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STATE COLLEGE — There was no path for Saquon Barkley but straight ahead.

Hauling in an across-the-body lob from Trace McSorley, Barkley was trapped against the left sideline with a Georgia State safety ready to cut him off.

Then came a slight shake of the head. A half-step toward the middle of the field. The defender froze for a beat, and that was all it took.

Barkley shifted into top gear and kept running, improbably burning past the man in front of him while having enough gas left in the tank to outrace a trailing defensive back.

Eighty-five yards for the longest passing touchdown in Beaver Stadium history.

Those who showed up to watch a Barkley highlight show in the Nittany Lions’ 56-0 win against the overmatched Panthers on Saturday were not disappointed.

“I stopped being surprised or amazed awhile ago with him,” Lions coach James Franklin said.

“Two years ago, he said he wanted to get faster. He worked on that. This year, in open space, I can’t imagine a more explosive, dangerous player in space than him.”

With Georgia State looking to stuff the box against the star tailback — Barkley ran for just 10 yards on his first seven carries — the Lions simply freed him up in other ways.

That included a little improv work.

With Penn State leading 7-0 in the first quarter, the Panthers brought the heat on McSorley, who was flushed to his right.

After originally showing that he was staying in to block, Barkley released and sat down in the middle of the field. But when McSorley began to scramble, so did Barkley, who found the left sideline vacated in the commotion.

Barkley kept eye contact with McSorley while on the backpedal and was still able to accelerate quickly enough after the catch to take it the distance.

“I kind of thought Trace was going to lose me,” Barkley said. “Trace did an unbelievable job using his eyes and coming to the checkdown. It was kind of weird. He looked away from me first. I thought he was going downfield, and then he just naturally turned around.

“It’s what we work on. He goes through his reads and it’s something we go through every single day in practice. I was able to get a one-on-one.”

“Then,” McSorley said, “he does what he does when he has an open field.”

The 85-yard catch and run was the third-longest pass play in Penn State history and the longest since 1971 when Steve Joachim hit Jim Scott for 86 yards. The school record was set nearly a century ago when future Lions head coach and Hall of Famer Bob Higgins went 91 yards on a pass from Bill Hess in 1919.

Barkley finished the night with 226 all-purpose yards, including four catches for 142 yards. And, according to him, he did it with an upset stomach.

He had Penn State fans holding their breath when he went to the sideline injury tent with head trainer Tim Bream in the second quarter. With no apparent injury, the natural assumption was that he was going through concussion protocol. Instead, the culprit was something he ate in the pregame meal.

No matter. He and McSorley exited along with most of Penn State’s starters early in the third quarter.

Eight different players figured in on the touchdowns. McSorley had a hand in five of them, throwing four and running in another himself. He finished with 309 yards through the air and 24 on the ground.

The quarterback also hit DaeSean Hamilton and former high school teammate Brandon Polk for touchdowns. And the first score of the night was the old quarterback-to-quarterback connection as backup Tommy Stevens lined up in the slot, motioned across the formation and took a swing pass in for the score.

That Stevens package is now a regular part of Penn State’s offense. But the sophomore also got his most extensive time actually at quarterback in the blowout.

In the third quarter, Stevens threw his first career touchdown pass despite getting hammered by a defender, lofting a deep ball into the back of the end zone for Saeed Blacknall.

Not to be overlooked, the Penn State defense came up with five takeaways and pitched its second shutout in three games. Georgia State lined up for a chip-shot field goal to break the shutout in the final minute, but Franklin used a timeout and the kicker promptly missed it on his second try.

The coach said the timeout was for personnel reasons and not to ice a kicker with a 56-point lead.

“Really that had nothing to do with it,” Franklin said. “It had to do with having our fourth-team on the field, and we don’t have a fourth-team field goal block, or really even know how to get lined up with the mixed-and-matched guys we had in there. So we called a timeout to get the second-team field goal block (unit) in there.”

Marcus Allen recorded his first career interception and returned it 50 yards to set up a score. Grant Haley added his second in as many weeks and true freshman Tariq Castro-Fields added one of his own.

Outside of Barkley’s score, Allen’s pick drew the biggest reaction from Penn State players, who knew that he had been waiting his entire career to snag a ball.

“I’m just happy. I’m ecstatic,” Allen said. “I really was speaking it into existence. I talked to my father two days before the game, I said, “Dad. I swear — I promise you — I’m going to get an interception before I leave Penn State. It came. So I’m really happy. Feels like my birthday.”

Both of Penn State’s sacks on the night resulted in forced fumble. Shaka Toney knocked the first one loose while splitting a sack with Manny Bowen. Kevin Givens came up with the recovery. Daniel Joseph got the other strip with true freshman Yetur Gross-Matos getting to the ball first.

All five turnovers led to Penn State touchdowns.

The Lions finished the non-conference schedule having allowed just one touchdown. They head into Big Ten play next week at Iowa having outscored opponents 141-14.

Penn State cornerback Christian Campbell knocks a pass away from Georgia State’s Tamir Jones. The Lions defense pitched its second shutout in three weeks and forced five turnovers.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_AP172600615055592017916224211900-6.jpg.optimal.jpgPenn State cornerback Christian Campbell knocks a pass away from Georgia State’s Tamir Jones. The Lions defense pitched its second shutout in three weeks and forced five turnovers. Chris Knight | AP photo

Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley finished with five total touchdowns on Saturday, four through the air and one on the ground.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_AP172600617183082017916224112475-6.jpg.optimal.jpgPenn State quarterback Trace McSorley finished with five total touchdowns on Saturday, four through the air and one on the ground. Chris Knight | AP photo

Penn State’s Saquon Barkley finished Saturday night with 226 all-purpose yards, including this 85-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown against Georgia State.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_AP172600200899882017916223936945-6.jpg.optimal.jpgPenn State’s Saquon Barkley finished Saturday night with 226 all-purpose yards, including this 85-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown against Georgia State. Chris Knight | AP photo

By Derek Levarse

[email protected]

• Saquon Barkley’s 85-yard touchdown reception was the third longest in Penn State history and the longest scoring strike since 1971.

• Trace McSorley’s 258 yards passing in the first half were the most in Penn State history.

• Penn State became the fifth Big Ten team in history to score at least 30 points in 10 straight games.

Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse

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