“Just Like Beating Akron”, No. 14 Penn State Handles Pitt with 33-14 Victory

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (EYT) – It was just like beating Akron.

(Photo: Penn State’s Mike Gesicki scores one of his two first-quarter touchdowns in Penn State’s win over Pitt Saturday. Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)

Box Score

So said Penn State head coach James Franklin after his No. 4 Nittany Lions used a bend-but-don’t break defensive effort and just enough big plays on offense to avenge a loss to Pitt last year with a 33-14 win at Beaver Stadium Saturday afternoon.

“Overall, it was really good,” Franklin said. “There a lot of individual things I could talk about, but most important is that we’re 1-0 this week and we were able to get a win. That’s what that was for us. I know last year for their win it was like the Super Bowl, but, for us, this was just like beating Akron.”

Penn State (2-0) was able to get the win despite running 34 plays less than the Panthers (1-1), who out possessed the Nittany Lions 38:20 to 21:40.

“The game has changed,” Franklin said. “I think time of possession is a stat that people used to look at for a long time and was a major factor in wins and losses. I don’t think it’s as much of a factor anymore with these teams that are playing this style of offense. They’re winning a high percentage of games and losing time of possession.

“Obviously, you’d like it to be a little more balanced and whenever you get to the extremes, that’s when there are problems. It’s not different than anything else in life. It’s not as big of a factor as it’s been in the past but for us we are mainly worried about the scoreboard.”

Penn State was able to dominate on the scoreboard because it’s offense resembles the high-powered, high-flying offenses that make college football go today while Pitt’s offense seemed set in a different era with a lot of straight ahead or counter runs and short passes – a shovel pass of all things was the Panther’s main offense passing weapon.

Pitt’s Jester Weah hauls in a pass despite tight defense from Penn State’s Christian Campbell. Photo by Paul Burdick.

While the Nittany Lions had the ball for the 34 fewer plays and for nearly 18 minutes less than Pitt, the Panthers only outgained Penn State 342-312 and the rushing numbers were almost identical (155 Pitt, 148 Penn State).

Saquon Barkley was right in the middle of everything for Penn State, especially in the second half when the Nittany Lions built a 14-3 halftime lead into a 28-6 lead six seconds into the fourth quarter.

Barkley had 133 yards from scrimmage and scored twice – once on an 8-yard run that pushed the score to 28-6 and once on a 46-yard pass over the middle that put the Lions ahead 21-3. He ran for 88 yards on just 14 carries and caught four passes for 45 yards.

Franklin said it wasn’t by design that Barkley got the ball more in the second half but had more to do with what Pitt’s defense was giving.

“Our offense and our game plans in this RPO (Run-Pass Option) system is to take what the defense gives,” Franklin said. “(They) were using a lot of interior pressures and trying to take our running game and inside zone package in between the tackles away, and we did some things to get the ball to the perimeter later in the game during the second half, which I think helped us.

“For us, if Saquon is going to have opportunities for a big plays, he’s going to get them and if not we’re going to throw the ball or pull the ball or whatever it may be. I am very pleased and very impressed with what we are able to do but it wasn’t like we went in at halftime and said, ‘We have to get Saquon the ball more.’ We call plays based on what the defense does and he either gets the ball or he doesn’t.”

Penn State’s Saquon Barkley had a pair of touchdowns. Photo by Paul Burdick

Barkley didn’t need to get the ball early, as quarterback Trace McSorley twice hooked up with tight end Mike Gesicki for first-quarter touchdown passes that staked the Nittany Lions to a 14-0 lead at the end of a quarter.

Gesicki’s first score, an 8-yard hookup, came on the first play after Grant Haley intercepted Pitt quarterback Max Browne at midfield and returned it all the way to the Pitt 8-yard line.

“He (Haley) is just such a dependable guy,” Franklin said. “He’s going to be in the right place at the right time. He’s very disciplined. He’s made big play after big play his entire career on special teams and on defense. When those guys are going to throw the ball up like that and when we put pressure on the quarterback, we’ve got to come down with it. I still think there’s probably a few more balls every game that we can get our hands on. We’ve got some guys that kind of lock in for the big hit and I still think we can get a few more interceptions.”

