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Trace McSorley not one who's afraid to run

Trace McSorley opened things up early against Akron with his feet. Now he is preparing for Pittsburgh, one year after throwing for 332 yards against the Panthers in his second career start.

Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley, left, looks for an open teammate against Akron at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa., on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. The host Nittany Lions won, 52-0.
Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley, left, looks for an open teammate against Akron at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa., on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. The host Nittany Lions won, 52-0.Read more(Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times/TNS)

With all of Beaver Stadium waiting for Saquon Barkley's first carry of the season, quarterback Trace McSorley decided to run it himself on Penn State's initial drive of the game to set the tone for what would be a 52-0 victory over Akron.

"It's not necessarily that being a certain thing that I'm looking to do as a player," McSorley said Tuesday. "I think it's really just taking what the defense gave us early and not trying to force things early on. If a play call is not there, it's making it a positive and getting positive yards.

"I think that's the best way that you can get the whole team into a flow, get the ball moving five, six yards, kind of starting off the game on a good note, getting that first first down, then you can use your tempo to your advantage and keep rolling."

Barkley didn't carry the ball at all on that first possession while McSorley rushed three times for 32 yards. Despite an end-zone interception that ended the drive, McSorley did his part to keep things rolling. He finished 18 of 25 for 280 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 11.2 yards per attempt, and carried 12 times for 48 yards.

McSorley now is in the middle of preparations for Pitt, the Nittany Lions' opponent on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. In only his third college game and second start last year, he completed 24 of 35 passes for 332 yards and one touchdown at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

He led his team's comeback from a 28-7 second-quarter deficit and put the Lions in a position to win the game late, but after driving to the Pitt 32, he threw an interception in the closing minutes.

"There's some things you can look back at with what they did last year and be able to kind of gauge how they tried to attack us," he said. "But that defense is kind of … they do what they do. They don't necessarily change up too much.

"Obviously we've got to be able to expect a pressure or something different that's going to try and throw us off. You've got to expect that every week, so be ready to adjust to the different looks you get in the game."