Sept. 11, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" In a game filled with highs and lows, there's a lot to process from Penn State's first trip to Pittsburgh since 2000.
In front of a sold out crowd of nearly 70,000 at Heinz Stadium, the Nittany Lions lost their first game of the 2016 season, as their comeback effort fell short in a 42-39 decision.
Among high emotions and a bitter ending, it's hard not to focus on what went wrong when looking back. That's not how Penn State Football operates though, with one of the program's four core values leading off with a positive attitude.
Looking toward the positives, Penn State's Saquon Barkley stood out among a group of Nittany Lions who refused to give up in front of the city of Pittsburgh's largest crowd ever at a sporting event.
During his weekly availability, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi named Barkley as one of the best running backs in the country, making it clear the Pitt defense would be keying in on the talented sophomore running back.
From week one to week two, Penn State head coach James Franklin was also keenly aware that no matter who the opponent, Barkley would be the focus.
"Their head coach [Pat Narduzzi] has a defensive coordinator background and they do really good on the defensive side of the ball," Franklin said early in the week leading up to the game. "His personality in my conversations with him in the past ââ'¬" he wants to stop the run ââ'¬" and obviously with Saquon Barkley that's going to be an emphasis that we're going to see every week."
Facing troublesome deficits throughout the game, Barkley stepped up on each occasion for the Nittany Lions, striking back when the Panthers scored, finishing with four rushing touchdowns and one receiving, marking his first career five touchdown outing.
"You never want to be down, but we knew we were down and it's always a fight," Barkley said.
Down but certainly not out, fight is what the Nittany Lions decided to do, with Barkley leading the way . Barkley's 30 points are tied for fourth place in the records books and are the most since Ki-Jana Carter's 30-point outing in 1994. Logging four rushing touchdowns, he's also the first Nittany Lion to do so since Larry Johnson had four against Michigan State in 2002.
We all know the ending and while it's not reflected in the final score on the stat sheet, Barkley showcased much more than just five touchdowns ââ'¬" he displayed determination and fight from beginning to end.
"He had a great game," quarterback Trace McSorley said. "He ran hard and he was a warrior getting banged up on all plays. He kept pushing and fighting and was big in both the run game and the pass game. He played great."
"I thought he battled," Franklin said. "People are going to talk about the five touchdowns. That defense, they have done a good job historically of stopping the run. I thought he battled from the beginning to the end; he ran hard."
Praise didn't only come from his teammates and coaches though, as Pitt strong safety Jordan Whitehead noted after the game that playing Barkley was among the toughest battles he's ever had. "Going back to high school we knew each other pretty well so during the game we were battling," Whitehead said.
Ready to reset, Penn State Football turns its attention toward another in-state opponent, preparing to host Temple Saturday, Sept. 17 at noon in Beaver Stadium.