Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME Lining up across from one of the best defenses in the country, Saquon Barkley waited about 30 seconds before he made it clear he was the best player on the field on Saturday. Barkley rambled for a 69- yard touchdown run on the second play of the game, and didn't stop impressing from that point on. Before the night concluded, he added a touchdown catch of 42 yards. He finished the evening with 108 yards rushing and another 53 through the air. PLAY OF THE GAMEGive Barkley a lit- tle space, and he's bound to do some- thing electrifying. The Nittany Lions did that on their second offensive play by giving the Heisman candidate the ball on a direct snap. Barkley ran through a gaping hole in the unprepared Michigan defensive front, and by then it was all over. BEST PASSAs the first half was draw- ing to a close, Penn State's offense needed to make a play. The Nittany Lions hadn't scored since the first five minutes of the first quarter, and Michi- gan had cut their lead to just one. From the Penn State 37, Trace McSorley found DaeSean Hamilton with a perfectly thrown deep ball that set the Nittany Lions up deep in Wolverine territory. McSorley finished the drive off a few plays later to send his team into half- time with a 21-13 lead. WORST PASSBarkley had an edge on his man coming over the middle on a crossing pattern. Usually, that's a recipe for an explosive play. But, under a bit of pressure from an outstanding Michigan defensive line, McSorley wasn't able to hit his running back with an accurate pass. Instead, McSorley sailed his throw over Barkley's head, and the Nittany Lions missed a big opportunity. BEST RUNSpearheading a slow and steady drive deep into Michigan terri- tory, McSorley kept the ball for himself on a run play and made it into the sec- ond level of the Michigan defense. Once there, he made a couple of defenders miss before bouncing outside and start- ing a race to the pylon. Nobody on the Wolverine defense could beat him there, and McSorley scored to give the Nittany Lions a 28-13 lead. BEST CATCHJames Franklin said he was going to take shots on Saturday, and it took less than five minutes for his prediction to come true. A Nittany Lion JUDGMENT CALLS O c T O B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 4 D A V I D E C K E R T | B L U E W H I T E c O N T R I B U T O R The best and the rest from Penn State's thrashing of the Wolverines

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