EVANSTON, Ill. _ Saquon Barkley was bottled up for most of the day Saturday against Northwestern, gaining just 4 yards on 12 rushes through almost three quarters of play.
But that 13th carry dazzled the crowd of 41,061 at Ryan Field, with Barkley racing 53 yards for his second touchdown of the day, a score that helped secure the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions' 31-7 Big Ten victory over the Wildcats.
Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) had trouble all day rushing the football against the Wildcats (2-3, 0-2), picking up just 95 yards on 38 carries, counting five sacks by Northwestern. Barkley finished with 16 carries for 75 yards, including a 1-yard leap over the line for his first touchdown in the second quarter, and his long run in the third.
Trace McSorley threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to backup quarterback Tommy Stevens in the second quarter and ran 5 yards for a fourth-quarter score. He set a Penn State record during the game with 15 straight completions, breaking the old mark of 14 set by Kerry Collins in 1994, and completed 25 of 34 passes for 245 yards.
On defense, the Lions sacked quarterback Clayton Thorson four times and held running back Justin Jackson to a manageable 66 yards in 16 carries. Thorson completed 19 of 36 passes for 142 yards.
On its first seven possessions of the second half, Northwestern gained just 19 total yards. The Wildcats averted a shutout on Matt Alviti's 1-yard sweep around right end with 1 minute, 46 seconds to play.
The Nittany Lions, who also got a 21-yard field goal from Tyler Davis late in the first quarter, took advantage of turnovers and penalties by Northwestern. They snuffed out a scoring drive on the Wildcats' first possession of the game when Amani Oruwariye intercepted Thorson at the Penn State 10.
The next turnover, a hit by Shaka Toney resulting in Thorson's fumble and recovery by defensive end Ryan Buchholz, and a pass interference penalty against the Wildcats set up Davis' field goal, the Lions' first points of the day.
Penn State moved the ball much more effectively in the second and third quarters with a 20-mph wind at their back. McSorley hit four straight passes on the Lions' initial touchdown drive, including a 23-yard completion to Brandon Polk, before connecting for the touchdown with Stevens, who made a sliding catch in the end zone.
The Lions drove to their second touchdown with the help of a 38-yard connection from McSorley to Saeed Blacknall for a first-and-goal at the 5. Three plays later, Barkley hurdled over right guard to just barely get into the end zone for a 17-0 lead.
Barkley brought the crowd to its feet three drives later. With a second-and-10 from the Penn State 47, the Heisman Trophy front-runner took a handoff up the middle, went behind a hole opened by center Connor McGovern and tackle Will Fries, and scampered down the right side for the touchdown with 2:13 left in the third quarter.
The Lions' final touchdown came at the end of a 54-yard, 11-play drive on which the longest gain was a 12-yard run by Barkley. McSorley followed backup running back Miles Sanders through a hole on his 5-yard touchdown run with 8:52 to play.
