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GAME GRADES QUARTERBACK Trace McSorley was under pressure all day, but he could have avoided a few sacks by making better decisions. He also struggled at reading the defensive ends while run- ning the read option. GRADE C- RUNNING BACK Statistically, it was- n't the best day for Saquon Barkley, but it's hard to do much of anything when the opponent is consistently breaking into the backfield. You have to love Barkley's effort. The kid gives it his all until the final whistle, no matter the outcome. The best thing I saw all day: Barkley comforting Miles Sanders after his fumble late in the game. This team needs more leaders. GRADE B RECEIVER Whenever your running back racks up nearly twice as many re- ceiving yards (77) as your wide re- ceivers and tight ends combined (44) it's a sign that your offense is really struggling. Lack of separation contin- ues to be this group's Achilles heel, but they also had a few too many drops today. GRADE C- OFFENSIVE LINE Over the past few weeks, we've seen this group improve on some key fundamentals, but today was another example of them simply being outmatched physically. Michi- gan's defensive line was dominant from start to finish. GRADE D DEFENSIVE LINE Michigan racked up more than 300 yards rushing and QB Wilton Speight wasn't sacked once. Penn State had just five tackles for loss in the entire game. GRADE D LINEBACKER You have to grade this group on a curve. I saw some positive signs from Manny Bowen. While he certainly has to improve on his tackling, he's getting better at shedding blocks. Also, freshman Cam Brown had a solid day to start his career at linebacker, finishing with 10 tackles. GRADE C DEFENSIVE BACK The front seven got little to no pressure, so that puts the defensive backs in a tough situation at times. Give credit to Malik Golden, who led the team in tackles with 11. His run support has been steadily improving this season. The defensive backs had a tough job today. GRADE C+ SPECIAL TEAMS It's never a good day when your punter can seriously be considered the player of the game. Blake Gillikin deserves an A, but the rest of the kicking units were just aver- age. GRADE C+ COACHING Talent was the main rea- son that Penn State struggled, but it also came out flat right from the start. That's been a theme far too often in re- cent years. Some of the play-calling was also predictable. With such a mis- match up front, they could've done a better job using Barkley and the re- ceivers on the edge. GRADE D S E P T E M B E R 2 4 , 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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