Saquon Barkley Shines in Home Opener Win
On a soggy day in Beaver Stadium, the Penn State Nittany Lions (1-1) defeated the Buffalo Bulls (1-1), in a sloppy, annoying game whose final score of 27-14 is enough to give many fans hope that Penn State is alive and well. On the other hand, this was Buffalo, so reel yourselves in. The big story of the game was not the expected win (is any win expected after Temple?), but instead the emergence of a nascent star in true freshman running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley’s hurdling run in the second half in itself is highlight reel material, but this was just one component of a sparkling 115 yard day in which he averaged 9.6 yards per carry against a befuddled Buffalo Bulls defense. He was by far the star of the game. ??? ????? ?????
The first half of the game sucked completely, but the worst suckage occurred when arguably the most effective Traffic Cone, Andrew Nelson, went down with a serious injury. Nelson had been moved to left tackle from the other side to replace the JuCo behemoth Paris Palmer, who sucked in the Temple game. At the close of the half, Nelson got rolled up and went down. James Franklin, as usual, was closed-mouthed about the nature of the injury and how long Nelson would be out, but this was and will continue to be a serious blow to an already compromised (to say the least) unit.
Traficonically speaking, these boys didn’t look too bad against Buffalo, but please put that into perspective. This is SUNY Buffalo we’re talking about, perhaps the cupcakiest of the cupcakes. I know we’re all looking for small signs of hope at this point, but this is not the game where those signs are very meaningful. ?????? ??? ????????
The game went about as I expected. The first half literally put me to sleep. The second half was more entertaining, probably because the Lions wore down the undersized and inexperienced defense of Buffalo. The thirteen point final margin is exactly what I predicted, although I had the final score 23-10 instead of 27-14. Same shit, though. I said take the under; the point total was indeed under the 53 established by the gamblers. So, yay me!
Mike Gesicki had better learn how to fucking catch a football. Nuff said there.
Christian Hackenberg had a not-too-bad day, finishing with a QBR of 58.6. This was certainly not the day to be looking for a 300 yard performance from the Hack. He wound up with a fairly pedestrian 14-27 for 128 yards and one touchdown — and no interceptions! (He tempted fate a couple of times, though. He attempts throws that even pros wouldn’t try — for damn good reasons! ????? ??? ?????? ) Need I remind you, though, that this was against SUNY Buffalo?
The Penn State defense showed some signs of life and should improve even more when injured cornerback Grant Haley returns. Jason Cabinda did a serviceable job at linebacker in the absence of Nyeem Wartman-White. The defensive line played up to its usual standards; this week’s star was Carl Nassib.
I dunno about you folks, but as for this turkey, I want to be seeing a whole helluva lot more of Saquon Barkley! I can only hope that the Traffic Cones support the running game well enough against real defenses to give him the running room he needs. This is going to be fun to watch.
I’ll be back later in the week to preview and predict the conference opener, the Stripe-Out vs. Rutgers.
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K. John says
It is hard to take too much from this game in part due to the first half weather but also we don’t know how good Buffalo is at this point but they played a tough slate in the MAC last year. The MAC isn’t a major conference but it is better than every mid major conference not named the WAC (I know it is the MWC but I still call it the WAC) or AAC and has more depth the WAC. The Buffalo defense has been good in recent years but the frequently coaching shifts have taken their toll on the offense. The new coach, D3 legend Lance Leipold appeared to have the offense on the right track a week ago though watching the chop blocks was disheartening. At least the Big Ten officials threw flags on a few of them. Probably because Buffalo is an out of conference team.
Passing
Hackenberg stayed upright the entire game. He showed tremendous precision and accuracy on almost all of his throws. The play calling was better after Franklin got involved during the second half but they are still stuck with Donovan’s playbook. The bad. Receivers frequently making stupid mistakes. Poor route running/technique and dropped passes turned what should have been a blowout into a very ugly contest through three quarters. Hackenberg and sometimes Chris Godwin are apparently the only skill position players who understand the offense and know what they are doing on any given play. That is bad coaching at every spot.
Rushing
The writing has been on the wall since Barkley showed up on campus that he would be the eventual starter. He is better suited to this offense than Lynch and should be a special player in time. Lynch still has a role but should be the second man up.
