The Heisman Trophy favorite struggled in the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats but will have plenty of opportunities ahead.
Heading into week six of the 2017 college football regular season, it appeared nobody would be able to slow down Penn State Nittany Lions star running back Saquon Barkley in his quest for the Heisman Trophy. The Northwestern Wildcats had other ideas in the first half of Saturday’s matchup at Ryan Field.
Barkley was incredibly held to -1 yard on eight carries by the Northwestern defense before the break, and only managed one reception for eight yards. Penn State has managed to jump out to a 10-0 lead thanks to a ferocious pass rush, but nobody could have foreseen the Wildcats limiting Barkley so effectively.
Those numbers are particularly surprising considering the inhuman totals Barkley has put up prior to Saturday. The junior has taken over the lead in the Heisman Trophy race by carrying the ball 86 times for 574 yards while adding 374 receiving yards and 258 kick return yards with eight total touchdowns.
Barkley’s last two performances before the tough showing in week six have been Heisman-worthy in particular. Penn State needed every one of Barkley’s school-record 358 all-purpose yards to beat Iowa in a slugfest two weeks ago, and he had a pair of Heisman moments with a kick return score and passing touchdown last Saturday against Indiana.
Northwestern is arguably the best defense Penn State has faced with experienced playmakers like Godwin Igwebuike, and it shows with Barkley’s ugly first half total. However, Saturday’s performance should only have a slight impact on Barkley’s Heisman chances.
Barkley is one of the most explosive players in college football, scored a short touchdown on Penn State’s first drive of the second half, and could very well go off for 200 yards in the final 30 minutes to make everyone forget about the first half. Voters also won’t be focusing too much on a Noon game against Northwestern at the end of the year, as Barkley will have a chance to showcase his skills in front of a national audience in upcoming games against Michigan and Ohio State before the end of October.
Even so, the Heisman field is as loaded as ever, and just one bad game could make a difference by the end of the year. Stanford running back Bryce Love is putting up even better numbers, albeit for a non-contending team, while Baker Mayfield doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
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Barkley’s numbers are still strong enough to keep him right among the Heisman leaders despite one bad half even if he’s no longer the clear-cut favorite, and he’ll have a great chance to redeem himself over the next three weeks. It could be a different story if the Wildcats manage to shut down Barkley in the second while pulling off the upset, but that doesn’t seem very likely given his current form.