Penn State's Saquon Barkley ensured his name will remain at the forefront of the Heisman Trophy discussion on Saturday night against Iowa.
The junior RB did his best Superman impression, racking up a school-record 358 all-purpose yards as he carried the Nittany Lions to a 21-19 win in Iowa City.
He didn't score the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds -- QB Trace McSorley hooked up with WR Juwan Johnson for that TD -- but Barkley did account for 53 percent of the team's yards on offense, and a score. He put to rest any doubts about who should own the title of best collegiate running back in the country. It's Barkley, and it's not even close.
Here are 5 takeaways from his performance.
1. Barkley is the most dominant player in college football right now. Now, you could argue about the importance of the running back position vs. the QB position. There's always a greater level of importance placed on the QB position at any level of play, but Barkley is alone at the top when it comes to players with the ability to take over a game.
2. I agree with the executive I spoke to last week who said Barkley is a better player than Ezekiel Elliott. I'm not taking anything away from Elliott's rare talents -- he's obviously a great player -- but Barkley has more wiggle and top-end speed than Elliott. Elliott's a powerful runner and he has great instincts. Barkley is at the same level in both of those facets of the game, but Barkley's start-stop quickness and top speed are on a different level.
Elliott himself was impressed with Barkley's display on Saturday night, and took to Twitter to weigh in during the game.
3. Barkley's a true workhorse. He can carry heavy load, as he showed vs. the Hawkeyes with 43 touches, including 3 kickoff returns. PSU had given him about 16 touches per game this season heading into Week 4, but he was more than up to the challenge of toting the rock more than twice as much. He doesn't need to come off the field, and he's a game-breaking player on every down.
4. I think Barkley has a chance to make a Le'Veon Bell-, David Johnson-type of impact in the passing game at the next level. Both of those players have had 80-catch, 800-yards-receiving seasons. I see the same potential in Barkley. He's a natural route runner and has soft hands. He led PSU with 12 grabs for 94 yards on Saturday night.
5. I don't know that I've seen a better combination of size, power, elusiveness and explosiveness. A lot of times you'll see guys with 2, or maybe 3, of those qualities. Barkley has all 4. They were all on display Saturday night. What he did in the open field in some one-on-one situations was ridiculous, including one spectacular hurdle of a defender.
Follow Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter @MoveTheSticks.