Blocking
Nelson was good at left tackle. Then got hurt. From the sounds of it, it might be a continuation of a pre-existing injury and he might be back after a couple of weeks. Paris Palmer played much better than last week in relief and it wasn’t just the talent difference. He actually knew what he was doing on most plays and didn’t look lost. Mahon was pretty solid at right tackle and played better in his first start there than any prior start at guard. Inside, Mangiro needs to move to guard full time. He is the most powerful linemen they have and they could key the running game off him if they just let him play. Gaia Dowrey looked like they knew what they were doing for the first time as well. Gesicki is a worse blocker than receiver. Hopefully Kyle Carter gets back to 100% soon. They need him.
Defense
Well, after two weeks, it is safe to say that the defensive line is improved from last year. Austin Johnson is under-appreciated but the best interior linemen in the Big Ten, if not the country. Zettel is still Zettel and Nassib and Sickels are on their way to good to great seasons. Evan Schwan continues to look solid as a reserve. Through two games, Zettel and Johnson are your first team all Big Ten tackles while Nassib and Sickels are your second team ends. Jason Cabinda looked very good in his first start inside. Communication was much better than last week. Troy Reeder looked good in his first start. Von Walker is still limited. Need to get Bell back. Once Haley gets back in the lineup, the Penn State secondary is going to be tops in the Big Ten.
On other notes, perhaps we were reading too much into the Temple loss. I thought the loss was more Penn State than Temple and still think that but Temple looked darn good yesterday until they pulled a Tom Bradley and went to the prevent way too early letting Cincinnati back into the game. If they can continue to play at the level they played at in the first two games, they will win the AAC and could run the table. They don’t play a defense anywhere near as good as Penn State’s the rest of the way and their defense is the best in their conference.
Looking ahead, Washington State had their way with Rutgers’ defense. Their offense is nothing special. I don’t see the Knights getting more than 10 on the Penn State D. San Diego State got shredded by the Cal Bears. SDSU got off to a fast start getting a TD on its first drive before being shut out the rest of the way. They had 71 yards on their first drive but the longest subsequent drive was 34 yards. Indiana had their hands full with Florida Int needing an unforced pick 6 and a sack/fumble at the 16 and subsequent one play drive to seal the game. With the next four at home and without any real improvement, Penn State should head into Ohio State with a 5 and 1 record.
The Nittany Turkey says
So, you would move Mangiro to G and play Wendy at C? I think it’s worth a try. Hell, now that Franklin is sticking his hand into the offensive coaching scheme, maybe it’ll happen.
If Gesicki is a worse blocker than receiver, I pity da fool who put him in there as first-stringer. Yeah, Carter played some reps on Saturday, so here’s hoping. With Brenemann’s mystery ailment, we need to see at least one competent tight end on the field. Gesicki ain’t that. Yet?
The defensive line looked great, but the secondary was not so great. As you note, Grant Haley’s absence is a big reason for that. But this was Buffalo, and the defense has yet to endure a true test. It is doubtful that it will happen this week unless there is a massive prison break-out in Piscataway. I think the state penitentiary system is where Rutgers is doing its recruiting.
Oops. I wasn’t politically correct. That should be “corrections” not penitentiary. The penitent guys who go to prison are corrected pretty rapidly.
The Temple loss was meaningless. Thus, there’s still a chance to be 12-0.
—TNT
Joe says
Wonder if Carroo’s “indefinite suspension” will end on Thursday night?
“I know I’m a guy that will put this past me and never make this mistake again,” Carroo said after his suspension in training camp. “From now, I’ll have better decisions in my life and continue to do good and show my teammates and the university that I still do have those good traits and those good characteristics.” I guess that promise didn’t last long!
K. John says
Sounds like Carroo and DT Hamilton are both out. That means Rutgers is now missing five defensive starters and their best overall player. Not good.
TNT, they need Haley back in the lineup soon. Reid is playing very well for a true freshmen but doesn’t appear to be well suited for the field side. He is obviously the future at boundary corner replacing Trevor Williams. Williams has really elevated his play now that he is in Lucas’ old spot. Lucas has been really good so far. Possibly better than Amos. Allen needs to start wrapping people up rather than running through them. Given the injury situation at linebacker, I couldn’t be happier with their play. They solved the communication problems that cost them the Temple game (had they fixed any of three big problems in game, they win a close, but ugly game).