Under the Beaver Stadium Lights: Penn State vs. Georgia State
For the third Monday in a row Penn State students get $1 coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. Beaver Stadium witnessed the Nittany Lion offense score 56 points as Penn State shut out Georgia State on Saturday. In addition, the Nittany Lions moved back up to No. 4 in the country after the 56-0 win. Penn State will now enter Big Ten play on Saturday 3-0.
Penn State Shuts Out Georgia State
Offense Takeaways
Eight different Nittany Lions scored as Penn State shut out Georgia State on Saturday. Trace McSorley bounced back after a flat performance against Pittsburgh a week ago, passing for 309 yards in only two and a half quarters of play. McSorley recorded 4 passing and one rushing touchdown against the Panthers on Saturday. Three of which came in the first half. The first was a pass to back up quarterback Tommy Stevens. The long was an 85-yard pass to running back Saquon Barkley, a Beaver Stadium record. Barkley had 10 carries for 47 yards, but his catching ability afforded him 142 yards on four receptions. Furthermore, Barkley showed his versatility when he made a key block in the beginning of the game. The Nittany Lions were pinned inside their own two-yard-line when Barkley blocked a Georgia State linebacker. This block gave McSorley the time to throw a 20-yard pass to tight end Mike Gesicki. Ultimately allowing the offense to continue the drive.
Miles Sanders got his first touchdown, returning his confidence after a fumble against Pittsburgh a week ago. The end of the game saw a long bomb touchdown by back up quarterback Tommy Stevens to Saeed Blacknall. Blacknall’s first of the season. Finally, the Nittany Lion fans that stuck around for the fourth quarter got to witness third-string quarterback, Billy Fessler, enter the game.
Defense Takeaways
Penn State shut out Georgia State on Saturday behind a strong defense. Georgia State quarterback, Conner Manning, threw three interceptions to a very stingy Nittany Lion secondary. Cornerback, Grant Haley, recorded his second interception of the season. In addition, standout Marcus Allen and freshman, Tariq Castro-Fields both got the first of their careers. This is a major step for Allen. He is known for his physical presence in the secondary, but this interception will hopefully be the first of many.
The secondary was not the only bright spot on Saturday. The Nittany Lion defense recovered two fumbles and had 11 tackles for loss, coming from 10 different players. Leading the charge was defensive end, Daniel Joseph. In addition to the 2.5 tackles for loss, Joseph also forced one fumble and was responsible for 1.5 sacks. This is good news for Nittany Lion fans because starting defensive end, Torrence Brown, exited the game with an apparent knee injury. Along with Shareef Miller and Ryan Buchholz, Joseph will be one to watch as Penn State enters Big Ten play.
Looking Ahead
Next Saturday the Nittany Lions travel to Iowa to start Big Ten play. It is another 7:30 pm ET kickoff. Penn State will have to contend with a hostile Kinnick Stadium and a Hawkeye team that is also 3-0. The Nittany Lion offense will have to keep the momentum from this win if they want to stay undefeated and keep their top 5 ranking.
