Saquon Barkley's injury adds to the misery that Penn State fans are feeling right now

Things have gone from bad to worse for Penn State fans. After having 24 hours to lick their wounds as a result of a 34-13 loss to Northwestern, now the Nittany Lion faithful have to hope that one of their favorite sons isn't seriously injured.

Saquon Barkley hobbled off the field in the first quarter against the Rams, with what's reported to be a hamstring injury. Barkley seemed to plant his right foot awkwardly at the end of the run.

The hobbling on the sideline gave some uncertainty to whether it was a knee problem, but the stretches Barkley did after the play seemed more indicative of a hamstring issue. He was taken to the locker room either way and is out for the rest of the game.

Saquon Barkley leaves game with apparent hamstring injury

Barkley is only 29 years old and won't be 30 until the week before the Super Bowl, but he's had a lot of wear and tear on his body over his eight-plus seasons, so any lower-body injury needs to be taken seriously, and hamstring injuries for running backs are usually things that could linger for weeks.

The concern with Barkley comes from a history of lower-body injuries. He missed most of the 2020 season with an ACL tear and has missed several games over his career with ankle and knee issues. 

There are few things worse than having your favorite college football team struggle and then watching one of your favorite players from said school go down with an injury. Penn State fans are going through it right now and something has to change soon, or this season is going to be over weeks before it actually ends. The loss to Northwestern in Week 5 left fans with a ton of questions about the toughness of the roster and whether Campbell is cut out to be a coach at a big-time football program.

The next few weeks will tell the story of the Nittany Lions. They have USC in the annual white-out game at home in Week 6 and Michigan comes to Happy Valley on October 17. It's a good time for Matt Campbell to win some games against a couple of blueblood opponents that are also going through struggles. Any more losses and Penn State runs the risk of having another season go completely off the rails.

As for Barkley, let's hope that his is just a minor injury, and he'll be back on the field soon, because Penn State fans might need something to cheer about. 

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