It’s probably not a coincidence that Penn State’s all-time best quarterback-running back duos almost all have Rose Bowl connections.
It makes sense:
Since 1993, when it joined the Big Ten, the best Penn State teams have typically ended up in the Rose Bowl (2005 being the key exception).
And over the past quarter-century, Penn State’s offenses have been more wide-open than in years past (1982 being the key exception).
Exhibits A, B and C:
Rose Bowl 2017: Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley (No. 5, 11-2, Big Ten champs).
Rose Bowl 2009: Daryll Clark and Evan Royster (No. 8, 11-2, Big Ten co-champs).
Rose Bowl 1995: Kerry Collins and Ki-Jana Carter (No. 2, 12-0, Big Ten champs).
Those three pairings, plus the 1982 national title-winning pair of Todd Blackledge and Curt Warner, arguably rank as the top four QB-RB combos in Nittany Lion history.
And you can forgive Blackledge and Warner their Rose Bowl misgivings. For them, the Rose Bowl was not an option. Penn State was an independent at the time and the Granddaddy of Them All was not open to them all; only the champions of the Big Ten and the Pac-8 were invited.
(Still, Blackledge and Warner met USC in the 1981 postseason, defeating the Trojans 26-10 in the 1982 Fiesta Bowl, as Warner rushed for 145 yards and two TDs to outpace Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen, who ran 30 times for just 85 yards. I remember interviewing Allen post-game in the USC training room with a few other reporters, and mid-answer Allen slipped off the trainer’s table onto the floor. It wasn’t his day.)
THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
Let’s go back to the best, shall we?
By top quarterback-running back duos, we mean productive, effective, complementary and winning. It also helps if both the QB and the RB are great in their own right.
Here’s where Clark and Royster fall a bit short, even though Clark registered big-time numbers and Royster is Penn State’s all-time leading rusher. Few think of either player as “great,” although Clark most assuredly was at times – he was the Big Ten’s MVP in 2009.
Among other prolific PSU pairings, Larry Johnson was great, but Zack Mills was not. Michael Robinson was great in 2005, but Tony Hunt was not. And in 2012, Matt McGloin showed flashes of it, but Zach Zwinak did not.
1982 AND 2016
The best two pairings, I think, have been McSorley and Barkley in 2016, and Blackledge and Warner in 1982.
No other Penn State backfield pairs have ever complemented each other as those two sets, 34 years part, have. They’re different in this sense: McSorley is a first-year starter and Barkley is only a true sophomore, while Blackledge and Warner were both in their fourth season at Penn State, and third as starters. They were seasoned vets.
You can make a case that Collins and Ki-Jana were the best 1-2 punch or, at least, near the top. In leading Penn State to a 12-0 record and a 38-20 thrashing of Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Collins threw for 2,670 yards and 21 TDs, with just seven picks and five sacks, while Carter ran for 1,539 yards and 23 TDs – while averaging 7.3 yards per carry.
So yes, definitely, Collins and Ki-Jana were great in their own right – both were first-team All-Americans, while Carter was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and Collins was No. 5. Warner, the No. 5 pick in the 1983 Draft, and Blackledge, who was No. 7, stack up well here as well. McSorley isn’t a first-rounder, although Barkley has the potential to go that high.
Here’s where the 1994 duo differs: The Nittany Lions that season had great players at almost every offensive position, like wide receiver Bobby Engram, tight end Kyle Brady, a pair of bruising fullbacks, and an O-line that featured future NFL All-Pro offensive linemen Jeff Hartings and Marco Rivera. (Five sacks in an entire season?!)
But the 1982 and 2016 duos were special in other ways. They were true pairings – two halves who were greater than the sum of their parts. They complemented and, all four being men with manners, often complimented each other as well.
In 2016, Penn State’s RPO offense relied on a close relationship between the quarterback and running back, and after a few kinks, McSorley and Barkley have worked that out. Fumbles ceased, the QB stopped deferring to the RB. That really came to fruition when McSorley became more of an assertive threat as a runner, taking pressure off of Barkley and opening up both the passing game and the running lanes. The success of one – or, even, the perceived threat of success of one – has made life easier for the other.
Same went for Blackledge and Warner. The two were very close off the field, as roommates and best friends. And after Blackledge opened the 1982 season with 12 TD passes in three games, to the short-term detriment of Warner, they were the linchpins of Penn State’s most balanced offense ever. (In 1982, Penn State was the first national champ to pass for more yards than it ran – 2,369 to 2,283.)
