Blue White Illustrated

LAST WORD 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 aquon Barkley had just been limited to his lowest all-purpose yardage total of the season. Largely con- tained by a sell-out Northwestern de- fense, the Nittany Lion running back accumulated only 75 yards rushing on 16 carries, plus two receptions for an- other 9 yards. But after the game, Barkley offered no hint of frustration at how his afternoon had played out. He had been on the winning side of a 31-7 score, one that improved his team to 6-0 with a bye week on deck, and he lent his veteran perspective to the present reality of Penn State football. What is that real- ity? It's that Penn State isn't solely re- liant on its best player, but instead has the ability to cash in on the vulnerabili- ties that opponents expose in their at- tempts to stop him. "A lot of teams have been keying on our run game in recent weeks trying to stop the run. But if you try to stop the run, we have so many other weapons," Barkley said. "We have a great offensive coordinator, a great offensive staff, and a great offensive team, especially [when combined] with a great defense. Our special teams are playing on a high cylinder, too. If we can continue to play on a high cylinder in all three phases of the game, we'll continue to succeed." The notion might be an obvious one, but it is worthy of a deeper examina- tion. Save for a 52-0 shutout against Akron to open the year and a 56-0 bludgeon- ing of Georgia State two weeks later, the Nittany Lions have taken on a markedly different personality than the 2016 team that captivated the country en route to a Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl berth. The '16 team relied on a big-play offense to put opponents away. Its de- fense was talented but had holes that some opponents were able to exploit, and the special teams units didn't pro- duce long returns. Trailing at the half in six of their final 10 games, the Lions created an identity around their second-half comebacks and thrilling, nerve-wracking slugfests. They won all but one of those games, excelling on offense while buckling down on the other side of the ball. In contrast, at this year's midseason bye, Penn State had trailed for just 6 minutes, 37 seconds of the 360 minutes of football it had played. Astoundingly, it had outscored its opponents 141-3 in the first and third quarters of its games. The Lions were dominant defensively, ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring de- fense at just 9.0 points per game, while leading the country in turnovers gained. They were also in the top 20 in total de- fense, passing yards allowed, team tack- les for loss, team sacks, passes intercepted and pass-efficiency de- fense. On special teams, the Lions were inar- guably dangerous through six games, turning out 14 points in the first quarter of their victory against Indiana, spring- ing DeAndre Thompkins and Saquon Barkley for punt- and kickoff-return touchdowns, respectively, and covering kicks and punts with stifling effective- ness. Offensively, Penn State finished the sixth week of the college football season ranked No. 19 in scoring with an average of 39.7 points per game. It had the No. 27 passing game, had turned the ball over just five times, and was featuring the consensus Heisman Trophy front- runner in Barkley. And yet, in many ways, the prevailing sentiment was that the Lions had not necessarily passed the eye test to which all teams with lofty expectations are subjected. Their third-down conversion rate was low, their running game was averaging just 165.0 yards and they were allowing a whopping 8.33 tackles for loss per game. It's also worth noting that the Lions' scoring and yardage av- erages had been skewed by the Akron and Georgia State games, in which they combined for 108 points and 1,095 yards. But coach James Franklin is confident that his team can take the necessary steps through the second half of the season. If that requires them to rely on different facets of their team from one week to the next rather than leaning on a record-setting offense, he is content with that approach. "I would say we're playing winning football in all three phases – offense, defense and special teams. When you're able to do that, there could be a week where one of the units isn't playing as well as they should and you still have a chance to overcome it because you have two that are playing well," Franklin said. "I don't think there's any doubt about it, we want to play each week with all three playing winning football. But it does create a little bit of wiggle room for you. ... If you win two out of the three phases, you have a chance." In some ways, the concept is defined by the "pick your poison" mantra that seemed to characterize the Lions' of- fense last year. The difference is that with a multifaceted offense, a ball- hawking defense and a potent special teams unit, this year's iteration of that approach encompasses all three phases of the game. The Lions have a margin for error that Franklin is hoping will grow as the season progresses. And if it does grow, so too will the team's chances of success. ■ Means to an end S

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