Blue White Illustrated

D E c E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 12 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 GLENDALE, Ariz. – Brendan Mahon called his shot. The fi@h-year senior offensive lineman sat at a podium for Fiesta Bowl media day earlier in the week and said, without hes- itation, that the Nittany Lions would win against the Washington Huskies. On Saturday a@ernoon, Mahon and the rest of Penn State's offensive line backed it up, generating 203 yards on the ground against the nation's previously No. 1- ranked rushing defense while limiting the impact of defensive tackle and NFL early entrant Vita Vea. "I told you guys it was going to happen, and we did it. We definitely ran the ball on the No. 1 run defense in the country. And we definitely moved the Pac-12 De- fensive Player of the Year around," said Mahon at his locker. "We knew that this game was going to start with us, and we took that responsibility over the past couple of weeks and really honed in on the things that we needed to work on, and it showed today." The Nittany Lions took the challenge to heart right out of the gates. Producing a 14-0 lead in the first quar- ter, Penn State's push up front helped es- tablish quarterback Trace McSorley on the ground with his four carries for 26 yards in addition to another five carries for 23 yards from star running back Saquon Barkley. Midway through the second quarter, Barkley reeled off the game's most dazzling play, ripping through a massive crease created by Connor McGovern and Will Fries and dashing 92 yards down the field and into the end zone. "I don't know if you guys happened to see, when he popped that, I think prob- ably the next five most happy guys were those offensive linemen," said Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover. "They were looking for each other, jumping around. I actually saw Steve Gonzalez get a little vertical jump there into McGovern's arms. So that was fun to see. That's when as a coach you get a smile on your face and go, 'Yeah, we scored a touchdown,' but the guys that worked so hard, they're getting some benefit from it and they're having fun playing the game of football." The score gave the Nittany Lions a 21- point lead and helped boost their first- half rushing total to 197 yards on just 18 carries. Slouched in a chair trading text mes- sages on his phone a@er the game, Limegrover beamed when asked about his group's ability to physically impose its will on the Huskies' hyped defensive front. "Believe it or not, the scheme that they played lent that quite a bit. When they took big No. 50 (Vita Vea) and put him on the nose, that gave us a lot of opportuni- ties to double him, and our guys were re- ally excited about that challenge I had given them," said Limegrover. "I said, 'Hey, we play our best in big games.' So with a group like this, I said let's make sure we're sound with what we do and let's get a@er their tail ends. The guys re- ally took to that and I appreciate that from them." So too did Penn State head coach James Franklin. Noting his pride in the group against what he considered to be one of the bet- ter run defenses in the country following the game, Franklin's words earlier in the week - along with those on social media and via other media outlets - may have in fact helped spur on the effort. "It felt great. We've been hearing from the media all week how Washington is the best rushing defense in the country," said a grinning Bates, reminded by a re- porter that Franklin also spent the week praising the Huskies' defense. "We showed the world what we do best. We put points on the board, and as the offen- sive line, I think we had a big part in that. They weren't small up front. They were good. They were some of the best we played all year, and at the end of the day we did what we do." The effort was not completely free of drama, though. With the Nittany Lions clinging to a tenuous seven-point lead, a false start on fourth-and-1 derailed their chance to finish the game on offense. It was Mahon who was flagged, and he admitted a@er the game that he felt awful a@er being coaxed into a penalty by Washington's "move" call and shi@ up front. But the final result helped ease the frustrations of the senior, who was rounding out his Penn State career. "I was sitting there and obviously my heart sunk," he said. "But we won, so ob- viously that erases that. I couldn't be happier with my career here at Penn State. There've been ups and downs, and I'm happy to go out with the win. Com- mitting back in 2013, we didn't think this was ever going to happen." Offensive line comes through in Fiesta Bowl victory QB Stevens mulls potential transfer GLENDALE, Ariz. – Tommy Stevens stuck to his script Saturday following the Nittany Lions' 35-28 win against Wash- ington in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State's redshirt sophomore backup quarterback said he hadn't yet given any thought to his future as a Nit- tany Lion or whether he would be better off at a school where there wasn't a firmly established incumbent ahead of him on the depth chart. But he does plan to evaluate his situation now that the season is over. "I'm going to have a little bit of time to figure out what I want to do," he said. "I tried to keep it true and worry about who we were going to play that week, what they were going to do and ultimately be prepared for that opponent. So I'm proud of myself for being able to do that and give myself a chance to be success- ful." Stevens said he did not have a timeline for his decision. –N.B.

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