Blue White Illustrated

tutions and continued to still not play as well as we should play," coach James Franklin said. "Again, I told the coaches in there, I don't think we played up to our standard in the second half. "But once again, I'm fighting the ten- dency to not be happy and enjoy wins. There are too many miserable coaches across the country who aren't happy aAer wins, and same thing with players in the locker room and things like that. We are going to enjoy the wins around here. There is going to be plenty on that tape to learn from and to grow from, but I'll be the first one to admit we didn't play up to our standards in the second half." With that in mind, let's take a look at a few of the news and notes items to emerge in the postgame: PERSONNEL NOTESDefensive end Ryan Buchholz and leA tackle Ryan Bates both dressed for the game, but neither played. Both players also dressed and were seen at practice Wednesday evening, but neither partic- ipated then. Special teams cover man Irvin Charles did not play, and was announced by Franklin aAerward as being "not avail- able this week," to which he did not elaborate further. And, last but not least, senior safety Troy Apke was ejected for a targeting call in the second half and will be forced to miss the first half of Penn State's game next Saturday at Maryland. BARKLEY'S FUTUREBarkley said he has not yet made a decision on whether to return to Penn State for his final sea- son of eligibility. "I'm really not even focusing on the future right now," said the junior run- ning back. "I'm excited that we sent the seniors off on a great note with a great win. Those guys are leaving a legacy here. We wouldn't be a team or a pro- gram without those guys." Franklin said that he gave Barkley his own advice before the start of the sea- son in a one-on-one conversation and the pair have not discussed it since. Nor, Franklin said, will he tell anyone what that advice entailed. "What I try to do for all of my players is give them advice that I would give my son," Franklin said. "If I feel like they should come back to school to finish their degree and have the opportunity to go on and get one more season of de- velopment and then go to the NFL, I tell them that. If I think they should leave early, then I tell them that as well, and to be honest with you I am very com- fortable with that." Barkley acknowledged that he and Franklin had discussed the matter but didn't reveal the substance of their con- versation. "Me and Coach Franklin have a very good relationship," he said. "I'm so thankful that I have a very good rela- tionship with my head coach. A lot peo- ple aren't like that at other programs. I haven't made a decision yet. ... At the end of this season, I'll sit down with my mother and my father and my family and we'll really think about it." The second part of the equation is that Barkley said he is healthy and does in- tend to play in the bowl game for Penn State, whatever it ends up being. "I'll play for my teammates. I'll play for my brothers," he said. "I understand why some other players have not played in a bowl game, [but] we're all different players, different people." Factoring into his decision to play in the Nittany Lions' upcoming bowl game is how strong he feels at this point in the season. "I'm really healthy right now," he said. "[And] it's important to me because I love football, and to be really honest, my teammates. If my teammates came out and said, don't play in the bowl game, I probably wouldn't. At the end of the day, I'm not playing for media; I'm playing for my teammates, my brothers, and from the off-season on, blood, sweat and tears, and my coaches, too. I wouldn't be the person I am with- out those people." HOME, SWEET HOMEAAer going 7-0 at home in 2016, Penn State repeated that feat this year, completing a perfect home record with the victory over Ne- braska. It's the first time in 31 years that Penn State has gone unbeaten at home in two consecutive seasons. There have been plenty of good-to- great teams in that span, even if there has not been an unbeaten team since 1994. Given where this program has been in its recent history, to have gener- ated those results is impressive, to say the least. GESICKI ON OFFENSEGesicki was asked about the run between the end of the first quarter and the full second quarter during which Penn State pro- duced 35 points in a span of just over 15 minutes. "We were putting up points leA and right, had a ton of explosive plays. Two- six [Barkley] was being two-six again. Everyone was able to contribute and make plays, so I was happy for that," Gesicki said. "But ultimately, to be able to walk out of Beaver Stadium with my teammates and coaches with a win for the last time is something that I'll re- member forever." The stat line that Gesicki was refer- encing: 17 carries for 158 yards and three touchdowns, plus six receptions for 66 yards. Pretty good day for Barkley. N O V E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 12 Barkley shredded Ne- braska's defense, to- taling 142 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone. Photo by Steve Manuel

• Cover