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STATE COLLEGE — Trace McSorley got a visitor before his first collegiate start. One who knows a thing or two about springing back up after being slammed to the Beaver Stadium grass.
Penn State’s new quarterback was greeted by the old one as Christian Hackenberg was on the field before Saturday’s game.
“He just told me to enjoy it,” McSorley said. “Enjoy every second of it.”
Even the rough parts. Like a blindside sack that gave Kent State its lone touchdown. Or the handful of times he had to scrape himself off after lowering his shoulder to finish off a scramble or a keeper. Or when a linebacker was ejected for catching him helmet-to-helmet at the end of another run.
For the next 24 hours, the aches from those hard hits might be at the forefront. But McSorley hopes he remembers the Nittany Lions’ 33-13 win as the beginning of something bigger for him.
It’s undoubtedly going to take some more time for Penn State to cure the hiccups in their new no-huddle scheme. A pair of three-and-outs to open the game and some shaky red zone play later on are proof of that.
But McSorley got himself going against the Golden Flashes with a nice run before a snazzy sideline catch by Chris Godwin set up his first touchdown as a starter.
Once again, McSorley was reminded of talks he had with his predecessor.
“In the past we had talked about his first start against Syracuse (at MetLife Stadium in 2013),” McSorley said of Hackenberg. “He said he was pretty nervous in that game.
“But there was a play where he was able to get a nice completion and he just settled in.”
For the most part, that’s what McSorley experienced himself. He ended up finishing 16 of 31 for 209 yards and two touchdowns — an early dart to DaeSean Hamilton and a late heave to a wide-open Mike Gesicki.
“I think he handled the pressure well,” Gesicki said. “I think for his first time in Beaver Stadium, really playing, he did a phenomenal job.”
On the ground, McSorley picked up 47 yards and a couple of first downs on 14 carries.
If there was concern from Penn State coaches that McSorley was being too aggressive by charging his 6-foot frame into Kent State defenders, they didn’t show it.
“No, I think that’s part of his game,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “He’s got similar size to a lot of NFL quarterbacks and college quarterbacks right now. You look around the country, that’s how the people who are running these offenses play.
“We’re going to be aggressive in the quarterback position and feel good about Trace and that he’s done all the right things and taking care of his body.”
Of course, Franklin added, a slide or two in the open field every now and then wouldn’t be a bad idea.
McSorley didn’t have a chance to do anything on a play in the second quarter when he was winding up for a deep ball. New left tackle Brendan Mahon was beaten by the Golden Flashes’ Terence Waugh, one of the MAC’s top pass rushers, leading to a free shot on McSorley.
Fumble. Linebacker Elcee Refuge picked up the loose ball and took it back 20 yards for the score and a 13-13 tie.
Despite the shock of the play — and the fact that the Lions led just 16-13 at the half — they never much felt in danger of losing.
Penn State defenders made sure of that, shaking off a couple of early misplays to turn in a dominant second half, blanking the Flashes while scoring a touchdown themselves.
Sophomore corner Amani Oruwariye took care of things in the opening minute of the second half, jumping on a pass thrown behind the target and taking it back 30 yards for the score.
It was one of three Lions takeaways including a Marcus Allen forced fumble and recovery that set up a touchdown and a Brandon Bell interception that ended a Kent State scoring chance.
“At the start of the third quarter, we started making plays left and right and everyone could just feel it,” defensive end Garrett Sickels said.
Sickels was one of three Lions to figure in on two sacks as Penn State finished with seven — their most in a game in five years.
Still, there was a sense after the game that the same performance next week against Pitt at Heinz Field wouldn’t be enough.
“I think we did pretty good today,” said tailback Saquon Barkley, who had 105 yards and a touchdown plus a second score called back on a hold.
But.
“But I know we’re not satisfied with that at all.”
“We’re fortunate enough to have 30-some points on the board.”
But.
“But we felt like we left a good 20, 21. And we’ve gotta be a lot more efficient. I’ve gotta step up and be a better leader. Make more plays.”
His coach agreed.
“Overall, I think there are some really good things to build off of, but we have a lot of things we need to get cleaned up,” Franklin said. “I know people say we have a big game coming up next, so we’ll look at this past week and learn from that and move on to the next one.”
