Wolverines Overpower PSU, 49-10

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psu-footballANN ARBOR – Saquon Barkley totaled 136 all-purpose yards for Penn State, but an all-around performance by No. 4/5 Michigan gave the Wolverines a 49-10 victory over the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten football opener for both teams Saturday afternoon in Michigan Stadium.

Michigan (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) built a 28-0 lead in the first half, while Penn State’s (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) lone touchdown came in the second half, an 8-yard completion from quarterback Trace McSorley to wide receiver Chris Godwin.

Barkley posted a career-high 77 yards receiving on five receptions and rushed for 59 yards on 15 carries. McSorley completed 16-of-27 pass attempts for 121 yards and a touchdown with one interception.

Seven different Michigan rushers totaled 329 yards and six touchdowns, led by De’Veon Smith’s 107 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts and Karan Higdon’s 81 yards and two touchdowns on nine attempts.

Penn State was playing short-handed as all three starting linebackers -Brandon Bell, Jason Cabinda and Nyeem Wartman-White- were unavailable due to injury. The Nittany Lions’ starting linebacker trio featured just three career combined starts as opposed to the 63 represented by the opening day trio. Starting middle linebacker Brandon Smith was then disqualified on the first play of the second quarter for targeting and his replacement, Jan Johnson, suffered a season-ending injury in the second quarter.

SafetyMalik Golden led Penn State with a career-high 11 tackles, including eight solo and one for loss. True freshman linebacker Cameron Brown made 10 stops in his first significant action. Sophomore linebacker Manny Bowen also had a career high of seven stops, while safety Marcus Allen had seven solo stops and two pass breakups.

Penn State will return to Beaver Stadium next Saturday to host Minnesota, game time 3:30 p.m. The Gophers Saturday defeated Colorado State, 31-24.

Sept. 23, 2016 1 2 3 4 TOTAL
PENN STATE 0 0 3 7 10
MICHIGAN 14 14 7 14 49

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