But a poor kick and bad coverage late in the game almost ended the game right there.
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The 30 points rank tied for No. 4 in school history and is the first 30-point game for Penn State since Ki-Jana Carter had 30 points against Michigan State on November 26, 1994. “I didn’t even know where I was, but my teammates were on me and I knew right there and then, it was over”. “But I’ll never forget that”.
But that wasn’t easy after this one.
Barkley’s final touchdown, a 2-yard run, and a two-point conversion pass from McSorley to DaeSean Hamilton, made it a three-point game with 5 minutes to play. The amount of work I put in.
“We had swung momentum back in our direction, and that was a huge play”, Franklin said.
It was, of course, hardly all on Hamilton. 10 plays and 109 yards later, (they took a penalty), George Aston rumbled into the end zone to give Pitt an early lead. Most simply don’t want to have to purchase season tickets to Panthers games to get admission to the one battle they’d like to see.
Quadree Henderson took the ensuing kickoff back 84 yards to the PSU 10.
The history of the 123-year-old rivalry between Pittsburgh and Penn State is undeniable.
“Everybody was hyping us up a little bit and we came in feeling pretty good about ourselves”, O’Neill said about Pitt’s opener. “The official told us that it’s legal to do that now”.
The Nittany Lions did not say die as they drove down the field and McSorley found Barkley, who scampered into the endzone for his fifth score of the game. As Michigan State’s defensive coordinator in 2014, Narduzzi’s defense yielded just 233 yards – and only 38 on the ground – in a 34-10 victory in the regular-season finale of Penn State coach James Franklin’s debut season. 2.
“We have to play cleaner and score touchdowns”, Franklin said. “I’ve gotta run faster. Everybody made plays today”, Henderson said. “Trace may have been the dude that let it go, but everybody else was right there and had a chance to make a play on the ball”.
After almost 16 years off between Penn State and Pitt’s most recent meeting on the football field, only a certain type of game would reach the level of hype and anticipation fostered by the break, luckily both teams obliged with an effort not many will forget.
The Panthers continued to frustrate the Penn State defense on their way to building a 28-7 lead.
“Last week wasn’t our real offense”, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. Pitt’s offense seemed about as bland as it could get and whether Whitehead is out there or not this weekend, I think that you’ll see a much more complex style when the Panthers have the ball. It was a tough loss for Penn State, who fell just short o the big win on the road. Conner is a better back than he showed in his return.
Besides two connections between McSorley and wide receiver Chris Godwin for long completions, the Lions offensive highlights at the end of the half belonged to Barkley, who had a 29-yard rush and two touchdowns. They couldn’t take advantage of that play, though, as they missed a field goal. “They can say that this year”, said Barkley, whose five scores felt nearly like a footnote on a weird afternoon.
And while I realize that Narduzzi said that Pitt’s offense was not intentionally against Villanova, it’s hard to come away with that impression if you watched the game.
Both Penn State and Pittsburgh picked up wins in their opening games, the Nittany Lions beat Kent State in a game where they weren’t exactly stellar.
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Penn State also averaged just 3.8 yards per carry even with Barkley topping the century mark, a number that wasn’t exactly encouraging for a rebuilt line consisting of most of the same players that struggled to protect the quarterback and open running lanes last season.
