Week 3 Grades

There was a lot of bad blood developed during #RutgersHateWeek.  In my opinion, it was started almost entirely by the Rutgers side.  I know they wanted a rivalry with us, but rivalries are created by beating us and making us want to beat you that much more the next year.  They aren't created by being an asshole to the fans of the other team so they'll hate you.  As the guys over at OnwardState put it so well, Rutgers fans have a lot to learn about being in the Big Ten.  Thankfully, the administration at Rutgers also thought their fans got out of hand during Saturday’s game and did the right thing by issuing apologies today.  First, Athletic Director Julie Hermann sent out a statement, then President Robert Barchi wrote a letter directly to Penn State President Eric Barron expressing his sympathies for what had happened.  Cooler heads have prevailed, and hopefully we won’t have any need for #RutgersHateWeek next year when the Scarlet Knights visit Beaver Stadium.  

In lighter, more football related news, we have two awards to announce (in anticipation of tomorrow’s awards post).  Trevor Williams was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his 2 interception performance, and AnthonyZettel was named Athlon Sports Big Ten Player of the Week.  We've discussed Zettel’s impact here on the blog before and it’s great to see him finally getting some national recognition.  Congrats to both players!  Now, let’s roll out some grades.

Offense

QB: (B) Hackenberg did not have a very good day despite his usual impressive statistics.  Normally he would get a much worse grade, but the fact is almost all of his flaws were the result of the terrible offensive line play.  Yes Hack continues to force throws and had yet another interception, but only because he’s being asked to carry the offense.  At the end of the day, his ability to come up in the clutch means that we will always have a chance to win.

OL: (F-) Do I really need to explain this grade?  The offensive line performed terribly again and is clearly the weakest link on this team.  The only good thing is the James Franklin doesn't appear to like rotating lineman; he has his set starting 5 and they play almost the entire game together.  This is good because it will allow the line to develop chemistry and cohesion, hopefully leading to better results as the season progresses.

RB: (C-) Another poor performance, but like Hackenberg’s play, you can’t really blame these guys too much when the O-line isn't creating any holes to run through.  The one redeeming quality about this unit, at least in this game, was Bill Belton.  On the opening drive he had a catch and a run in a row for a couple of first downs, and of course he scored the game winning TD.  As a native of NJ who effectively claimed that Rutgers wasn't “big time college football” over the summer, it was nice to see Belton back up his talk in front of the hometown crowd.  Still, these guys need to improve or the Lions will be in trouble.

WR: (A) I’m starting to run out of positive adjectives for Geno Lewis and Daesean Hamilton who continued their dominance on Saturday, gaining 109 and 103 respectively.  Lewis was especially important on the final drive with his 53 yarder that got the offense close, and then yet another critical 3^rd down catch which set up Belton’s TD run.  These guys have been everything we thought they would be and more so far, I just hope they keep it up.  They miss the “+” because they still have 1-2 drops per game that they can always clean up.

TE: (B-) Kyle Carter finally got more involved this week, which was nice, and the TEs combined to grab 4 passes for 23 yds.  Considering their talent, I expect them to have better stats though.  Even if they aren't super involved in the passing game, they could at least help the offensive line not suck.  Here’s hoping one of the two starts happening soon.

Defense

DL: (A+) Anthony Zettel, Austin Johnson, Deion Barnes, and C.J. Olaniyan have been unstoppable all year, especially against the run.  When not stuffing RBs at the line of scrimmage, they’re harassing QBs into making bad decisions and poor throws.  After letting up a mere 10 points in the first half, they clamped down and shut out Rutgers in the second half.  All told, the D-line accumulated a total of 15 tackles, 5 for a loss, and 3 sacks.  Keep it up!

LB: (A+) Mike Hull lead the team in tackles for the third straight week with 9.  Nyeem Wartman added 3 tackles, and Gary Wooten and Brandon Bell each had 1.  Bell also got the linebacking corps' only interception of the season so far.  These guys are extremely dangerous on the numerous blitz packages dialed up the coaching staff and despite very little depth, they are proving to be as solid as ever.

DB: (A++) Um, all I have to say is 4 interceptions, but I’ll say a little more just for giggles.  Trevor Williams should now be the clear choice at the second CB spot opposite Jordan Lucas after his 2 interceptions, and safeties Adrian Amos and Ryan Keiser, who each got their own interceptions on Saturday, are already firmly entrenched at their respective positions, so this was just icing.  These guys put on a clinic that won’t soon be forgotten.

Special Teams

K: (A-) Sam Ficken successfully made 2 FGs, and Grant Haley continues to impress in the return game.  But the unit gets a minus because Ficken did have his first FG blocked.  He probably could have given it a little more air, especially considering how short the attempt was, but the credit really goes to whoever that Rutgers player was.  He just straight up made a big play!

P: (A-) Chris Gulla also continues to impress.  I won’t talk about his stats because they were thrown off by a short punt on the opening drive.  It may have only been a few yds, but it pinned Rutgers super deep on their first offensive position.  However, he was also blocked by the ridiculous Scarlet Knights special teams, so he also gets a minus.  Unlike Haley, Jesse Della Valle has not been impressive with returning punts, in fact he only “returned” 1 of the 7 punts on Saturday (he fair caught the rest), and he got 0 yds on that attempt.  Clean it up!

Ok, that will do it for today.  Again, sorry about the late posts, vacation will do that to you.  Check back tomorrow for the awards, don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!