Penn State football survived a rough first half to take down Pittsburgh at home on Saturday. Here are three takeaways from the Week 2 win by the No. 4 Nittany Lions.
Last week, a huge shutout win over Akron pushed Penn State into the top four of the AP Top 25. The Nittany Lions looked like a legitimate threat to repeat as Big Ten champions and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. Saquon Barkley climbed up among the Heisman contenders around the country.
Then Penn State ran into Pittsburgh. The Panthers came to Happy Valley and held the Nittany Lions in check in the in-state showdown between non-conference foes. Pitt wasn’t able to take down their rivals on the road for a third straight victory in the series, but they did make life hard for James Franklin‘s team on Saturday.
At halftime the score was just 14-3, as Trace McSorley had trouble completing passes and the Nittany Lions struggled to get Barkley going on the ground. Pitt continued to hang in there during the second half, but Penn State ultimately began to pull away largely despite their offense rather than because of it.
The win came much harder than was expected, but Penn State nevertheless moved to 2-0 on the season with a convincing 33-14 victory over a Power Five opponent. Here are three takeaways from a tough victory by No. 4 Penn State in their Week 2 rivalry game against Pittsburgh.