No. 4 Penn State ended the "game within the game" against Pitt with 10:32 left in the third quarter.
That's when Nittany Lions star running back Saquon Barkley flashed out of the backfield and accelerated down the seam past Pitt linebacker Saleem Brightwell. Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley made the easy throw over the top. Barkley scored on the 46-yard touchdown reception to give Penn State the 21-3 lead, and that was enough in a 33-14 against the Panthers.
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Barkley had eight carries for 45 yards at that point, against a defense was keyed against him and an offense that was playing "keep away" in the first half. Actually, "keep away" might be an understatement.
Pitt ran 46 plays for 150 total yards and had the ball over two thirds of the first half (21:51 of game time). That resulted in a little less than "3 yards and a cloud of dust," and only three points. That included this drive:
Pitt just had a 15 play drive that went 31 yards and lasted 8:20 (!!!!)
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) September 9, 2017
That drive alone took 8:02 off the clock, but the point is clear: You can play "keep away" from the Nittany Lions, but you better take advantage of those opportunities against one of the nation’s best offenses. Perhaps that strategy alone emphasizes the point.
It also helps not to give away points. Penn State’s Grant Haley intercepted Pitt’s Max Browne and returned it 42 yards on the game’s first drive, and that set up a touchdown. McSorley’s 36-yard run set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki for the second first-half score. Penn State had a 14-0 lead before Pitt tried to slow down the Nittany Lions.
It worked, to a point. Barkley was bottled up, and the Panthers went into halftime trailing 14-3. Then McSorley hit Barkley, and Pitt was pushed into pushing the tempo. By then, it was too late.
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Penn State’s defense lost the total yards and time of possession battle, but they prevented the Panthers from making the game-changing plays on offense, a vast departure from last year’s 42-39 shootout.
Barkley finished with 14 carries for 88 yards and four catches for 45 yards, and McSorley finished with 15 of 28 for 164 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn't pretty, but it was enough to rectify a loss — perhaps the loss — that kept the Nittany Lions out of the College Football Playoff in 2016.
Penn State faces Georgia State next week before a three-game Big Ten stretch against Iowa, Indiana and Northwestern. Those teams also promise to hit the Nittany Lions with different styles of play. If they get to the midpoint bye week with a 6-0 record, then the real fun begins.
A "Whiteout" against Michigan on Oct. 21 and a trip to Ohio State on Oct. 28: That’s the "season within the season. Those games look like playoff-shaping, primetime, top-five, full-go frenzies. The Big Ten couldn't ask for more. No other Power 5 conference has that in one division.
Penn State can get there by continuing to win the game-within-the-game.
