EVANSTON, Ill. -- Regardless of how the Nittany Lions arrived at 6-0, it didn't matter too much to James Franklin.
As the Nittany Lions' head coach jogged off of Ryan Field he embraced fans young and old before running up the tunnel and into the locker room. Per usual, Franklin said he'd celebrate this victory for a few hours and then make corrections on Sunday and adjust as the Lions head into their bye week preparations.
"I think we're in a good place. If you said going into the season that going into the bye week you'd be 6-0 you'd be pleased with that," Franklin said. "We still got a lot of work to do, but I do think our team is playing with a lot of confidence right now, especially in our secondary and on the defensive side of the ball. ... We're in the ideal situation. We're 6-0 going into the bye week and we have an opportunity to continue to get better."
And about that getting better, there certainly are a few areas that've proven to be a little challenging for Penn State thus far.
FIRST DOWN
Opportunistic defense keeps bending but not breaking.
Penn State's defense wasn't supposed to be this good. The storylines all offseason surrounded around a team that needed to replace two starting defensive ends and one that arguably didn't have a big-time playmaker or a splashy play type of guy. Well, through six games with the defense came up with nine interceptions and maybe they don't need to rely on one or two big-time players because they have different guys stepping up each week.
Amani Oruwariye, someone the staff views as essentially a third starting corner, has three interceptions this season. He added his third in the first half on a pick that kept the Lions' streak in tact of not surrendering a point in the first quarter of any game this season. Oruwariye missed two games to arrive at this lofty total and he might be the biggest surprise through these first six games.
I didn't peg Oruwariye to be putting together these types of numbers. I can't think of anyone who did. He had one interception all of last season and that came in the season opener. Remember it? It's very possible that most don't.
Who else helped the defense in a big way? Redshirt freshman defensive end Shaka Toney, the player who Franklin encouraged the staff not to think of in a traditional usage sense because Toney doesn't fit the mold of the typical end. He's undersized, but strong and fast, two traits he demonstrated when he came on in the first quarter to have a strip sack and finished the game with another sack as well.
Franklin said Toney's role, as long as he continues gaining weight, will continue to evolve, going from that of a speciality to eventually seeing more reps on first and second down as well.
Toney played the best game of his young career and defensive tackle Kevin Givens was also a force. Again, this team has strength in numbers on defense, something that showed up time and time again during the first six games and it was on display big time against the Wildcats.
SECOND DOWN
What is this offense without the explosive plays?
Well, take the explosive elements out of any offense and it's a totally different story. The difference with the chunk plays is drastic.
The consistency for the Lions' offense isn't there and during these three Big Ten games it hasn't been. The defense is coming up big time and time again and the offense hasn't been as lights out as expected.
But, three of Penn State's four touchdown drives featured at least one big-time explosive gain. On the first touchdown, it was the 19-yard completion to DeAndre Thompkins and a 23-yard reception from Brandon Polk that paved the way for Tommy Stevens' 10-yard touchdown reception.
On the team's second touchdown drive it was a 38-yard reception from Saeed Blacknall on 2nd and 9 that set the Lions up at the Wildcats' 5 yard line.
That drive resulted in Barkley going airborne to punch it in from one yard out.
And, the Lions' third touchdown of the afternoon was a 53-yard rush around the right side from Barkley. The point? This offense was jumpstarted by big-time explosive gains and heading into this one the plays of 40 and 50-plus yards were down. It's a positive to see the Lions have some success with the bigger chunk plays, but sustaining drives hasn't been all that reliable.
The Lions posted three points in the first quarter and despite the defense getting them the ball back three times, the offense still had lulls. But, even with the wind as much of a factor as it was, seeing the Lions break loose and continue to be explosive -- this time with more of the larger gains -- was a breakthrough.
"This team is so explosive and has so many weapons," Barkley said.
Another positive? McSorley completed 25 of 34 passes for 245 yards and the Lions completed 8 of 16 third-down attempts.
THIRD DOWN
More wrinkles are coming after the bye week.
The bye week is a time for the Lions to self scout and work on their weaknesses, but after the week away from playing a game -- notice how I didn't use the word 'off' -- the Lions could showcase a few different ways to utilize Barkley, or to keep him more involved while defenses try to shut him down.
"I do think we got some stuff saved for the second half of the year that we haven't showed a whole lot that I think will help," Franklin said. "For us, we just stay patient, keep distributing the ball."
Joe Moorhead surely will spend time during the bye week looking ahead to the upcoming matchup with Michigan and then the one against Ohio State and trying to figure out different ways the offense can use Barkley to exploit the other team's weaknesses. We saw it in this game as backup quarterback Tommy Stevens was worked back into the game plan after a two week hiatus.
Stevens caught a touchdown pass, took a carry around the goal line -- and even went airborne to try and get the score -- and also was on the field out of the two quarterback package when the Lions weren't in the red zone. Stevens came on in the fourth quarter to replace Trace McSorley, again gaining some valuable reps.
