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Penn State Football Season Review: Nittany Lions use big day on offense to win Fiesta Bowl

By Barry Leonard Jr.

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles with the football against the Washington Huskies during the Playstation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles with the football against the Washington Huskies during the Playstation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Penn State football ended its season with a big win over Washington in the Fiesta Bowl

Although there were dreams of playing for a national championship, the Nittany Lions hit a few bumps along the way during the 2017 season. A promising start was derailed with back-to-back road losses against Ohio State and Michigan State. Still, by finishing the season strong, the Nittany Lions ended up with a prestigious spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

Their opponent during the postseason was a Pac-12 foe for the second straight year. After falling in the final minutes to USC in the Rose Bowl a year earlier, Penn State was looking for a better result against the No. 11 Washington Huskies.

Quarterback Trace McSorley came out firing for the No. 9 Nittany Lions. He threw for 219 yards and a touchdown pass to DaeSean Hamilton  in the first half.

Saquon Barkley, who was playing a limited number of snaps, ran for two scores in the first half, including an electrifying 92-yard run. Backup running back Miles Sanders added a touchdown run in the first half.

Penn State was up 21 points in the second quarter and appeared to be running away with the victory. However, Washington running back Myles Gaskin had other plans. He ran in his first of two touchdowns to cut the lead to 28-14 before halftime.

The Huskies came out in the third quarter and scored a touchdown to cut the lead to just seven, but McSorley once again hit Hamilton to extend the lead back to 14.

Gaskin had a big, 69-yard run in the fourth quarter to pull the Huskies to within seven again, but that’s as close as they would get. The Nittany Lions were able to hold on and pull out the victory, 35-28..

While the final score appears close, the game really wasn’t. Penn State completely dominated what had been one of the beast defenses in college football all season. The Nittany Lions racked up 545 yards of total offense, including 203 on the ground.

Penn State did commit three turnovers, but the Nittany Lions earned more first downs than the Huskies and converted 13-of-17 attempts on third down. Converting on third down was an issue and an area of focus for the Nittany Lions heading into the game.

The Penn State offense was led by the duo of McSorley and Barkley. McSorley through for 342 yards and two touchdowns and also added 60 yards on the ground. Barkley carried the ball 18 times for 137 yards and two scores.

Like the offense, the defense put up some good numbers for the Nittany Lions, holding Washington to 331 yards of total offense. Safety Marcus Allen and linebacker Brandon Smith both recorded a team-high 14 tackles in the game.

Related Story: Season Rewind: Nittany Lions crush Maryland

With the win, Penn State assured its second consecutive 11-1in season under head coach James Franklin.

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