Blue White Illustrated

GAME GRADES QUARTERBACK Trace McSorley had an excellent day statistically, rack- ing up 332 yards passing and complet- ing nearly 70 percent of his passes. Unfortunately, his last attempt will be the one that fans remember the most over the next 12 months. McSorley's awareness inside the pocket is another thing that has to improve, but I think he showed that he has what it takes to be successful in Joe Moorhead's sys- tem. GRADE B RUNNING BACK Five touchdowns, ladies and gentlemen. Saquon Barkley scored five touchdowns. Enough said. GRADE A+ RECEIVER I thought the wide re- ceivers had a strong day, especially in the second half. It's a shame that Dae- Sean Hamilton wasn't able to come down with that deep ball late in the fourth quarter. I thought he had his best game since his freshman season. Most important, I saw multiple re- ceivers create some real separation in the second half. GRADE B+ OFFENSIVE LINE As we saw last week, and last season, and the season before that, it doesn't take an elite de- fensive front to pressure Penn State's backfield. By now, reasonable fans should understand that it's not a lack of experience or poor blocking schemes. The issues up front simply come down to talent and mental mistakes. Give them credit for stepping their game up in the second half, but this unit is what it is. GRADE C- DEFENSIVE LINE Youth and inexpe- rience in the defensive front was always a concern heading into today's game, but even the most pessimistic of fans didn't expect Pitt to rack up 341 yards rushing. Sure, this unit stepped their game up a bit in the second half, but it's pretty clear that the Lions have real is- sues here. GRADE D LINEBACKER It's tough for the line- backers to make plays when the front four are getting blown off the ball, but that's certainly no excuse for some of the tackling we've seen from this unit. GRADE C- DEFENSIVE BACK The first half was one of the worst I've seen from this unit. In addition to the sloppy tackling that we continue to see, Pitt's wide re- ceivers and tight ends were consis- tently open. GRADE C- SPECIAL TEAMS After a season full of shanked punts and fair catches, PSU has taken a major step forward with both its punt and punt-return units. However, the kick return in the fourth quarter was a big blow. GRADE B- COACHING Penn State's offensive play-calling has clearly improved, and I'll also give Brent Pry some credit for the defensive adjustments he made in the second half. But this is another ex- ample of Penn State's lack of prepara- tion heading into a big game. GRADE D S E P T E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 6 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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