Blue White Illustrated

GAME GRADES QUARTERBACKS In these conditions, and given Penn State's run-centric plan of attack against the Bulls, it would have been foolish to expect a big day from Christian Hackenberg. He completed 51 percent of his attempts for 128 yards, and both of those numbers were skewed by a handful of bad drops. Overall, nei- ther great or bad. GRADE B RUNNING BACKS Saquon Barkley's 12 carries for 115 yards, a TD, and one high- light-reel hurdle, are enough to earn this unit a better grade than maybe it de- serves. Lynch's 19 carries for 46 yards were troubling at times. GRADE A- RECEIVERS If we're counting Mike Gesicki in this group – and we are – it's hard to offer much praise in this space. Godwin's spectacular 38-yard grab is the highlight here. GRADE B- OFFENSIVE LINE Was it a great per- formance? No. But surrendering zero sacks a week after giving up 10 – with a remixed lineup and an injured Andrew Nelson – gets this group a hearty round of congratulations. GRADE A DEFENSIVE LINE This group really, truly came to play. Austin Johnson and Carl Nassib were disruptive all af- ternoon, and Nassib's interception was very, very impressive. Franklin said afterward that he thought the de- fensive line at times took over the game. GRADE A LINEBACKERS It would be unfair to grade this group without first pointing out that Nyeem Wartman-White and Brandon Bell were absent. There were some mistakes, sure, but the communi- cation appeared to be better, redshirt freshman Troy Reeder had a great seven- tackle day, and Jason Cabinda worked through early issues to put together a solid performance. GRADE B DEFENSIVE BACKS Against Buffalo's Joe Licata, a savvy veteran quarterback with some tools at his disposal, the Nit- tany Lions managed to keep the Bulls in front of them. A 21-yard completion to Ron Willoughby was the farthest the Bulls could air it out. GRADE B SPECIAL TEAMS Punting aside, it's hard to not give Penn State some major props for its improvements in this de- partment. Nick Scott opened the game with a 58-yard kickoff return, DeAndre Thompkins had a 58-yard punt return, and Joey Julius hit 2 of 3 field goal at- tempts, only missing on a 49-yarder. All in all, not bad. GRADE B COACHES Penn State's coaching staff took a lot of heat a week ago, but this week's game plan – pound away at the Bulls and be ready to pounce when they fade in the second half – ultimately worked well, as the Lions pulled away in the fourth quarter. GRADE B CROWD The announced crowd of 93,065 wasn't close to reality, but the fans who showed – especially the stu- dents – came to play. A miserable envi- ronment and miserably unentertaining first half weren't enough to scare away the diehards, and they deserve credit for sticking with it. GRADE B S e P T e M b e R 1 2 , 2 0 1 5 b l u e w h i T e o n l i n e . c o M 9 PSUtixman@gmail.com www.PSUtixman.com Get your PSU Football Tickets at go t ti cke t s? k c i t t t e k man@g .PSUtixm www.PSUtixman.com at ootba Get yo k c i t t o gm .PSUtixman.com all ur s t s e k N A T E   B A U E R | n b A u e R @ b l u e w h i T e o n l i n e . c o M RECRUITING Few recruits on hand for home opener Penn State's early-season noncon- ference schedule tends to produce some of the smallest recruiting crowds each fall, and that was again the case on Saturday. When you add in a steady rain, the staff's visitor list for the Buffalo game was nearly non- existent, but there were a few no- table prospects who toughed out the conditions. In addition to offensive lineman Connor McGovern of Lehman, Pa., and defensive end Shane Simmons of Hyattsville, Md., both of whom have already committed to the Class of 2016, junior prospects Anthony Mc- Farland, a running back from De- Matha in Hyattsville, Md., and offensive lineman Jordan McNair of McDonogh in Owings Mills, Md., were the top prospects who made the trip. McNair, who currently holds 10 scholarship offers, was making his third visit to Penn State since last season. McFarland has also taken multiple visits to State College dur- ing the past year. Rivals.com ranks him as the nation's No. 1 running back in 2017. –RYAN SNYDER

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