Penn State turns the tables on Michigan
Nittany Lions avenge last regular-season loss behind Barkley and McSorley.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State turned its whiteout into a knockout of Michigan.
Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley cut through one of the nation’s stingiest defenses, each scoring three touchdowns, and the No. 2 Nittany Lions emphatically avenged its last regular-season loss with a 42-13 victory against the 19th-ranked Wolverines on Saturday night.
Barkley set the tone the first time he touched the ball. He took a direct snap on the second play of the game and blazed 69 yards for a touchdown on his way to 161 yards from scrimmage that are a nice addition to his Heisman Trophy bid.
“Obviously we knew they were very aggressive. They’re a great defense, got a great coordinator,” Barkley said. “Sometimes it seems like a heavyweight fight. They’re going to get some and we’re going to get ours. When you got your opportunity, you got to score.”
McSorley ran for three touchdowns for Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten), including a darting 13-yarder in the third quarter that made it 28-13 and led the recordbreaking, white-out crowd of 110,823 at Beaver Stadium to sing along to “Sweet Caroline.” McSorley and Barkley combined for the shot that pretty much put Michigan away, a 42-yard pass with Barkley burning linebacker Mike McCray and then making a juggling catch to make it 35-13 early in the fourth quarter.
Michigan came in giving up 223 yards a game and 3.68 yards per play. Nittany Lions went for 506 yards and 8.3 per play, adding a few new looks to its offense, like the wildcat formation Barkley broke for the game’s first touchdown.
“Instead of lining up and sending the quarterback out wide we shifted to it at the last minute so they couldn’t go to a wildcat check,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “We had some wrinkles in there.”
Penn State has not lost a regular-season game since getting trounced 49-10 by Michigan (5-2, 2-2) last season. That seems like a lifetime ago in Happy Valley, where the defending Big Ten champions look even better than last year.