Blue White Illustrated

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 Penn State took its time in getting going for Saturday's noon kick against Rutgers at Beaver Stadium. Spotting the visiting Scarlet Knights a bizarre open- ing kickoff change in possession, and six subsequent points on two of the follow- ing three Rutgers drives, the Nittany Lions were confronted with a 6-0 deficit and little in the way of offensive success. In fact, with five plays for 17 yards on the Lions' first possession, and a three- and-out on the next, Penn State did not secure its second first down until the 10:30 mark in the second quarter. The completion, a connection between quarterback Trace McSorley and tight end Mike Gesicki, would secure 19 yards and the first Nittany Lions' crossing into Rutgers territory. Just three plays later, the Nittany Lions were in the end zone, prompted by a DaeSean Hamilton 25-yard com- pletion and a 20-yard touchdown jaunt for McSorley to give the Lions a 7-6 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Taking a 14-6 lead to the half, the Nittany Lions re- turned to post three more scores on the board before walking away with a 35-6 win to improve to 8-2 on the season. Meeting with reporters a?er the game, Penn State head coach sized up the Lions' performance. Said Franklin, "We were able to play a complete football game. We started a little bit slow, but we won the field position battle, we won the turnover battle, we won the explo- sive play battle… We were able to get a W at home against a conference oppo- nent and we're excited." With just Nebraska back at Beaver Stadium next weekend and a trip to Maryland following Thanksgiving re- maining on the Nittany Lions' regular- season schedule, let's dive into some of the news and notes items, and themes to emerge from Saturday's game: GROUND GAME STRUGGLESPenn State's production on the ground con- tinues to flummox the Nittany Lions, and in particular, star running back Saquon Barkley. Though Barkley finished the game with a pair of touchdown runs, he car- ried the ball for just 35 yards on 14 car- ries and found his totals at negative Lions take advantage of Barkley-oriented defense N O V E M B E R 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 11 G A M E N O T E B O O K

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