McSorley, Barkley lead Penn St. to 6th straight
EVANSTON, ILL. » Trace McSorley had no idea he was on a school-record run of completions. He just knew he was making the right reads and strong throws.
McSorley threw for 245 yards and a touchdown, Saquon Barkley ran for two scores in the second half, and No. 4 Penn State beat Northwestern 31-7 on Saturday.
McSorley completed 15 straight passes to break Kerry Collins’ previous mark of 14 at Minnesota in 1994 and was 25 of 34 overall. He threw a 10-yard touchdown to backup quarterback Tommy Stevens in the second quarter and added a 5-yard TD run in the fourth.
“I felt good,” McSorley said. “Woke up today feeling great. Came out in warmups, was feeling really well. Our receivers were doing a great job ... finding those voids and sitting in them. Our line did a great job.” As for breaking Collins’ record? “It’s pretty cool,” McSorley said. Barkley scored on a 1-yard leap and 53yard dash in the third quarter to make it 24-0. The Heisman Trophy candidate finished with 75 yards rushing after being held to minus- the first half.
Shaka Toney had two sacks, and the balanced Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) came away with an easy victory. For all the attention their offense got coming off a Big Ten championship, the defense and special teams continue to do their part, too.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” coach James Franklin said. “I think our team is playing with a lot of confidence right now, especially in our secondary and on the defensive side of the ball. We have some things that we’ve got to get better at and we’ve got to improve. But I think we’re in an ideal situation.”
The Wildcats (2-3, 0-2) had two of their top defensive players ejected for targeting in the second half, with linebacker Paddy Fisher flagged for a hit on McSorley and safety Godwin Igwebuike for striking Miles Sanders.
Barkley flashed his Heisman form in the third and broke open a 10-0 game. He leaped in from the 1 in the opening minutes and scored on a 53-yard run through the middle and up the right side late in the quarter, making it 24-0.
“Saquon’s going to end up popping one off at some point,” McSorley said. “It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when. That’s kind of how we feel about him.”