Oct. 30, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior running back Saquon Barkley (Coplay, Pa.) garnered Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for his performances at No. 6 Ohio State. Barkley wins his fifth Big Ten weekly award of the season (8 weeks) and second special teams honor of the season.
He has earned nine conference honors (five offensive, two freshman, two special teams) in his career. Barkley's five career offensive weekly honors are tied for ninth in Big Ten history.
Barkley returned the opening kickoff against the No. 6 Buckeyes 97 yards for a touchdown. The score was his second kickoff return to go the distance this season. He is the first Nittany Lion with multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns since Derrick Williams in 2008 and ties the single-season school record, which is held by Williams, Chuck Peters (1940) and Curt Warner (1980). Barkley's two kickoff returns for scores this season are also tied for fifth in Big Ten history and are the most in a season since 2015. He also ranks tied for seventh in Big Ten history with the two kickoff return scores.
Barkley's 34.4 kickoff return average this season ranks second on the season charts in Big Ten history. He has scored in 15 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in FBS and breaks the Penn State record of 14, held by Curtis Enis (1996-97). With 172 all-purpose yards against Ohio State, Barkley surpassed the 1,500-yard mark for the season, marking the 12th time in program history a player has reached the 1,500-yard mark. He is the third player in program history to accomplish the feat twice (Curtis Enis and Blair Thomas).
The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions travel to No. 24 Michigan State Saturday at noon on FOX. The game can also be heard on GoPSUsports.com and the Penn State Sports Network.
Single-game tickets for the 2017 Penn State football season presented by PSECU are available for the two remaining home games (Rutgers, Nebraska). For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2018 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 9 a.m-4:30 p.m. More than 9,000 new season tickets have been sold and the season ticket allotment for 2017 has been exhausted.