Nov. 7, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The honors keep rolling in for sophomore running back Saquon Barkley (Coplay, Pa.), who was selected as the Rose Bowl Game Big Ten Player of the Week after an outstanding performance in the Iowa win. Barkley is the third Nittany Lion to collect Rose Bowl Game weekly honors, joining Marcus Allen (10/3) and Grant Haley (10/24).
Barkley accumulated 211 all-purpose yards thanks to 167 rushing yards, 44 receiving yards in the 41-14 win over Iowa Saturday. The sophomore running back also scored twice in the game, once on the ground and once in the air. He averaged 8.4 yards per carry and took his only reception 44 yards for a score. Barkley scores came on a 57-yard run and a 44-yard reception. His 57-yard rush is the longest home touchdown rush in his career and the 44-yard catch was the longest of his career and the longest by a Penn State running back since Evan Royster had a 49-yard catch in 2009 vs. Syracuse. Barkley had his ninth 100-yard rushing game of his career, and his fourth this season. He is tied for 13th with Eric McCoo in career 100-yard rushing games.
For the second-straight game, the Coplay, Pennsylvania native registered more than 200 all-purpose yards. He is the first player to have back-to-back games with more than 200 all-purpose yards since Larry Johnson in 2002 (289 yards vs. Michigan State and 327 yards at Indiana). Barkley's 11 rushing touchdowns this season is tied for 15th in the Penn State record book. He is tied with Lenny Moore (1954), Blair Thomas (1987) and Tony Hunt (2006). It is the most rushing touchdowns for a player since Evan Royster had 12 in 2008. Barkley's 13 touchdowns overall (11 rushing, 2 reception) this season are tied for the eighth on Penn State's single season list.
With his performance, Barkley topped 1,000 rushing yards for the second-straight season (1,055). He is the eighth Penn State player to have multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons (John Cappelletti, Ki-Jana Carter, Curtis Enis, Tony Hunt, Evan Royster, Blair Thomas, Curt Warner). He has 2,131 rushing yards in his career, moving him into 15th place at Penn State. He passed Franco Harris (1969-71; 2,002), Jon Williams (1980-83; 2,042), Booker Moore (1977-80; 2,072) and Zach Zwinak (2011-14; 2,108) against the Hawkeyes.
Penn State is 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play after the victory over Iowa Saturday night. The Nittany Lions are back in action when they travel to Bloomington to face Indiana Saturday at noon on ABC with an ESPN2 mirror. The game will also air on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com (10:30 a.m. airtime).
Single game tickets for the Senior Day tilt against Michigan State on Nov. 26 are still available. To purchase tickets or for more information, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.