Blue White Illustrated

GAME GRADES QUARTERBACKS Christian Hacken- berg had an inconsistent start, which included a couple of unnecessary sacks and an intentional grounding penalty, but his back-to-back passes in the sec- ond quarter – one that went to Saeed Blacknall for 38 yards and another that found Chris Godwin for a 31-yard TD – set Hackenberg in the right direction. In all, he finished with 315 yards and three touchdowns without an intercep- tion. Hackenberg, however, certainly benefitted from some big plays from his receivers. GRADE B RUNNING BACKS Saquon Barkley fumbled once early (PSU recovered) and then he fumbled again when he couldn't corral a handoff in the second quarter. That gave Maryland the ball at its own 31 and set up a field goal. Not counting his 6-yard score to open the game, for the first time this season, Barkley was held in check, limited to 65 yards on 20 carries. Also, Akeel Lynch's drop on an otherwise well-executed reverse pass hurt and spoiled what would have been a creative play call. GRADE C+ RECEIVERS This might have been the highest-performing unit on the field. DaeSean Hamilton led the team with five catches, one of which went 20 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, and Godwin came up with big play after big play. He finished with 135 yards and a TD, averaging 34 yards per catch in what might have been the best game of his young career. Even Blacknall's lone catch went for 38 yards and set up a score. Geno Lewis had only one catch, too. His was a circus grab in the end zone that provided Penn State a lead that it never relinquished. GRADE A OFFENSIVE LINE Although this group played close to half the game without right tackle Andrew Nelson, who left for the second time this season with a knee injury, it only helped PSU gain a net total of 48 rushing yards and sur- rendered four sacks. Not good. It wasn't as bad as the performance vs. Temple, but if it weren't for Hacken- berg delivering passes under extreme pressure, it might have been. GRADE D DEFENSIVE LINE Carl Nassib was held mostly in check until late when he finally tallied a sack to keep his streak alive. An- thony Zettel, Austin Johnson and Garrett Sickels, however, made their presence known throughout the game, especially Sickels, who returned a fourth-quarter fumble 36 yards. GRADE B LINEBACKERS They weren't perfect, struggling to keep Perry Hills under wraps, but Troy Reeder led the team with 10 tackles, Jason Cabinda put timely pressure on the QB and Brandon Bell might have made some of the best plays of his career, including a forced-fumble sack in the fourth quarter. GRADE B- DEFENSIVE BACKS Grant Haley made numerous notable plays, beginning with an interception that thwarted Maryland's momentum on the opening drive. Marcus Allen's first-quarter sack was a great play. Both Trevor Williams and Malik Golden secured fourth- quarter interceptions. GRADE B- SPECIAL TEAMS Backed up deep in his own end zone, Danny Pasquariello's first punt went 55 yards and was one of the only bright spots for PSU's special teams. Joey Julius also started well with a 40-yard kick that gave PSU a 17-13 lead before halftime, but in the fourth quarter he not only missed a 45-yarder but sent a kickoff out of bounds. Maybe worst of all, though, was Nick Scott's fumble in the fourth quarter that gave Maryland possession just 32 yards from Penn State's end zone. GRADE D COACHES Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop brought the heat right from the start, but if not for a few lucky breaks in the first quarter, Maryland could've easily built a substantial early lead. It didn't appear as if Penn State was completely ready coming out of the gates. The offensive play calling at times was questionable, at other times was spot-on. GRADE C- CROWD Technically a home game for Maryland, it was a divided house as Ter- rapin fans only slightly outnumbered Penn State's. For a neutral-site game within the region of both teams, there were a lot of empty seats. GRADE C O c T O B E R 2 4 , 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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