Blue White Illustrated

QUARTERBACK It's strange to think that Penn State's offense produced 53 points with only an average performance from its quarterback, but that's ex- actly what happened. Sean Clifford was frequently under pressure when he dropped back, and he managed to make some plays with his feet, but his 11-for- 20 performance for 133 yards wasn't the reason the Nittany Lions won the game. .........................................................................................GRADE C+ RUNNING BACK Comparatively, Penn State could not have asked for a better day from its running backs. The Nittany Lion backs combined to rush for 354 yards and scored ;ve touchdowns. They were explosive at times, too, with Journey Brown collecting three runs of 30-plus yards by himself. Noah Cain also had some nice runs, including seven rushes in the fourth quarter to put this one away. ......................................................................................... GRADE A+ RECEIVER There were limited opportunities for this group, as Penn State simply ran the ball so well. Pat Freiermuth created a highlight by running over a Mem- phis player, and Jahan Dotson led the team with three receptions and a touch- down. Most important, the receivers blocked well, helping the running game get rolling. ......................................................................................... GRADE B OFFENSIVE LINE Penn State couldn't have been much better in the running game, but it struggled mightily in pass protection, allowing four sacks, as Cli> A N E A R LY L O O K AT T H E 2 0 2 0 L I O N S G A M E G R A D E S B Y R Y A N S N Y D E R & D A V I D E C K E R T

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