In honor of the GOAT’s day in PA I thought it would be fun to look back in time at Saquon Barkley’s Penn State Career and look at his top 5 runs. This is not his top 5 plays just runs. In a career with many highlights it wasn’t easy to narrow it down to just five but without further a do let’s get into it.
5. Buffalo 2015
This isn’t one of his most famous runs as it was against Buffalo in 2015 when Penn State was not a good football team, but it is, in my opinion, the run that started Saquon’s college career. In a tight game in the fourth quarter with Penn State pressing, Saquon gets handed the ball and hurdles a man for a good gain. The play didn’t result in a touchdown, but this was the first hurdle of Saquon’s career. I remember being at this game and just realizing how good Saquon was as this was the first game that he actually got carries.
4. Minnesota 2016
This is the game that really turned Penn State’s season around in 2016 before going on to winning a Big Ten championship. I know many people think the Ohio State game turned them around, but this game gave them the confidence they needed to believe they could come back from any deficit. Trailing with under a minute left in the fourth quarter down by three, Trace McSorley makes a great decision to run and gets Penn State into field goal range to send the game to overtime. In the first OT the PSU defense makes a huge stop and forces Minnesota to kick a field goal. Enter Saquon Barkley. On the first offensive play for Penn State Saquon makes a nice move and jogs into the end zone for a Penn State victory.
3. Michigan 2017
This run stands out to me because it was the first time Penn State was ranked number 2 in many years. Everybody was saying how they were overrated and were too high and that Michigan would destroy them. Then on the second play from scrimmage, Joe Moorhead pulled out a little trickery and had Trace move to running back and Saquon move to QB. Saquon takes the snap and boom he’s gone. This is the only time the wildcat actually worked for Penn State last season as every other time they tried to use it, it got completely blown up. I can still remember Beaver Stadium just going nuts after this play and it is one of my favorite memories of last season.
2. Fiesta Bowl vs. Washington
This was the longest run of Saquon Barkley’s career at Penn State. It may have not been his prettiest, but it was a huge run. Saquon gets handed the ball, gets some good blocks, and then uses his speed to just absolutely blow by everybody. This run also gave Penn State a 3-score cushion in the game and they would go onto win 35-28. Not only was this run the longest of Saquon’s career, but it is tied for the longest in Penn State history and is the longest in Fiesta bowl history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBGg-nNrF6M
1. Rose Bowl vs. USC
This run was just absolutely insane. It showed off all his skill sets. His speed, his power, his agility, everything. Saquon gets handed the ball, bounces off the tackle, then jukes out pretty much the entire USC defense to tie the game at 28 in a game they would go on to lose 52-49 in one of the best Rose Bowls ever. This run was just incredible. It was the second of four consecutive Penn State plays with a touchdown in the game.
