Blue White Illustrated

A t this time last year, Penn State was one of the biggest storylines in all of college football. A;er wrapping up their September schedule with a crushing 49-10 defeat at the hands of Michigan, the Nittany Lions were 2-2 and an a;erthought as far as the pollsters and pundits were concerned. But then they shocked the world by embarking on the program's longest winning streak in nearly a decade. Their streak began with a 29-26 overtime win over Minnesota, followed by a convincing 38-14 victory over Maryland. Then the Nittany Lions did what most college football analysts might have thought impossible, beating Ohio State, 24-21, on Oct. 22 in their an- nual White Out extravaganza. With the victory over the second- ranked Buckeyes, Penn State was sud- denly a hot commodity. It capitalized on that momentum, finishing its regu- lar season with lopsided wins over Purdue (62-24), Iowa (41-14), Indiana (45-31), Rutgers (39-0) and Michigan State (45-12). Then came a thrilling 38- 31 comeback victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game and a no less thrilling but ultimately disap- pointing game against Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl, in which the Lions blew a late lead in a 52-49 loss to the Tro- jans. Penn State 9nished with an 11-3 record and the No. 8 ranking in both the Asso- ciated Press and coaches polls. A;er years of sanction-related struggles, the Nittany Lions were once again major players in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The No. 1 reason why Penn State be- came a sudden contender for the College Football Playo: was the introduction of a new o:ensive system under the guid- ing hand of 9rst-year coordinator Joe Moorhead. There were some struggles initially, especially in that game against Michigan, a team that 9elded one of the most experienced defenses in the coun- try. But in the second half of the season, the Nittany Lions averaged just over 490 yards of total o:ense and 45.5 points per game. Moorhead's o:ensive philosophy al- lowed Saquon Barkley to emerge during Penn State's 9nal seven games as the No. 1 running back in college football. Barkley enjoyed an amazing run in Oc- tober and early November, impressing the college football world on a weekly basis. He rushed for 202 yards against Maryland and had an explosive per- formance against Purdue in which he totaled 277 all-purpose yards. He fol- lowed up that game with 211 all-purpose yards against Iowa, rushing for 167 yards and a touchdown and catching a 44- yard pass for a second score. Through nine games last year, Barkley had rushed for 1,055 yards on 167 carries (6.3 ypc) and was leading the Big Ten with an average of 117.2 yards per game. During a 9ve-game stretch encompass- ing games against Minnesota, Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue and Iowa, Barkley rushed for 738 yards on 101 carries, av- eraging of 7.3 yards per attempt. It was the best yards-per-carry average by a Penn State running back over an ex- tended period of time since Larry John- son rushed for 2,087 yards on 271 carries (7.7 ypc) in 2002. But as impressive as Barkley was dur- ing the 2016 Big Ten season, it was his performance against Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl that made him one of the three leading candidates for the Heis- man Trophy this fall. Facing a Trojans defense that had limited eventual Pac-12 champion and College Football Playo: participant Washington to 232 yards and one o:ensive touchdown, Barkley had his best performance of the 2016 season. He set a Penn State bowl record by rush- ing for 194 yards on 25 carries (7.76 ypc) with two rushing touchdowns. He also caught 9ve passes for 55 yards and a touchdown and returned two kicko:s for 57 yards. His 306 all-purpose yards were the most of his career to that point. Barkley's 79-yard touchdown run on Penn State's 9rst o:ensive play of the second half of the Rose Bowl was one of the most electrifying moments of the entire 2016 postseason. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit predicted during the broadcast that Barkley and Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold were going to be the face of college football in 2017. PHIL'S CORNER N O T I C E T O S U B S C R I B E R S Mailing date of December issue subject to change The next edition of Blue White Illustrated will preview Penn State's bowl game. When BWI went to press with its current issue, the Nittany Lions' postseason destination was still several weeks from being revealed. That means that the mail date of the upcoming magazine is subject to change. The bowl preview is currently slated to be mailed on Dec. 22. If that date changes, we will notify subscribers via email. ■ Setbacks hinder Heisman Trophy bid, but Barkley is still an all-time great

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