Blue White Illustrated

GAME GRADES QUARTERBACKS Christian Hacken- berg completed 8 of his 14 passes, in- cluding a well-placed toss to Chris Godwin for a 51-yard gain that set Penn State up for its first points of the game. It was a gutsy effort, as that throw came just a few snaps after Hackenberg was drilled into the ground, injuring his throwing shoulder. He would leave the game soon after with a total of 139 yards and an interception. Coming on in relief, Trace McSorley was slow to find his groove, completing just three of his first nine passes for 23 yards. But then he settled in, completing seven of his next 10 in nearly leading a come- back bid. His two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, one to Geno Lewis and another to DaeSean Hamilton, were thrown on a dime and are encouraging signs for Penn State now that Hacken- berg has announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft. GRADE B RUNNING BACKS It wasn't until late in the third that Barkley finally ripped off a long run, earning 29 of his 69 total yards. While Georgia's outside speed kept Barkley mostly contained on the afternoon, there is no fault in his effort, as Barkley routinely broke tackles be- hind the line of scrimmage in order to avoid a much larger loss. GRADE B- RECEIVERS Lewis, Hamilton and Godwin all hauled in nice first-quarter catches, and set a positive tone for this position unit right from the get-go. Saeed Blacknall made a great toe-tap- per in the third quarter to keep a scor- ing drive alive, and then Lewis came up with another dazzling sideline catch one play later, which went for a TD. Hamilton's grab in the end zone with 6 minutes, 14 seconds remaining might have been the best catch and throw of them all, but it was Godwin who led the team in receiving, finishing with six catches for 133 yards. GRADE A OFFENSIVE LINE Once again, there were a few untimely false starts and holds that set Penn State back. There was also an abundance of quarterback pressure, but, surprisingly, Georgia didn't record any sacks. Some of that was due to Hackenberg's ability to throw the ball away with his left hand and McSorley's pocket presence and mobility, but a zero in the sacks column deserves a mention. PSU also rushed for 120 yards, averaging 3.8 yards per attempt. Not the worst stat line, but clearly not the best. GRADE C DEFENSIVE LINE Anthony Zettel's offside jump in the first quarter short- ened a Georgia field goal attempt, lead- ing to the game's first score. But he made up for the miscue on third down later in the game when he broke up a pass in coverage. He also added a sack. It's a similar story for Austin Johnson, who was flagged for a personal foul with less than five minutes left in the game, but he rebounded to help force a fourth- down stop a few minutes later. He also tallied a sack. All in all, the defensive tackles were solid, but the ends were relatively quiet. GRADE B LINEBACKERS The defense held strong in the first quarter, before tail- back Sony Michel ripped off a 28-yard run at the start of the second for his longest carry of the day. Playing with- out starting Will LB Troy Reeder, this unit was solid, especially Brandon Bell, who led the team with 11 tackles. But it wasn't immune to some of the short- comings Penn State faced against Georgia's intermediate passing game and rushing attack. GRADE B- DEFENSIVE BACKS Grant Haley and John Reid each made a couple of tackles near the line of scrimmage or the first- down marker that helped halt Georgia drives, but the secondary appeared to be porous in deep pass coverage. Malik Golden was beat over top halfway through the second quarter for the game's first touchdown, and Georgia scored again at the end of the second half by running the same play twice in a row. GRADE C- SPECIAL TEAMS Against a vaunted return unit, Daniel Pasquariello started well with three nice punts in a row and finished with two that were downed in- side the 20, but one of his only return- able punts was taken back 37 yards by Isaiah McKenzie. Kicker Tyler Davis was true from 34 yards in his only field goal attempt. Deductions, however, for the fake punt attempt on which a de- fensive end attempted to pick up two yards and fell short after being cut down at the edge. GRADE C COACHES Penn State was slow out of the gates, as it averaged just 2.5 yards per play in the first quarter, and there were some questionable decisions throughout, such as that fake punt, an early onside kick and a two-linebacker set late in the game when Georgia was running the ball in order to exhaust the clock. But the coaching staff deserves props for the second-half effort. The team could've packed it in after falling behind by three touchdowns, but PSU gave its best effort, outscoring the Bull- dogs 14-0 in the fourth quarter and nearly tying the score before time ex- pired. GRADE C+ CROWD Although Georgia fans ap- peared to slightly outnumber Penn State's contingent, it was a raucous at- mosphere for both teams. When the Nittany Lions were driving late in the game after a key fourth-down stop, it sounded almost like they had a home- field advantage. GRADE A J A N U A R Y 3 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 10 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 NOWHERE TO RUN Barkley didn't find much run- ning room against the Bulldogs' de- fense, finish- ing with 69 yards. Photo by Steve Manuel

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