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Penn State 33, Kent State 13: Players Of The Game
After earning a 33-13 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes on Saturday afternoon, the Penn State Nittany Lions are now 1-0 this season.
Saturday’s game was not the prettiest the Nittany Lions have ever played, but Penn State is 1-0. The Nittany Lions earned a 26-13 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes at Beaver Stadium to improve to 2-1 in season openers under James Franklin.
Penn State’s new-look offense was not as efficient as you would like on Saturday. However, it is unrealistic to expect a new offense to click in its first game. Especially against a defense that was in the top 30 in the FBS in total defense last season and returned eight starters. Anyway, here are Penn State’s players of the game from their victory on Saturday afternoon.
Offense – Running Back Saquon Barkley
Penn State’s superstar running back was the Nittany Lions’ best offensive player on Saturday. No surprise, I know. There is no doubt that Saquon Barkely will be the focal point of Joe Moorhead’s offense this season.
Barkley finished the day with 22 carries, 105 yards, and a touchdown. He also had one catch for 17 yards. In the end, Barkley finished the day with 122 yards of total offense and a touchdown.
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While Barkley had a good game on Saturday, I expect his role in the offense to grow as the season progresses. I truly believe Joe Moorhead left a lot of his playbook unexposed on Saturday afternoon. Kent State is a team Penn State could handle without opening up the playbook, so there’s not need to give Pitt a lot of film on the new offense.
As the playbook begins to open up, I look for Barkley to have a huge season. Which should come as no surprise because Saquon Barkley is, you know, really good.
Honorable Mention: Tight End Mike Gesicki, Quarterback Trace McSorley
Defense – Defensive End Shareef Miller
Saturday afternoon was the collegiate debut for defensive end Shareef Miller. The Philadelphia native was redshirted in 2015 in order to spend a year adding size and strength. And that redshirt season paid off on Saturday afternoon.
In his first career game the six-foot-five, 255 pound Miller saw more playing time than he was probably expecting. This was due to injuries to Torrence Brown and Evan Schwan. And Miller reacted well to this extra playing time.
Miller recorded his first career sack on Saturday afternoon. In fact, Miller would record a pair of sacks in Saturday’s victory. He also found himself in the backfield pressure the opposing quarterback on more than one other occasion. Shareef Miller made a strong collegiate debut on Saturday, and has a bright future ahead of him for Penn State.
Honorable Mention: Defensive tackle Kevin Givens, Linebacker Brandon Bell
Special Teams – punter Blake Gillikin
The past two seasons Penn State’s punting game struggled immensely. This led to true freshman Blake Gillikin making the start at punter on Saturday afternoon. And, Gillikin did not disappoint.
Gillikin punted six times on Saturday. He averaged 47 yards per punt, had a long of 58 yards, two were downed inside the 20 yard line, and Kent State was only able to return one of them. Blake Gillikin is well on his way to becoming an All-American punter for the Nittany Lions.
Honorable Mention: Kick off man Joey Julius, Place kicker Tyler Davis
Penn State needs to be more efficient on offense moving forward. However, I am confident that will happen as the players become more acclimated to Joe Moorhead’s offense.
Next Saturday, Penn State will travel to Heinz Field to take on in-state rival Pittsburgh for the first time since 2000. Like the Nittany Lions, the Panthers will enter this game with a 1-0 record after a 28-7 victory over Villanova on Saturday.
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