McSorley and Gesicki hooked up again late in the first quarter from 10 yards out to complete a six-play, 62-yard drive that was highlighted by a 36-yard McSorley run to the Pitt 18.

The junior Penn State quarterback had a mixed-bag day going 15 of 28 passing for 164 yards and three touchdowns while throwing an interception on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. He also ran eight times for 65 yards and didn’t fumble, something that plagued him at times last year. But he never really looked to be in rhythm with a lot of his passes sailing on him.

“I think we were a little off,” Franklin said of the passing game. “I think Trace missed some throws early in the game that he normally doesn’t. But we were able to kind of get him involved in the running game early on, which I think settled us down and we made some plays. I think we were just off and we missed some throws early in the game that we normally hit.”

Pitt’s offense finally seemed to gain some traction on its final drive of the first quarter with the Panthers going on a 15-play drive that ate up just over eight minutes off the clock but netted just 31 yards and ended in a punt.

That became a theme of the Pitt offense for the day – long drives but little to no point.

Another 15-play drive, this one covering 77 yards and taking up 5 ½ minutes got the Panthers on the board late in the first half thanks to a 28-yard field goal by Alex Kessman, who rebounded to hit two field goals in the game after missing two chip shots last week in an overtime win over Youngstown State.

But as good as the field goal drive was, it could have been much more considering Pitt had first-and-goal at the 10 but had three plays go nowhere.

After halftime, the teams traded punts but it was a special teams mistake by the Panthers that helped set up Penn State’s next touchdown.

After forcing the Nittany Lions to go punt on their first possession of the second half, Pitt’s dangerous return man Quadree Henderson decided to fair catch the ball at the Pitt 5-yard line.

The Panthers weren’t able to dig out of the hole, and Penn State took over at the Pitt 46 and immediately added to its lead on the 46-yard touchdown catch by Barkley to make it 21-3.

Pitt answered with another nice drive but again it ended in just three points.

After traversing 59 yards in nine plays, the Panthers had a drive stall at the Penn State 6-yard line – Pitt had actually gotten to the three before a loss – leading to a 24-yard Kessman field goal to make it 21-6 with 6:03 left in the third quarter.

The teams then traded punts, and Penn State made it 28-6 on the first play of the fourth quarter when Barkley went in from eight yards out to cap a six-play, 78-yard drive that took just 2:32 off the clock and featured the Nittany Lion junior back picking up 41 yards on three carries. A 15-yard personal foul on Pitt also helped the drive.

Down 22, Pitt put together another nine-play drive and finally scored its lone touchdown of the game when backup quarterback Ben DiNucci, who had to replace Browne on third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, scrambled into the end zone just crossing the goal line before fumbling.

Pitt elected to go for two and got it to close within two scores, 28-14 with 10:09 to play.

The Panthers defense then came up with a stop, but Blake Gillikin pinned the Panthers deep when his punt was downed at the 4-yard line.

Browne, back in the game, then attempted a swing pass from his own end zone to Darrin Hall, but Marcus Allen was having none of it cutting down Hall in the end zone for a safety making it 30-14.

On the ensuing Penn State possession following the free kick, the Nittany Lions added a 24-yard Tyler Davis field goal to make it 33-14 with 3:34 left.

Pitt again drove deep into Penn State territory on the game’s final drive with DiNucci back in at quarterback, but on fourth-and-goal from the eight, Robert Windsor sacked the Pitt QB causing a fumble that the Nittany Lions recovered.

“Our defense was on the field a lot,” Franklin said. “But, really, were able to hold them to field goals for most of the game, created some turnovers and we played a lot of guys again. We played a lot of guys throughout the game which is going to be important to us moving forward. I saw some of the young guys get on and (they) did some really good things as well, so we’re going to have to continue to do that. We practice really hard with a really fast tempo. We don’t ever condition after practice. It’s all conditioning through practice and maximizing the time that we’re out there, so I’m pleased with where we are at.”

Watch Pat Narduzzi Post-Game Comments. Presented by UPMC Pitt LiveWire