Lions roar to victory in Big Ten opener

STATE COLLEGE — DeAndre Thompkins just had to turn the corner. Saquon Barkley made a juke. Akeel Lynch didn’t have to do anything but motor straight ahead through a hole that a Penn State blue bus could have fit through.

Three different run calls, three Nittany Lions touchdowns in the second quarter.

Penn State’s typically dormant running game sprang to life behind a shorthanded but inspired offensive line, and the Nittany Lions hammered Rutgers 28-3 Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.

With top tackle Andrew Nelson out with an injury, the Lions went with Paris Palmer, Derek Dowrey, Angelo Mangiro, Brian Gaia and Brendan Mahon, from left to right, up front.

And they came through.

“I’m really proud of our offensive line and (position coach) Herb Hand,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “They’ve been patient, and it’s paid off for us.”

Franklin said the biggest difference for the offensive line on Saturday night was a notable spike in confidence.

“That’s so important,” Gaia said. “Because if one of us messes up, then the whole unit gets a negative. Us communicating and being confident is just what showed today.

“I think it was just us going into practice each day and saying, ‘This is what we want to work on.’ We want to really dominate up front and show what we can do.”

Things remain far from perfect for Penn State after beating the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten opener for the second straight season. But a rejuvenated run game is at least a foundation the shaky offense can build on.

The final total — 326 yards on the ground after gaining just 64 last September in Piscataway.

That’s 195 yards and two touchdowns for Barkley and 120 yards and a score for Lynch. Wideout Thompkins even hit paydirt on the jet sweep that the Lions have used to strong effect in the opening month.

Barkley ran behind center Mangiro in space and made a nifty cut inside at the hashmark to score from 15 yards out.

On Penn State’s next offensive play, Lynch took it the distance from 75 yards away without being touched. Dowrey steamrolled his man completely out of the hole, Palmer contained his man and Mangiro got out in space for a lead block that ensured Lynch had clear sailing.

“They were in a pass defense,” Lynch said. “I just wanted to make sure that I (got the handoff clean), because I knew it was going to be a big gash for a big play. Once I saw it, I made sure the linebacker stayed to the right, so I kept left to make sure I’d score. Because I didn’t want to have a 70-yard run and then Saquon goes in and gets a 5-yard touchdown.”

He laughed when he said that last bit. But there’s no doubt that the two running backs have a friendly competition going on in the Lions backfield.

“That’s how it is,” Lynch said. “We running backs are very competitive. We’ve got guys that can go in and get 100 if they want to. It’s great to have two elite guys that can run and also guys behind us that can run, too.”

It was the first time in five years that Penn State (2-1, 1-0 Big Ten) had two 100-yard rushers in a conference game. And it was the first time in six years that the Lions put together back-to-back games with 200 yards on the ground.

For the second straight week, the patchwork offensive line didn’t allow Christian Hackenberg to be dropped following the opening game’s 10-sack debacle.

Much of that was by design. The Lions took exactly one shot downfield in the passing game during another Happy Valley rainstorm — and it was intercepted.

After the loss to Temple, Franklin vowed to simplify the offense, build up the run game and stick to short passes to protect Hackenberg (10-19, 141 yards).

That’s exactly what’s happened these last two weeks as the Lions gradually build back toward respectability on offense.

“I thought he managed the game well,” Franklin said of his future NFL quarterback. “He made some great checks at the line to get us into runs for some big gains.”

On defense, Grant Haley and John Reid picked off Chris Laviano, giving the Lions seven interceptions against Rutgers in eight quarters since the Knights (1-2, 0-1) joined the Big Ten.

Haley and linebacker Brandon Bell, injured for most of the early season returned to the starting lineup Saturday to help shut down Rutgers, holding the Knights to a meaningless fourth-quarter field goal.

Penn State running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Rutgers in State College Saturday.

State running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Rutgers in State College Saturday.

Nittany Lions rush for 326 yards in 28-3 win

Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter VideoID: H4rsd5KcNL0VideoType: ideo Embed String: Video Caption: James Franklin discusses the decisive win over Rutgers.Video Credit: Video Position:

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