Penn State Football 2017 Season Rewind: Nittany Lions rebound with Homecoming win over Rutgers

Penn State Football bounced back during a Homecoming victory over Rutgers

The best medicine for a two-game losing streak that takes a team out of contention for a championship is a home game against lowly Rutgers. That’s exactly what was on the schedule for Penn State after dropping back-to-back road games at Ohio State and Michigan State.

To make matters even better for the Nittany Lions was the fact that the matchup with Rutgers fell on Homecoming, meaning the home crowd would be even more fired up.

However, the crowd that was expecting to see a run-away Penn State victory was a bit in shock after watching the Nittany Lions be behind 3-0 after the first quarter. That shock increased after the Scarlet Knights added another field goal in the second quarter to go up by six points.

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After falling behind early, Penn State finally woke up.

Quarterback Trace McSorley scrambled for a 20-yard touchdown midway through the quarter. He then hit DaeSean Hamilton before halftime for a 22-yard score to take a 14-6 lead heading into the break.

Running back Saquon Barkley unfortunately continued a string of rough performances, as he managed just 35 yards against the Scarlet Knights. Despite the poor yardage output, he did have two short touchdown runs in the third quarter to help put the game away.

Penn State locked down on defense in the second half and didn’t allow a Rutgers to add another point. The Scarlet Knights finished with just 200 total yards of offense. Linebackers Jason Cabinda and Brandon Smith both had big games for the defense. Cabinda recorded 11 tackles, while Smith added 10.

McSorley added a 16-yard pass to tight end Mike Gesicki in the fourth quarter to make the final score 35-6.

While the scoreboard showed a solid victory for the Nittany Lions, head coach James Franklin had plenty to pick apart.

Facing one of the worst defenses in the Big Ten, Penn State managed just 304 yards of total offense. McSorley finished with just 214 passing yards and he led the team with 44 rushing yards. Juwan Johnson led all receivers with five receptions for 78 yards.

The offense as a whole really struggled. It marked the second straight week in which the Penn State offense had trouble getting going and sustaining drives.

Still, a win is a win, and it stopped the bleeding for the Nittany Lions.

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