly reach its conclusion in a few months. But in the two-plus sea- sons he has played so far, he's established himself one of the best players in the pro- gram's history, certainly in my lifetime, and one of its all-time best ambassadors. I just can't wait for this week's game against Indiana. I can't wait to see what Barkley has in store for us to witness against the Hoosiers. With his performance vs. Hawkeyes, Barkley leaps to front of Heisman race PHIL'S CORNER Barkley had a huge night against Iowa, totaling a Penn State-record 358 all-purpose yards, including 211 yards rushing. After the game, BTN colum- nist Tom Dienhart wrote that the jun- ior running back is the nation's leading Heisman Trophy candidate. Photo by Steve Manuel

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