Blue White Illustrated

GAME GRADES QUARTERBACKS Give Christian Hackenberg his due. While there were certainly some misfires, he played more than half the game limping with a bandage around his knee and what ap- peared to be a sore back. Yet he didn't throw any interceptions and only fum- bled once, and that was after the game was out of hand. He finished with 120 yards on only 13 attempts in the face of a constant and unrelenting Ohio State pass rush. That fourth-down sack in the fourth-quarter, however, hurt the worst. GRADE C RUNNING BACKS Akeel Lynch re- turned to take his first run for a first down, and Saquon Barkley also marked his return by rushing for 86 yards on 12 first-half carries. In all, Barkley totaled 194 yards and was a significant reason why the Nittany Lions stayed in this one until the end. Against the top- ranked team in the country, it just was- n't enough. GRADE A RECEIVERS Chris Godwin broke a tackle on a 45-yard reception, deliver- ing the yards after catch that Penn State has been sorely lacking since Allen Robinson went to the pros. Later, God- win's 56-yard catch-and-drag was one of the best receptions of the game for PSU – at least until DaeSean Hamilton caught an 8-yard touchdown pass a few plays later. Their effort was A-plus, but Mike Gesicki's dropped pass in the first quarter was a shot in the foot that PSU couldn't afford. GRADE B OFFENSIVE LINE Defensive ends got pressure most of the game, often push- ing PSU's offensive tackle into the backfield, and the interior of the OL was porous throughout the game. That holding penalty from Brian Gaia, which negated Barkley's first-quarter TD run, killed momentum that could have al- tered the early narrative of the game. This wasn't the worst performance ever, considering the talent level across the line of scrimmage. Without a doubt, PSU was severely overmatched in the trenches. GRADE D DEFENSIVE LINE Carl Nassib was a beast all day, finishing with 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Defensive tack- les Anthony Zettel (who was continu- ally disruptive), Tarow Barney (who blew up Braxton Miller's first rush) and Austin Johnson (who had a deflection), were solid at times, but then there were other times when this normally stout D-line was completely neutralized by OSU, especially late, allowing a total of 315 rushing yards. GRADE C LINEBACKERS Troy Reeder's tackle for loss on the first play appeared as if it might set a tone for this unit. But missed tackles and being out of position helped lift J.T. Barrett to 30 yards on three rushes and a couple of TDs in the first half alone. Penn State's linebacker corps has seen better days. GRADE D DEFENSIVE BACKS Ohio State quar- terback Cardale Jones sailed passes all over the place early, giving Penn State a couple of opportunities for intercep- tions that it wasn't able to capitalize on. Otherwise, Ohio State didn't em- phasize the passing game much, but that didn't matter. The Buckeyes ran over and through defenders, many of whom were Penn State defensive backs. GRADE D SPECIAL TEAMS Joey Julius put the first points on the board with a 33-yard field goal, but that was about the only highlight for this unit. As James Franklin lamented after the game, Penn State's average of 35.9 yards per punt continually put the defense in no-win situations. GRADE F COACHES The coaching staff had this team ready to play from the get-go, and it mixed and matched offensive linemen until it found a combination that could have at least some success against OSU's stellar D-line. Even though the players never gave up – an- other credit to the coaches – the team's shortcomings, especially on special teams, just couldn't be dis- guised, no matter how hard the coaches tried. GRADE C O c T O B E R 1 8 , 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 T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I m . B W I @ G m A I L . c O m

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