By Mario Williams
If there’s one thing that the Iowa football team should be worried about, it should be Penn State’s starting running back Saquon Barkley.
Watch any clips, any footage, and you’ll see just why. At only 19 years old, Barkley is truly becoming a college football star.
He runs around or over nearly any defender he comes across, and the defensive unit should be prepared.
“The guy is a really good player,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He played well last year, and he’s playing better now. He’s tough and strong, start with that, and he can run.
“And you might think you have him. That’s what great players do. They have you on edge every play of the game.”
Iowa has faced some similar running backs such as Barkley, but it is a tough duty. It’s more so this season because the Hawkeyes have continued to struggle defensively, especially against the run.
Last season as a freshman, the running back rushed for more than 1,000 yards. That broke Penn State’s freshman season record that D.J. Dozier set in 1983. He also ended the season ranked No. 16 on Penn State’s single season rushing charts.
Only two true freshmen rushed for 1,000 yards in the Football Bowl Subdivision last season, Berkley and Washington’s Myles Gaskin. Penn State’s offensive line has never known to be one of topic of conversation, but Barkley had five 100-yard games, including 194 on 7.5 yards per carry against Ohio State and 103 yards on 6.1 yards a carry against Michigan State.
In the off-season, Penn State head coach James Franklin replaced old offensive coordinator John Donovan with Joe Moorhead. Penn State runs more of a spread, wide-open, and fast offense that Barkley shines on. Penn State may not be a conference favorite, but Barkley sure is making them out to be.
So far this season Barkley has already run for 888 yards with 10 touchdowns.
Iowa is coming off a bye week, and Penn State is coming off a solid win. The Nittany Lions are enjoying a good season thus far, and they’ll be all prepared for the Hawkeyes to come into town.
Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell credited Penn State’s offense, classifying it as unique. He noted that the team is fully prepared for the challenge.
“We just have to be ready to stay equal in our alignments,” Jewell said. “I think everyone is a bit more fresh mentally and physically ready to go.”
If Iowa falls against the Nittany Lions this weekend, the rest of the season won’t be an easy route, either. Following the game against Penn State, Iowa has Michigan, Illinois, and Nebraska to look forward to.
A win against Illinois is probably predicted, but the remainder of the season is huge for Iowa. It also won’t be an easy atmosphere either to play against this weekend, with 105,000 fans dressed in all white for a night game at Beaver Stadium.
Iowa’s true test will be responding to that and the beast within Barkley.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson said. “We need to make sure he doesn’t run up the middle. It’s also really up to us to focus on these last four games and give it our all.”