Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
McSorley, Barkley carry Penn State
EVANSTON, Ill. — Trace 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 consecutive passes to break Kerry Collins’ program record 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.”
Barkley scored on a 1-yard leap and 53-yard dash in the third quarter to make it 24-0. The Heisman Trophy candidate finished with 75 yards rushing after being held to minus-1 in the first half.
Shaka Toney had two sacks, and the balanced Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0) 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.”
Clayton Thorson threw for 142 yards and two interceptions while getting sacked four times in another rough outing for Northwestern (2-3, 0-2). Justin Jackson finished with 66 yards after rushing for 67 in the first half.
The Wildcats also had two of their top defensive players get 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.
“I’m more disappointed,” Thorson said. “I think our defense gave us a chance to win that game and they kept us in the game and we need to fight and we have to respond to adversity. We had the ball at the 10-yard line, penalty set us back out of field goal range.”
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.”
NO. 10 OHIO STATE 62, MARYLAND 14
COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.T. Barrett threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in the first half, and Ohio State had its most dominant defensive effort in nearly 60 years.
The stingy Buckeyes (5-1, 3-0) held Maryland (3-2, 1-1) to 66 total yards — their fewest yards allowed since yielding 60 against Indiana in 1960.
Barrett, a fifth-year senior and holder of most of the school’s passing records, was 20 for 31 for 261 yards before taking a seat near end of the third quarter. Barrett threw scoring passes to Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack and Terry McLaurin.
Ohio State overwhelmed quarterback Max Bortenschlager, holding the Terrapins to 16 passing yards and only six first downs. Bortenschlager, who was promoted to a starting role after injuries to the Terrapins’ top two QBs, was only 3-of-12 passing. He didn’t complete a pass until the second quarter and was sacked four times before being shaken up and leaving the game in the third.