Penn State needs OT to avoid stunner

After squandering a 14point, fourth-quarter lead to a program with a history of being a giant killer, things grew tense in Happy Valley. Not for Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley.

The Heisman Trophy hopeful led a game-tying drive with less than a minute to go to force overtime and No. 10 Penn State (1-0) rebounded to hold off Appalachian State 45-38 exactly 11 years after the Mountaineers stunned Michigan in one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

With two defenders in his face, McSorley, who was 21 for 36 passing for 230 yards and two rushing touchdowns, fired off his back foot to KJ Hamler for the 15-yard score with 42 seconds left. Penn State’s defense held on to send the game to overtime, where Miles Sanders scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Nittany Lions (1-0) and cornerback Amani Oruwariye intercepted a Zac Thomas pass in the end zone to seal the win.

“I don’t know what’s in the water in Boone, North Carolina, but it seems like they’ve been doing this for a long time against whoever they play,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “I started the game at 46 years old. I ended it at 51.”

Sanders, who played well in Saquon Barkley’s shadow the last two seasons, looked calm taking over primary rushing duties. He ran 19 times for 91 yards with two touchdowns, but it took a Jake Pinegar field goal to let Penn State head into halftime in a 10-10 tie.

In fact, the Mountaineers (0-1) controlled much of the game before that and rebounded after surrendering two scoring drives in the third. Thomas, in his first career start, completed 25 of 38 passes for 270 yards, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.