Blue White Illustrated

"We were able to play a complete foot- ball game," Franklin said. "We started a little slow, but we won the field-position battle, we won the turnover battle and we won the explosive-play battle. We came up a little bit short; we only had nine explosive plays and we usually like to be at 12 or above, but overall, very good." Penn State improved to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten, while the Knights slipped to 4-6 and 3-4 in the conference and saw their postseason hopes fade substantially. Here's a look at the good and the bad: THE GOOD • Except for an early drive on which Rutgers went 57 yards in 15 plays to set up a 25-yard field goal and a 6-0 lead, Penn State's defense was superb. The Nittany Lions held Rutgers without a first down for more than half of the game. From early in the second quarter till midway through the fourth, the Knights weren't able to move the chains even once. With an offense that is built around the running game, Rutgers managed 157 rushing yards, 45 of which came on one late-fourth-quarter drive against a Penn State defense made up primarily of back- ups. They weren't able to throw the ball at all, as quarterback Giovanni Rescigno, hit only 7 of 20 attempts for 43 yards. "The defense, I thought, played really well against a team that had been run- ning the ball on people lately," Franklin said. "We were able to get a 'W' at home against a conference opponent, so we're excited." Linebacker Jason Cabinda was espe- cially effective, finishing with 11 tackles. One of those stops was on a fake punt at- tempt. Reading the play immediately, Cabinda rushed into the hole and stopped Jerome Washington behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-2 to give Penn State possession. • With Saquon Barkley attracting Rut- gers' undivided attention on every snap, the Lions needed a solid game from Trace McSorley, and the junior quarterback de- livered. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 44 yards and a score. Those three touchdowns boosted his career total to 68, breaking Daryll Clark's Penn State career record. A?erward, Franklin was just as happy with his rushing yards as with his passing proficiency. "I think we're always at our best on of- fense when Trace factors into our run- ning game and keeps people on their toes," he said. • Franklin had been saying the Nittany Lions needed to be better in sudden- change situations, and the defense re- sponded at the very opening of the game. The Lions had been expecting to get the ball to start, but the kickoff landed in no man's land, and the Scarlet Knights pounced on it to take possession at Penn State's 21-yard line. It was a tough way to open the game, but the defense stopped the Knights at the 14 and held them to a 33-yard field goal. "Before we go on the field, Brent [Pry] brings the whole defense up and chal- lenges them, lets them know that this is a sudden-change situation, this is an area that we need to get better at," Franklin said. "It's not like the [defen- sive] calls are different, or anything like that. It's just a mentality. There's an emotional effect from a turnover, and you have an opportunity to swing that back and be a mentally tough team and get a three-and-out or get a turnover or create a punt, whatever it is. Last week and this week, we've done a really good job in that area." • The Nittany Lions finally busted out that mysterious hook-and-ladder play that Kirk Herbstreit alluded to during the broadcast of the Michigan game last month. And it worked, as Barkley caught the lateral from DaeSean Hamilton and vaulted down to the goal line to set up a touchdown. THE BAD • Penn State's offensive front contin- ued to struggle against a Rutgers team that went into Saturday's action ranked 13th in the Big Ten in rush defense. The Knights had been allowing 179.6 yards per game, but they held Barkley to 35 yards on 14 carries, and Penn State fin- ished with 90 yards as a team. "We've got to be able to run the ball a little bit more consistently and protect a little bit more consistently on offense," Franklin said. "I thought there were some big plays that we le? on the field." • The Lions were not as opportunistic against Rutgers as they've been most of the season. They dropped a couple of po- SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 12:48 RU Harte, Andrew 33-yard field goal 4 plays, 7 yards, TOP 2:12............................................................ 3-0 2ND 11:16 RU Harte, Andrew 25-yard field goal 15 plays, 57 yards, TOP 7:45....................................................... 6-0 9:32 PSU McSorley, Trace 20-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 4 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:44......................................................... 6-7 1:13 PSU Hamilton, DaeSean 22-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:26........................................................6-14 3RD 6:00 PSU Barkley, Saquon 1-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 9 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:50...................................................... 6-21 1:42 PSU Barkley, Saquon 4-yard run (Davis, Tyler kick) 4 plays, 46 yards, TOP 2:11....................................................... 6-28 4TH 6:52 PSU Gesicki, Mike 16-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Davis, Tyler kick) 9 plays, 62 yards, TOP 5:00..................................................... 6-35 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 2

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