Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from win over Iowa
3. Saquon Barkley continued his march towards Penn State immortality
One of the few bright spots from Penn State’s nail-biting victory against Iowa was the continued dominance of junior running back Saquon Barkley. After being held to under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season in week 3 against the Georgia State Panthers, Barkley came into Kinnick Stadium with something to prove. And prove he did.
After being held to only 10 carries for 63 yards in the first half, Barkley came alive after half time. He recorded 100 rushing yards in the third quarter alone. He finished the game with 28 rushes for 211 yards and a touchdown on the ground plus 12 catches for 94 yards in an absolute trouncing of the Hawkeyes’ defense.
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After spending much of the evening stacking the tackle-box to prevent Barkley from running the ball between the tackles, Barkley took advantage of openings outside and delivered some electrifying runs.
His ability to change direction seemingly at-will and jump-cut opposing defenders out of their shoes is truly a sight to behold. It makes him one of the most dangerous 1-on-1 ball carriers in all of college football. His 358 yards was the most all-purpose yards of any player in Penn State history. That’s not the only record Barkley is primed to break.
After 4 games, Barkley has now amassed 853 total offensive yards for the 2017 season, 518 rushing and 315 receiving. That brings his career total to 3,747 total yards: 3,090 rushing and 657 yards receiving.
Barring any unforeseen injury, he will surely pass Evan Royster for the most rushing yards in Penn State history (3,932) and could the first Penn State running back to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft since Larry Johnson.