Week 11 Grades

Only a few short years ago, there was an oft mentioned statistic in the Penn State football community: if the running back goes for 100+ yds in a game, we’re going to win.  This statistic was made possible by an elite defense year in and year out that guaranteed victory as long as the offense showed even the slightest pulse.  I think if you put the current offense with those defenses of old you’d have yourself a championship caliber team.  Unfortunately, it appears that in his efforts to re-tool an admittedly out of date offense, Bill O’Brien forgot that Penn State is traditionally a defensive team.  We can all gripe about the sanctions and the lack of depth all day long, but at some point those just become excuses.  Interestingly enough, this rather insightful article from the folks over at StateCollege.com argues that maybe this is a good thing.  The very fact that O’Brien has managed to keep expectations so high during the sanctions is a testament to his coaching ability.  We, the Penn State faithful, have not abandoned all hope; we still expect to win and we still see Penn State as the national power that it should be.  I guess after a loss like this week’s, we’ll take any win we can get.  Let’s roll out the grades!

Offense

QB: (D) Some may blame the play calling, and there’s some legitimacy to that argument.  However, the quarterback is still supposed to execute whatever play gets called and Christian Hackenberg simply did not.  He looked every bit like the freshman quarterback that he is in this game.  In fact, so far on the road this season the only consistent thing about Hackenberg’s play has been how inconsistent he’s been.  He overthrew his receivers, looked uncharacteristically disoriented in the pocket, and fumbled a snap on the 1 yd line while trying to mount a comeback.  You’re better than this Hack!

OL: (B) It appears not to matter who is in at running back because whether it’s Belton or Zwinak, someone is rushing for a lot of yards.  The line performed well again, not just in the running game, but also giving Hackenberg plenty of time to throw (although he doesn't seen to know what to do with all that time).  The fumbled snap by Ty Howle late in the game during a comeback attempt drops these guys from A to B.

RB: (B) Zach Zwinak made a glorious return as the starting tailback and racked up an impressive 150 yds on 26 carries.  Maybe it was his new gloves, but he also didn't fumble the ball once!  Bill Belton, on the other hand, did fumble, on the first play of the game no less!  He was subsequently benched for the aforementioned Zwinak.  Regardless, that fumble also cost the running backs an A grade from me.  Maybe next time boys.

WR: (F) Some of this is on Hackenberg.  Still, in 2 different series Brandon Felder managed to drop 3 passes while Bill Belton, Allen Robinson, Matt Zanellato, and Richy Anderson all dropped 1 each.  That was on just 2 series!  And yes, even Allen Robinson wasn't pulling his weight as he recorded his worst game of the season.  In his defense, he was being double-teamed much of the night and when he did get open Hackenberg didn't throw it to him.  He was visibly frustrated by his lack of touches at numerous points in the game.  It comes down to this, though, if you’re a receiver and the QB throws you the ball, you catch it.  Our receivers did not.  Fail!

TE: (C-) Breneman has been stepping up lately with 2 more catches for 27 yds in this game.  Too bad Kyle Carter and Jesse James only caught 1 pass each for a combined 17 yards.  When things break down and Hackenberg needs a safety valve, these guys are supposed to be there for him.  So far, they've been average at best when it comes to doing their job, so they get an average grade.  What happened to the tight end heavy offense we saw out of O’Brien last year?  I want that back! 

Defense

DL: (C) These guys are difficult to grade.  As I watch the games I see them routinely in the opposing QB’s face and they appear to be excellent at stopping the run.  If you keep watching, though, you’ll notice that they’re very slow.  Opposing runners (RB or QB) with any kind of speed easily outrun these guys to the edge and burn them along the sideline for big gains.  Clean that up and this looks to be the strength of the defense.

LB: (F) This grade is really more of a cumulative assessment for the season thus far.  I’m still a big fan of Glenn Carson and Mike Hull, but overall this unit has just been atrocious and overmatched in nearly every contest and they certain have not lived up to the Linebacker U name.  Missed open field tackles, wide open slot receivers, and a completely ineffective blitz have become the hallmark of this squad and looking at the recruiting picture, it’s not getting better anytime soon.

DB: (F) ESPN’s Big Ten blog actually did this really nice piece on cornerback Jordan Lucas, who has shown random spots of talent throughout the season.  We also know how immensely talented Adrian Amos is at either safety or cornerback.  Yet somehow, any team with even a mediocre quarterback has been able to shred this secondary for big plays.  Minnesota had their 2^nd best passing game of the season and managed to go a perfect 3-3 on 4^th downs while converting 9-17 on 3^rd downs as well.  The 3^rd downs were especially frustrating as Minnesota QB Phillip Nelson managed to find a wide open receiver every time he needed to and move the chains.  These guys need to learn how to stop someone… anyone!

Special Teams

K: (A) Ficken hit his only FG of the game and had a couple of nice kickoffs.  Not much more to say about him this week.

P: (A) Alex Butterworth did a fantastic job pinning the Gophers deep in their own territory.  Unfortunately, Minnesota’s punter did an equally amazing job.  Butterworth gets extra points, though, for single-handedly keeping a drive alive for the second week in a row.  Last week it was a “running into the kicker” penalty, but this week he stepped it up and drew the “roughing the kicker” penalty (a 15 yard personal foul).  Now if the offense could just score some points off these penalties… that would be great.

Ok, that about wraps things up on the grade front.  Not pretty, but neither was the play on the field.  Hopefully things go much more smoothly this week against Purdue as the Nittany Lions return home to Beaver Stadium.  Come back tomorrow for the weekly awards, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!