The Lions didn't install that two-quarterback package, or at least started toying with it until about this time a year ago, which means there could be some more variations off it still in the works. The Lions took tight end Mike Gesicki off the field when they worked Stevens in, answering Franklin's question he posed to the media on Tuesday about who would you choose to take off the field when the offense has as many weapons as it does.
Whether it's a variation on something the Lions have already done or something entirely new, Barkley's role as the do-it-all back could include a few new dimensions.
FOURTH DOWN
What happened to Barkley and the run game?
There may not ever be a stat line like it again. With 4:02 remaining in the third quarter the Hesiman Trophy candidate had 11 carries for one yard. One. It was eye popping to see Barkley bottled up and some times even blown up in the backfield before he could even get a hold on the ball.
He nearly dropped one handoff and McSorley and Barkley bumped into each other on another run pass option, which nearly turned into a fumble. Barkley had five carries that netted -22 yards. He finished with 75 yards on 16 carries.
"They're doing stuff that's allowing other stuff to be open," Barkley said.
On this day it opened up the pass game for McSorley in what Franklin called "free access" situations where McSorley just needed to distribute knowing that the Wildcats' focus was on taking No. 26 out of the game plan.
Was Barkley frustrated at all as he was driven backwards in the backfield for much of the afternoon?
Franklin said Barkley isn't a guy who gets frustrated and hasn't during his time at Penn State.
"I see it all the time where there's a tackle for a loss and the running back spikes the ball down on the field and is yelling at the line," Franklin said. "He's never once asked for the ball more. Never said give me more opportunities, give me more touches. He's never fussed at his linemen, only given them positive support. He's never fussed at anybody. He knows if he stays patient and sticks with what we do his plays are going to come. ... He's an unselfish guy."
Sure enough, Barkley's patience paid off late in the third quarter when he reeled off a 53-yard touchdown run.
The game also brought up some of the Lions' short-yardage offense and so far their best answer to short-yardage runs has been bringing in Stevens. The Lions brought the backup quarterback in twice this week in the red zone, and both drives resulted in touchdowns, one that Stevens caught for 10 yards and another where he carried the ball around the goal line before exiting the field, and the Lions scored with Barkley on the next play.
Barkley supported the offensive line afterward and Franklin said they're well aware that, like the rest of the team, they have corrections to make during the bye week.
"Again, we're critiquing a Big Ten win on the road where we scored 31 points and basically played shut-out football," Franklin said. "I feel like we're at the right point right now to go into the bye week and say, 'Hey, these are the things we need to improve on.' "
Michigan's defense is up next and with McSorley sacked four times in this one -- now nine times in the past two games -- and a lack of consistency running between the tackles, all eyes will be on the line during the bye week.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
Waiss David Aramesh with a few different videos for your viewing pleasure, including how the Lions dealt with the wind in the Windy City, certainly a challenge for punter Blake Gillikin.
And, Gillikin took in a moment with his brother, the Wildcats' long snapper.
QUICK HITS
• The Lions' travel roster didn't include senior right tackle Andrew Nelson. Nelson hasn't been the same player so far this season as he works his way back from injuries in each of the past two years and him not traveling is the latest development after the Lions looked at him as a co-starter along with Chasz Wright in the preseason. Wright earned the start, played the first two series and then Will Fries rotated in, the opposite of their rotation last week.
• Injured cornerback John Reid made the trip yet again, another example of just how valuable he is to this secondary. When Reid was injured in spring ball it looked like a real worry for this defense, but with the way Oruwariye has stepped up this group has been a pleasant surprise these first six games.
• How much faith do the Lions have in their deep rotation of defensive linemen? A lot. With the Wildcats facing 4th-and-1 in the second quarter only one starting lineman, Buchholz, was on the field. The Lions put Robert Windsor, Givens, Buchholz and Toney out there together and Toney came up with an eight-yard sack. Pry described it last week as part of James Franklin's philosophy that they will always try and play as many linemen as possible to continue building depth and that was on display in Evanston.
• Freshman cornerback Lamont Wade didn't play a snap on defense. Not sure what that's about, but he did make the trip.
• Defensive tackle Ellison Jordan checked in during the fourth quarter, a valuable experience for the redshirt freshman.
• Backup running back Andre Robinson was passed over on the depth chart by Miles Sanders for this game. Robinson made the trip but didn't play a snap.
• For the first time in three games the Lions didn't have a kick blocked. Tyler Davis hit a 21-yard field goal in the first quarter and nailed all of his extra points. However, a missed 35-yard attempt late in the fourth quarter again made the field goal unit a problem. The Lions used the same personnel there and Franklin called it correctable last week, but we'll have to see if they make any bye week changes. At this point it hasn't been one player consistently messing up, rather a change from week to week.