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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 3 fense at just under 200 yards per game, held Penn State to 39 rushing yards and an average of 1.1 yards per carry once McSorley's sack yardage was factored in. Barkley had only 56 rushing yards. "Obviously, everybody's game plan is to stop Saquon Barkley and the run game," Franklin said. "We have to get better in that area, but I love the fact that we have so many guys who can hurt you, like DaeSean Hamilton and a number of guys who can go out there and make plays on the perimeter." • The field goal unit continued to struggle. Tyler Davis sent a 21-yard at- tempt wide right in the third quarter, and the protection broke down on a 42-yard try in the fourth, resulting in a block. Davis is now 5 for 11 on the season, in- cluding a 3-for-7 mark from inside 40 yards. "Obviously we've got to get the field goal situation cleaned up. That's unac- ceptable," Franklin said. "I'm not pleased with that at all. I don't want this to come off the wrong way. We are going to enjoy wins around here, but there are some things we've got to be honest with our- selves about and get cleaned up." On a more positive note, six of Davis's eight kickoffs went for touchbacks. But the field goal problems are a major con- cern. The day is going to come, perhaps as early as this week, when the Lions are going to need a pressure kick at the end of a game. Right now, it's hard to feel confident in their ability to deliver, from any distance. • Tight end Mike Gesicki le? the game in the first half a?er getting hit on a short completion, and he didn't return. For obvious reasons, that is a very large con- cern. LOOKING AHEAD Next up: a trip to Northwestern for the first and only morning kickoff of the sea- son (11 a.m. local time). The Wildcats have a highly productive quarterback in junior Clayton Thorson, who went into this weekend's action ranked first in the conference with a 265.3-yard passing av- erage. Thorson had an up-and-down af- ternoon in a 33-24 loss at Wisconsin on Saturday. He threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to give the Wildcats a shot at pulling off an upset. But in the final minute of the game, he got caught in the end zone while rolling out, resulting in a safety that ended their comeback bid. Wisconsin put a lot of heat on Thorson throughout the game, totaling eight sacks. Penn State will be looking to do likewise, and that won't be the only ob- jective. The Lions will also need to get their running game going, and they'll have to do it on the road. "There are areas where we have to get better," Franklin said. "For where we want to go and what we want to do, we've got to get better. We've got to identify those things and spend a lot of time Sun- day and Monday working to find ways to get better in those areas."

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