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College Football

Saquon Barkley clinched a Heisman spot Saturday, but he still won’t win the trophy

Garrett Kroeger

By Garrett Kroeger

Published:

After the Penn State-Rutgers game last weekend, there must have been a “Missing Person” flyer handed around wondering where superstar Nittany Lion running back Saquon Barkley was because he finally returned to the field Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Before Penn State’s 56-44 win over Nebraska, the September Heisman winner Barkley was held in check against Ohio State, Michigan State, and as mentioned Rutgers. In fact, he was held to a combined 142 rushing yards against the Buckeyes, the Spartans and the Scarlet Knights and had a high of 63 yards in those three games. But from start to finish, Barkley returned to his September form against the Cornhuskers.

On Barkley’s first of the game, he junior knifed through the Huskers’ defense and raced down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown.

 

It was the back’s longest run since he had a 69-yard touchdown against Michigan on Oct. 21.

While that was Barkley’s longest run since the match-up against the Wolverines, he did start out against Ohio State to only see him get bottled up as the game progressed. But this was not the case this time around.

Barkley would continue to slice up Nebraska’s defense. The Nittany Lion would add another long run of 30 yards and even a 24 yard catch. Plus, he added two more touchdowns on the day against the Huskers. Also, Barkley’s third score would put him at 39 total rushing touchdowns, which is most by any running back in Penn State history.

The Coplay, PA native would rack up 158 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, giving him an average of 9.3 yards per carry. Plus, Barkley added six catches for 66 yards. That gave the back a total of 224 total yards and Barkley didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

That type of performance was needed for Barkley. In fact, this was the ultimate redeem game for the back.

As previously mentioned, he was held in check in Penn State’s last three games and because of that, Barkley’s Heisman campaign started to fade. Writers and college football fans around the nation were ripping his potential to be even a contender to shreds. But this game has reestablished Barkley as a real contender.

Now, the Husker’s defense isn’t overly stellar.

 

Heading into the game, Nebraska was ranked No. 82 in total defense heading into the game. However, even Husker beat writers were so impressed by just how good of a football player Barkley is, they have campaigned for him to be in New York in December.

 

While this game against the Huskers may have rebooted Barkley’s Heisman campaign, he still is a long way from winning the trophy at the moment. Especially with players like Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Stanford back Bryce Love keep balling out.

On Saturday, Mayfield completed 20-of-30 passes for 257 yards and three scores against Kansas, and Love took on the California Golden Bears (as I wrote this piece, Stanford-Cal hadn’t played yet). But the game before Cal, Love ran for 166 yards and three scores on 30 carries in an upset win over the Washington Huskies. Plus, Love is the Cardinal only offensive threat and he still burns teams.

 

Even though Barkley is still a ways away from being the Heisman front runner that he once was this year, his performance against the Huskers just proved how special of a player that he is. He can make nothing into something with a snap of a finger.

This game proves he deserves to be in New York at the end of the year. And it also shows that college football fans need to cherish the time they have left to watch him on Saturdays because he will more than likely be playing on Sundays next year.

Garrett Kroeger