Blue White Illustrated

GAME GRADES QUARTERBACKS Christian Hacken- berg has to improve on the short passes, but most important, I thought he man- aged the game well, especially when the rain picked up. GRADE B RUNNING BACKS Saquon Barkley and Akeel Lynch combined for 170 yards rushing in the first half. Rutgers stacked the box in the second half, but they still couldn't slow down Barkley. Lynch has earned his label as the starter, but it's clear that Barkley is going to be really special. Dare I say that he looks Ki-Jana Carter-esque? GRADE A RECEIVERS There were a few dropped passes, but most of them were on Hack- enberg. Overall, the group was able to rack up some solid yards after the catch and maybe most important, they held onto the ball in the second and third quarter, when the rain could've easily forced a few turnovers. GRADE B OFFENSIVE LINE Following the Tem- ple debacle, I was curious to see how this unit bounced back against a quality opponent and it didn't disappoint, es- pecially the interior offensive linemen. The hole they opened up for Lynch's 75- yard touchdown was impressive, but most importantly, Hackenberg wasn't sacked at all, which is the second week in a row. It'll take some time for the tackles to adjust, but you can tell the en- tire unit has confidence now and that was the main issue against Temple. GRADE A DEFENSIVE LINE Rutgers gained just 23 yards rushing in the first half and that was mainly because of the pres- sure that Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel created up the middle. The de- fensive ends allowed a few plays to break outside, so that knocks their grade down a little bit, but the fact that they were able to shut down the rushing attack was a big reason why the defensive backs were able to force turnovers. GRADE B LINEBACKERS When Nyeem Wart- man-White went down, I had real con- cerns about the youth at linebacker, but that's no longer the case. Troy Reeder, Jason Cabinda and Brandon Bell are con- sistently in the right places at the right time and that was once again the case on Saturday. The three of them totaled 23 tackles against Rutgers, but most impor- tantly, they only allowed two runs that went for more than 10 yards. This group has the potential to be special. GRADE A DEFENSIVE BACKS This was one of the best all-around performances from a Penn State secondary that I've seen in quite some time. In addition to the in- terceptions, they consistently stayed on their receiver throughout the entire play. When you consider how much time Chris Laviano had when he was able to get outside of the pocket, that really stands out to me. In past years, the op- ponent would've had more success when given that much time. GRADE A SPECIAL TEAMS Chris Gulla had the best game of his career, averaging 41 yards per punt. I thought the punt and kick coverage was also solid and it's clear that Penn State has some weapons now in the return game. You can tell the coaching staff put a lot of focus on spe- cial teams this spring and during pre- season. Charles Huff deserves a lot of credit for that. GRADE A COACHES The offense could've been a bit more aggressive at times, but overall, I thought the play calling was solid. I loved the decision to run a sweep with DeAndre Thompkins down near the goal-line, although I question some of the screen passes and the decision to have Hackenberg sneak the ball on fourth and short in the third quarter. That said, they did enough for an easy win, and that's the most important thing. Also, Bob Shoop continues to prove that he's one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation. GRADE B CROWD The crowd was a factor from the opening whistle, forcing two false starts when Rutgers was pinned back near the end zone. The Stripe Out was a success, but did anyone really expect it not to be? The attendance could've been a bit higher – the official attendance was 103,323 – but it was enough to offer the defense a real advantage before the Nit- tany Lions ran away with the game. GRADE A S E P T E m B E R 2 0 , 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 R y A N   s N y D E R | B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D

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