UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Saquon Barkley's first trip to Ohio Stadium was a coming out party of sorts for most of the college football world.
The true freshman with the massive legs who hurdled past Buffalo and broke out against Rutgers was the star of the show in the Lions' 2015 loss at Ohio Stadium, rushing for more yards than Buckeyes' superstar Ezekiel Elliott whose 153 yards were bested by Barkley's 194.
"I was a young guy," Barkley said Wednesday night after practice. "I was kind of in awe of being on the field with Braxton Miller and Zeke Elliott. Coming from high school watching all those highlight tapes, especially Braxton."
"But what I remember about that game is that obviously we lost," the Heisman Trophy candidate said of the 38-10 defeat. "It was a Black Out. The Ohio State fans there were amazing. The stadium is amazing there. It's going to be a fun challenge. It's going to be exciting, and I think we're all ready to step up to that challenge."
The No. 2 Nittany Lions are the underdog in Saturday's 3:30 p.m. matchup against the No. 6 Buckeyes, a detail Barkley said he was unaware of. While the confidence in the Lions' 2014 meeting with Ohio State -- a game they lost in double overtime -- showed the team it wasn't that far away from putting together a complete game, the 2016 upset proved that the Lions closed the gap against the then No. 2 Buckeyes. The 2015 matchup was the one that proved to Barkley he too belonged.
It's certainly easy to see why Barkley more than belongs now as the Lions' X-factor. Arguably college football's top player, Barkley is a force to try and bring to the ground. He's expanded his role as a pass catcher, serves as the team's top kick returner, threw a touchdown pass and now takes direct snaps, too.
"That game definitely boosted my confidence up a lot," he said. "A lot of those guys, you look back on it that year, three of those guys were taken in the first round, 11 of them got drafted. We were able as a team to have success in the running game. That definitely boosted up my confidence."
And now, it's other players from the NFL and around college football who continue to support No. 26 in awe. Whether it was Todd Gurley who asked Barkley what his cheat code was a few weeks back, a spring break encounter last March with Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott or Michigan wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, who Barkley said direct messaged him after the Lions' win just to reach out, Barkley continues to take it all in stride.
Whether or not that leads to the most important individual accolade in college football come December remains to be seen. But, it's certainly clear that the freshman who wondered whether or not he belonged on the field while going against now-NFL stars is even better than he was during his first visit to The Horseshoe.
"I'm a lot smarter of a football player, you know, understanding the game, understanding situations, understanding the playbook, blitzes and all that," he said. "I just became and have developed into an all-around player who can do it all, whether it's special teams, blocking or making the catch."
And, there's another young running back on the other sideline who likely will be keeping a close eye on Barkley. Ohio State freshman J.K. Dobbins has rushed for 775 yards on 100 carries thus far and added five touchdowns in the process. The former four-star prospect from La Grange, Texas could be the next 'best young back' coming through the Big Ten's pipeline.
"He's a really good back, especially for being a young guy," Barkley said. "He does a really good job setting the blocks up and making guys miss in the open field. I'm excited to see him live, see what he can bring to the table. That offense over there, they got a great offense and a great quarterback with J.T. Barrett. It's going to be a challenge."
QUICK HITS
• James Franklin met with the media following practice and said this week it's been "so far, so good" for his team. The Lions had the music blasting at the Lasch practice field, trying to simulate a rowdy Black Out crowd that's expected in Columbus.
"We're in a good place," Franklin said. "We've got to finish the rest of the week out and make sure that Friday night we can put our heads on our pillows and feel really good about the type of investment and time we put into being prepared to play on Saturday."
The Lions worked with the noise at full blast Tuesday and Wednesday, Franklin said. Typically, they only blast it on Wednesday. The Lions' offense all had a full tempo period for the defense, something Franklin said he thought "went really well."
• Making sure Penn State's defense is ready for the tempo is also a focal point this week, much like it was against Indiana. The Lions' no-huddle offense is more about getting up to the line quickly, but once at the line they take their time to get into the best possible look. Ohio State's no-huddle offense, however, is about just ripping off as many plays as it can.
"Coach (Brent) Pry mentioned the other day that J.T. is probably playing as well as we've seen him play," Franklin said. "You're talking about a guy who has had an unbelievable college career who is playing his best football now."
• Reserve quarterback Billy Fessler was the scout-teamer tasked with operating as Barrett, something Franklin said the Lions went for as opposed to trying to find their fastest or most athletic player.
"The problem is, if you put a guy back there, what makes it difficult is the guy that's back there can throw or run and that's the challenge," Franklin said. "We did a couple things in individual, like a cage drill, in terms of doing a great job of not getting too far up the field and creating seams like we did last week."
• The weather forecast is not looking promising for Saturday, with cooler temperatures and rain projected in the forecast. The Lions practiced outside so far this week and will continue to do so unless there's threatening conditions like thunder or lightning that would force them indoors.
Franklin mentioned a couple weeks ago that Joe Moorhead would like the Lions to head indoors in the rain rather than everyone getting soaked, but Franklin won't hear of it. He said he'd like to order up some rain for the rest of the practices this week.
"We always do some wet ball drills, especially with the kickers, holders and snappers, but I think we've done a lot of that all year long," he said.
• Franklin shows his teams weekly clips about plays that are good due to hustle and execution, and also ones that are bad for the exact opposite reasons. While Kobe Bryant made the PowerPoint in previous weeks for a hustle play, Leon Lett was on the PowerPoint last week, notably for his memorable Super Bowl blunder.
"Leon had a wonderful career, but he probably had a few plays that he'd like to have back," Franklin said.
• The area Franklin said is most improved on the Lions' offense this season? The team's blocking by the tight ends and wide receivers on the perimeter. Mike Gesicki met with the media Wednesday afternoon, and it wasn't until he committed himself to blocking that he started taking pride in it. That will be necessary again in this week's matchup, much like it was against Michigan.
"Speed, athleticism, length. They're one of the most talented teams in the country," Franklin said of what stands out about Ohio State's defense.