STATE COLLEGE, Pa. _ The record Beaver Stadium "White Out" crowd waited for Saquon Barkley to do something spectacular Saturday night, and Barkley made sure they didn't have to wait too long to see it.
Penn State's Heisman Trophy frontrunner took a snap in the Wildcat formation on the second play of the game and dashed 69 yards for a touchdown to spark an early flurry that propelled the second-ranked Nittany Lions to a 42-13 victory over No. 19 Michigan before a record crowd of 110,823.
Barkley added another touchdown run from 15 yards out to give the Lions (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, and added a juggling 42-yard catch of a pass from Trace McSorley in the fourth quarter.
The 230-pound junior ended the game with 176 all-purpose yards _ 108 yards rushing on 15 carries, 53 yards receiving on three catches and a 15-yard kickoff return.
McSorley added three touchdown runs and led an offense that gained 474 yards against the No. 1-ranked defense of the Wolverines (5-2, 2-2), who came into the game averaging 223.8 yards allowed. The Nittany Lions posted season highs for points and yards gained by a Michigan opponent.
McSorley finished 17 of 26 for 283 yards with one interception, and rushed 11 times for 76 yards.
The visitors actually got as close as 14-13 on Ty Isaac's 6-yard run with 1 minute, 45 seconds left in the first half, but Penn State answered just before halftime on McSorley's 3-yard run.
Barkley was the catalyst of an electrifying opening five minutes for Penn State. On the second play of the game, Barkley took a snap out of the wildcat formation for the first time this season, started right, darted left and scored on a 69-yard run just 43 seconds into the game as the stadium shook with noise.
The Lions got the ball back after a Michigan punt and needed four plays to score their second touchdown. McSorley sparked the march with a 23-yard run and a 35-yard completion to leaping tight end Mike Gesicki to put the ball on the Wolverines 15.
On the next play, McSorley sprinted right and pitched to Barkley, who turned the corner and ran up the right sideline for the score. With 10:11 still to play in the first quarter, Penn State had a 14-0 lead.
McSorley had the Nittany Lions in position for a third touchdown but had a pass intercepted by David Long, who set up Michigan's first TD drive. The Wolverines had three cracks at the end zone from the Penn State 1, and after 265-pound Khalid Hill was stopped on the first two plays, Karon Higdon took a pitch left and scored on fourth down. The extra point was missed.
Michigan's second touchdown drive began after the visitors stopped Penn State on fourth down and took over at their 33. John O'Korn completed passes of 18 yards to Donovan Peoples-Jones and 23 yards to Kekoa Crawford, the second throw putting the ball on the Lions 6. Isaac scored from that spot two plays later, and it was 14-13 with 1:45 left until halftime.
But the Lions put up a touchdown just 52 seconds later. McSorley set it up with a 36-yard completion to DaeSean Hamilton up the left sideline, then put the Lions into scoring territory with a 17-yard pass that Gesicki made a nice grab of in bounds at the 3. McSorley faked to Barkley and went in on the next play, scoring with 53 seconds remaining.
Penn State extended its lead in the third quarter on McSorley's 3-yard run, a score set up on three completions totaling 46 yards to Hamilton. The Lions scored twice in the fourth quarter on the McSorley-to-Barkley pass and McSorley's 9-yard run.
