Penn State Football: Barkley, McSorley Run Over Maryland in Win

It was the Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorly show as Penn State ran all over Maryland Saturday.

Penn State entered Saturday’s Homecoming contest with the Terrapins with the second-worst rushing offense in the nation., averaging just 108 yards a game. However, the Nittany Lions should move up a bit after putting up a total of 372 rushing yards in a 38-14 win over Maryland.

Saquon Barkley, arguably one of the best backs in the entire country, finally showed the type of production that Penn State fans were hoping for all season. He ran for 148 yards in the first half alone, more than in any previous game.

The super sophomore finished the game with a career-high 202 yards. It was just the second time this year that he broke the 100-yard mark and the first time of his career he broke the 200-yard mark.

Before Saturday, Barkley’s best game of the year was a 105-yard performance in Week 1 against Kent State.

Quarterback Trace McSorley, known in high school for being a dual-threat quarterback, was finally unleashed and allowed to run free. McSorley seemed like a different player against the Terps. Perhaps thanks to a big-item 26-yard run to put the Nittany Lions in position to kick a game-tying field goal last week.

McSorley was very aggressive and made plays with his legs all day against the Terps.

He didn’t have to throw much, but did have two touchdowns. The first was a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki. He then connected late in the third quarter on a 70-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Thompkins.

He finished the day 10-19 for 152 yards.

Thompkins led all receivers with four catches for 91 yards.

Perhaps even more impressive than the Penn State offense was the play of the defense. The game looked like a mismatch on paper. Maryland entered with one of the top rushing offenses and Penn State had one of the worst rushing defenses.

The Nittany Lions came up big on defense in several spots and held the Terps — a team averaging 300 rushing yards a game — to 170 total yards on the ground.

Linebacker Brandon Smith, who is really only on the field due to injuries, had another impressive game. He led the team with 14 tackles and had his first-career interception. The defense as a whole played a very good game. The Terps were held to 14 points and allowed four Penn State sacks.

Penn State now enters the bye week on a two-game wining streak and an overall record of 4-2.