Blue White Illustrated

Indiana Postgame

Penn State Sports Magazine

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/881846

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 1 of 13

ing inconsistency when trying to convert seemingly makeable field goal attempts – continued unabated. "I thought in the first quarter we played really well, I thought the fourth quarter we played pretty well," coach James Franklin said. "But I felt like we took the foot off the gas a little bit in the second and third quarters. You've got to give [In- diana] credit. Their head coach does a re- ally, really good job, their guys play really hard. They're sound, and they've got some tough schemes defensively. That's [Tom Allen's] background, and they've done a nice job. But we've got to play four-quarter football." Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • The game was only 14 seconds old and already Barkley had 98 yards of total of- fense. He had averaged 22.9 yards on seven kickoff returns in Penn State's first four games, but given his penchant for gobbling up big chunks of yardage when- ever he gets into the open field, it was probably only a matter of time before he broke a long one. "That's another example of why we said we want to use Saquon Barkley as a kickoff returner," Franklin said. "It's a play where we know we can get the ball in his hands in space, and it's a play that paid off for us today." Barkley finished with 205 all-purpose yards, including an absolutely ridiculous one-handed catch-and-run late in the first quarter that produced 36 yards and will probably be one of the highlights that Mel Kiper Jr. gushes about on dra? day. He also threw a 16-yard TD pass to DaeSean Hamilton on a halfback option pass. • Speaking of Hamilton, the senior wideout had a momentous a?ernoon. He caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns and in the process broke Deon Butler's school record for most career receptions. He now has 181 catches in his career, the most recent being that touchdown catch from Barkley in the fourth quarter. "I think he's a great example for our younger players, a great example in gen- eral," Franklin said. "He's been a great leader, a great teammate, a great student. They've been playing football at Penn State for a long time, and there have been a bunch of great players. Whenever you can say you're the all-time leader at Penn State, that's pretty special." • Barkley's touchdown was the first of two special teams scores for the Nittany Lions. Later in the first quarter, Nick Scott returned a fumbled punt 13 yards for a TD. It was the first time since a 33- 28 loss at Illinois in 2001 that Penn State had two special teams touchdowns in one game. • The Nittany Lions went into the game ranked first in the Big Ten in takeaways and helped their cause against Indiana by amassing four more – three on fumble recoveries and one on an interception by Amani Oruwariye. "I thought the turnovers were huge," Franklin said. "We've been emphasizing that all off-season. The ones we got tonight were mostly on tackles, with jar- ring hits and strips, things like that. So I'm pleased with the progress that we're making there." • A?er giving up a couple of second- quarter touchdowns, the defense clamped down in the second half. Jason Cabinda was all over the field, totaling a game-high 14 tackles. "We're playing really good defense when you talk about scoring defense," Franklin said. "To me, that's the most important number that there is out there." • Those new "Generations of Great- ness" uniforms looked sharp. They were sleek and modern but full of retro touches to keep the traditionalists happy. Hopefully, we haven't seen the last of them. The end zone diamonds were another nice nod to the past. Wouldn't mind see- ing those again, too. THE BAD • Indiana, which went into the game ranked last in the Big Ten in rushing de- SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 14:46 PSU Barkley, Saquon 98-yard kickoff return (Davis, Tyler kick).......................................................................... 0-7 11:41 PSU McSorley, Trace 1-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 6 plays, 39 yards, TOP 2:45...................................................... 0-14 6:34 PSU Scott, Nick 13-yard fumble recovery (Davis, Tyler kick).....0-21 0:41 PSU Hamilton, DaeSean 8-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 9 plays, 73 yards, TOP 4:28..................................................... 0-28 2ND 14:01 IND Brookins, Ricky 2-yard run (Oakes, Griffin kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:40....................................................... 7-28 0:44 IND Cobbs Jr., Simmie 18-yard pass from Ramsey, Peyton (Oakes, Griffin kick) 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:05................................................... 14-28 3RD 5:50 PSU Davis, Tyler 45-yard field goal 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 3:24..................................................... 14-31 3:22 PSU Hamilton, DaeSean 24-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 4 plays, 52 yards, TOP 1:36..................................................... 14-38 4TH 4:13 PSU Hamilton, DaeSean 16-yard pass from Barkley, Saquon (Davis, Tyler kick) 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:20.....................................................14-45 S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 2

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Blue White Illustrated - Indiana Postgame