It didn’t come easy; Warner rushed for just 143 yards in Penn State’s first three games of 1982, while Blackledge was slinging it. But the quarterback’s early success opened up things down the road for Warner, who finished his career with five straight 100-yard games and a national title. (Penn State was 18-0 when Warner rushed for 100 yards.)
That’s been the same thing, in reverse, for Penn State in 2016: Over its last four games, Barkley has rushed 80 times for only 247 yards, with just three plays for over 20 yards. In both seasons, a third of a century apart, though, the results were the same: The passing game flourished and Penn State won.
The styles of Warner and Barkley differ, but there are similarities. Both are highly versatile backs, adept at running, blocking, receiving (especially so the wheel route) and distracting defenses as an effective decoy. Warner was also a superb kick returner, averaging almost 29 yards a return, and Barkley has been anxious to prove that’s in his wheelhouse as well.
Even their numbers are alike:
As a senior, Warner ran for 1,158 yards on 216 carries, averaging 5.36 yards, and averaged 13.8 yards on 26 catches for 358 yards. As a sophomore in 2016, Barkley averaged 5.27 yards on 247 carries for 1,302 yards and averaged 15.1 yards on 24 catches for 347 yards.
MOST PROLIFIC PAIRINGS, BY YARDAGE
Here are the most productive single-season quarterback-running back duos in Penn State history. Yards are for passing, rushing, receiving and returning kicks, touchdowns created, and are for the two players listed only. Ranking order is determined by per-game average.
All Penn State seasons were considered, but in many years there was a great running back performance – say, John Cappelletti’s 1,522 yards in his Heisman Trophy year of 1973 – but the passing numbers were not up to par. (QB Tom Shuman threw for 1,375 yards that year.) In 1978, quarterback Chuck Fusina was the Heisman runner-up, but Penn State’s leading rusher that season was Matt Suhey, who split time with Mike Guman and ran for just 720 yards. So the following pairings skew decidedly recent.
WARNING: These numbers do make you gain a new appreciation for the five-year run of the Penn State offense from 2005-2009, when MRob and Clark both were excellent dual-threat QBs coached by Jay Paterno – especially MRob, who in 2005 passed for 2,350 yards and ran for 806, with 28 combined TDs. Clark, for his part, accounted for a whopping 60 TDs – 43 passing, 17 running — in 2008-2009. McSorley, with 31 touchdowns to his credit in 2016, is in the same rarified air.
1. Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley, 2016, 11-2 – 5,378 yards, 50 TDs, 413.7 yards per game. McSorley – 3,360 pass (25 TDs), 352 run (6 TDs); Barkley – 1,302 run (16), 347 receive (3), 17 KR.
2. Zack Mills and Larry Johnson, 2002, 9-4 – 5,273 yards, 43 TDs, 405.6 yards per game. Mills – 2,417 pass (17), 201 run (3); Johnson – 2,087 run (20), 349 receive (3), 219 KR.
3. Michael Robinson and Tony Hunt, 2005, 11-1 – 4,409 yards, 34 TDs, 367.4 yards. Robinson – 2,350 pass (17), 806 run (11); Hunt – 1,047 run (6), 206 receive.
4. Kerry Collins and Ki-Jana Carter, 1994, 12-0 – 4,403 yards, 44 TDs, 366.9 yards per game. Collins – 2,679 pass (21), -19 run; Carter – 1,539 run (23), 123 receive, 81 KR.
5. Matt McGloin and Zach Zwinak, 2012, 8-4 – 4,392 yards, 36 TDs, 366 yards per game. McGloin – 3,266 pass (24), -51 run (5); Zwinak – 1,000 run (6), 177 receive (1).
6. Daryll Clark and Evan Royster, 2009, 11-2 – 4,578 yards, 39 TDs, 352.1 yards per game. Clark – 3,003 pass (24), 211 run (7); Royster – 1,169 run (12), 187 receive (2), 8 PR.
Honorable mention:
Daryll Clark and Evan Royster, 2008, 11-2 – 4,265 yards, 41 TDs, 328 yards per game. Clark – 2,592 pass (19), 282 run (10); Royster – 1,236 run (12), 155 receive.
Todd Blackledge and Curt Warner, 1982, 11-1 – 3,890 yards, 41 TDs, 324 yards per game. Blackledge – 2,446 pass (23), -72 run (3); Warner – 1,158 run (10), 358 receive (5).
