Blue White Illustrated

GAME GRADES QUARTERBACK Trace McSorley com- pleted 17 of 29 attempts for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Most important, he had zero turnovers, which isn't easy in that environment and against a de- fense of that caliber. He also should have been sacked a half-dozen times yet managed to keep plays alive most of the game. GRADEB RUNNING BACKAs expected, Saquon Barkley made the most of limited op- portunities. Aside from his kick return, he made something out of nothing on a 36-yard touchdown in the second quar- ter. Unfortunately for Barkley and the rest of the offense, he was limited to just 8 yards the rest of the game. GRADEB RECEIVERTight end Mike Gesicki had another solid performance, totaling six receptions for 57 yards. He also had a huge third-down conversion in the fourth quarter. It was a quiet day for most others, although DeAndre Thomp- kins pulled in one of the best receptions of the season, a 37-yard touchdown that was originally called an interception. It was that close. GRADEB- OFFENSIVE LINEPenn State's offen- sive front was in for a major challenge against Larry Johnson's defensive line and the athleticism showed, especially in the second half. Ohio State only recorded two sacks on the day, but it had 13 tackles for loss. The low sack total is solely because of McSorley and his athleticism. It's harsh to give this unit an F against the nation's best de- fensive line. At the end of the day, OSU simply had the better players. GRADED DEFENSIVE LINELosing Ryan Buch- holz early in the game really hurt the Lions in the second half, as the defen- sive front needed all hands on deck, and then some. J.T. Barrett had all the time in the world in the second half, but even early in the game, Ohio State had no issues running the ball. The Buckeyes finished with over 200 yards on the ground. This unit was simply worn out. GRADED LINEBACKERManny Bowen and Jason Cabinda were forced to cover the best athletes they'll see all season. They did a solid job keeping Mike Weber and John- nie Dixon in front of them most of the game, but Bowen's mistake on Dixon's 38-yard touchdown with 11 minutes left in fourth quarter brought the Buckeyes back in the game. Once Bowen bit, it was over, as Allen and Apke were both shad- ing the sideline. GRADEC- DEFENSIVE BACKA tail of two posi- tions. At safety, Marcus Allen led the team in tackles with 10, while Troy Apke had arguably the best game of his career. However, at cornerback, Grant Haley, Amani Oruwariye and Christian Campbell all had a difficult time hold- ing down the sidelines. GRADEC- SPECIAL TEAMSPenn State was well on its way to an A in special teams, but the blocked punt in the fourth quarter provided a critical lifeline to the Buck- eyes. GRADEC COACHESBrent Pry set up his de- fense well, forcing Barrett to throw short most of the day. As the defen- sive front wore down, his hands were tied. As for Joe Moorhead, he'll be re- gretting the decision to run the ball three consecutive times down near the goal line with less than six minutes left in the game. With Penn State's of- fensive line clearly gassed, those plays were doomed from the start. There are other examples throughout the sec- ond half, but Moorhead also led an of- fense that put up 31 points against one of the country's best defenses. You can always pick a few plays to criti- cize, but at the end of the day, the staff wasn't the reason Penn State lost. GRADEC O c T O B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 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 | S N Y D E R 4 2 0 8 8 @ G M A I L . c O M Sizing up the Nittany Lions' performance in their defeat at Ohio State Ohio State made one of the game's biggest plays when Denzel Ward blocked Blake Gillikin's punt attempt in the fourth quarter. The block gave the Buckeyes possession at the PSU 30-yard line, and they scored a touchdown two plays later. Photo by Steve Manuel

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