Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/884703
PLAYER OF THE GAMEHis perform- ance through much of the first five games called into question, Trace Mc- Sorley provided an answer heading into the bye week. Connecting on 25 of 34 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown, plus a score on the ground, McSorley helped guide the Nittany Lion offense past a Northwestern defense that was determined to bottle up Saquon Barkley – and largely succeeded in that goal. Patient throughout, McSorley found a groove in the second and third quarters, setting a school record by completing 15 consecutive passes. PLAY OF THE GAME In the postgame news conference, Barkley said he felt no frustration through much of the first three quarters of the game at Ryan Field. He had a 1-yard touchdown carry in the third quarter but otherwise had been stopped outright. With 2 minutes, 13 seconds left to play in the third, though, Barkley broke off a 53-yard touchdown carry that boosted the Nit- tany Lions' lead to 24-0 and effectively put a Northwestern comeback out of reach. BEST PASSWith Penn State leading Northwestern 10-0 in the second quar- ter and facing a third-and-14, McSorley calmly hung in the pocket and delivered a first-down strike to Juwan Johnson between three Wildcat defenders. BEST RUN Shadowed by multiple de- fenders for the entire game, Barkley fi- nally found a crease late in the third quarter. Taking the handoff from Mc- Sorley in the backfield, he shuffled, juked and jumped into the middle of the field, finally using an inadvertent screen from the back judge to rip off a 53-yard touchdown carry. The run gave the Nittany Lions a little more breath- ing room at 24-0. BEST CATCH Penn State's offense had a number of good catches Saturday, but none were as dramatic or as important as Amani Oruwariye's first-quarter in- terception in which he caught the ball at its highest point and came down with yet another takeaway. WORST DROPNorthwestern tight end Bennett Skowronek had Christian Campbell beat on the Wildcats' first possession of the day, but quarterback Clayton Thorson just barely overthrew JUDGMENT CALLS O c T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 4 N A T E B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M The best and the rest from Penn State's victory at Northwestern