Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from Nittany Lions' scare vs. App State

Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from Nittany Lions’ scare vs. App State

STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 01: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after rushing for a 12 yard touchdown in the first quarter against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on September 1, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 01: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions drops back to pass against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on September 1, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

2. Trace McSorley’s Heisman campaign is off to a rough start

Many experts were praising Trace McSorley leading up to this game and he was even the Heisman Trophy favorite of a couple of well-known analysts. It’s time to pump the breaks on all of that talk — for now.

The senior quarterback had a rough season-opener against the Mountaineers, passing for 230 yards and a touchdown, keeping that 28-game touchdown pass streak alive. He completed 21-of-36 passes but plenty of the struggles early on were offensive line related as he wasn’t given much time to breathe in the pocket.

One of the bright spots in the passing game was his resilience in the fourth quarter with the Nittany Lions down by seven with under two minutes left. He led them down the field with a quick drive, tying the game back up at 38-38 with 47 seconds remaining.

It should have never gotten to that point, but non-conference play can be unpredictable that way and Appalachian State played a great game.

For now, let’s just put a hold on the Heisman Trophy talks with McSorley, though.

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