Blue White Illustrated

GAME GRADES QUARTERBACK Trace McSorley completed only six passes in the first half, and that was just fine, as he did most of his damage with his legs, in- cluding a long run of 25 yards and a touchdown rush from 9 out. He fin- ished the game with three total touch- downs and no turnovers. Even Tommy Stevens showed flashes in mop-up duty. GRADE A RUNNING BACK Saquon Barkley eclipsed his season-high with 148 yards in the first half alone, and his two rushes of 25 and 45 yards right before halftime helped Penn State separate when it needed to. When it was all done, Barkley eclipsed 200 yards for the first time in his career. Even freshman Miles Sanders got in on the action with a 25-yard TD run late in the game. GRADE A RECEIVER Mostly due to the wet conditions, Penn State only threw 19 times, but DaeSean Hamilton's effort on a 21-yard grab in the first quarter, along with Mike Gesicki's TD catch got this unit off to a good start. DeAndre Thompkins had a nice day, too, despite one drop, hauling in a 70-yard TD to put the game out of reach. GRADE A- OFFENSIVE LINE Any day that a team improves upon its rushing average by 264 yards and has a running back hit a career high, it's a good day for the of- fensive line. A couple sacks and penal- ties, however, keep it from a perfect one. GRADE B+ DEFENSIVE LINE Back-to-back sacks from Garrett Sickels and Evan Schwan in the first quarter helped set the tone against Maryland, whose QB, Perry Hills, wasn't able to complete the first half of play. Kevin Givens also added a sack, while DE Shareef Miller was disruptive when he was on the field. GRADE A LINEBACKER Brandon Smith came up with an interception when the game was still close and finished with a game-high 14 tackles. Koa Farmer, meanwhile, recorded his first career sack and fumble with a vicious hit in the second quarter. Some missed tackles from this unit early, however, keep the performance below an A. GRADE B+ DEFENSIVE BACK The pursuit an- gles on Maryland's first TD, a screen pass that went 66 yards, were poor from the DBs, but otherwise this unit played tight and kept the pass in check, most notably John Reid. GRADE B SPECIAL TEAMS This unit has been solid all year, but after a couple slip-ups – namely the blocked punt in the sec- ond quarter – they took a step back. James Franklin acknowledged that punter Blake Gillikin suffered a minor injury during the week that might have hampered his punts. Special shout out to Nick Scott in coverage. GRADE C+ COACHING The talk this week was about how Penn State switched up the beginning portion of practice in order to stimulate a quicker start in this game. Judging by the seven-play, 84- yard drive that Penn State put together after the opening kickoff, it looks like it might've worked. GRADE A CROWD Despite the cloud cover and persistent rain, an announced crowd of 100,778 showed up to Beaver Stadium. Although there were some bare spots in the bleachers, those in attendance pro- vided the hostile atmosphere that Penn State had hoped for. GRADE A O c T O B E R 8 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 6 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 James Franklin isn't expecting to be pleasantly surprised in the coming days when Penn State gets the test results on Andrew Nelson's injured knee. A vet- eran right tackle and a mainstay of the Nittany Lion offensive line the past three years, Nelson was hurt late in the first half against Maryland. And as Franklin explained after the game, the injury is likely to be a season-ender. "We'll find out more," Franklin said. "But I'm pretty confident in that [as- sessment], so it doesn't make sense for me to wait until Tuesday [to make the announcement]. I'm pretty confi- dent we've lost him for the season." The news was yet another setback for a Penn State team that has been gashed by injuries this season. Nelson joins linebackers Nyeem Wartman- White and Jan Johnson and tight end Nick Bowers on the list of players who will miss the remainder of the year. Among the Nittany Lions them- selves, the realization of the injury's severity hit home hardest to fellow of- fensive lineman Brendan Mahon. In- terviewed following the game, Mahon was asked about his relationship with Nelson and the impact of seeing his friend and teammate go down. Touch- ing on their history dating back to the recruiting process, Mahon choked up. "Andrew is like a brother to me," Mahon said. "He and I have been through this whole process for four years. He's one of my best friends. It's hard to see someone you know on the field go through that. "We've definitely been through a lot together. It hurts to see any guy go down on the field, but when it's your best friend and your brother and someone who honestly you would give anything for, it's a lot more personal." Nelson's start Saturday was the 27th of his career. Among current players, he trails only DaeSean Hamilton and Brian Gaia in career starts. In Nelson's absence, Penn State in- serted Paris Palmer at left tackle, flip- ping Mahon into Nelson's vacated position. Although Palmer finished out the game on the left side, Franklin indi- cated after the game that his coaching staff would evaluate its options moving forward. –NATE BAUER Nelson expected to miss remainder of season with knee injury

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