Week 10 Grades

If you're one of the people who watched Saturday's game between Penn State and Temple and thought "man, both teams look terrible" then you either don't know much about football or you didn't actually watch the game.  Did Temple's offense look bad?  You bet.  But that was more a product of the continuing perfection that is Penn State's defense.  Did the Nittany Lion offense look bad?  Nope.  At least I didn't think so.  The offensive line looked better than it has all season, and we finally found ourselves a run game.  But one key player did have arguably his worst showing of the year, and it really affected people's perception of the entire team's performance.  Let's find out who it was as we roll out the grades!

Offense
QB: (F) NO MORE EXCUSES!  He had time, he had a competent running game backing him up, and on the rare occasion he put the ball anywhere near a receiver they came down with it.  Yet somehow, with everything working in his favor for a change, Christian Hackenberg fell apart, completing just 12 of 26 pass attempts for a measly 112 yds to go along with 2 more interceptions and no TDs.  I went into this more in yesterday's post, so check that out if you want my longer-winded opinion.  Suffice it to say, as one of Hack's biggest fans, I'm not happy right now.  I just hope he can clear his head before next year... maybe a nice bowl trip will help with that process!

OL: (A-) The big uglies up front (except for baby face Miles Dieffenbach of course) FINALLY looked like a coherent unit with their 2 most experienced players, Dieffenbach and Donovan Smith back in the line up together for the first time all season.  They gave Hackenberg plenty of time, at least compared to what they've done all season, and only allowed 2 total sacks, a far cry from the 5 or more we're used to this year.  More importantly they finally opened up some holes for both struggling RBs.  Which brings us to our next position...

RB: (A) Where the hell has this been all year?  Everything in the running game just seemed to work against an overmatched Temple front seven, even the wildcat!  Akeel Lynch led the way with 135 yds on 18 carries, while senior Bill Belton just missed out on the century mark with 96 yds on 19 carries.  Their efforts would pay off big as each also scored a TD.  Even Cole Chiappialle got into the game on the final series and ran for a respectable 15 yds and a 1st down on only 2 carries.  Whether they were sprinting to the outside for a big gain, or barreling right up the middle for the tough yds, the RBs looked like classic Penn State.  This is what we've been waiting for, let's just hope it continues.

WR: (C) When the QB has an off day, you can be pretty sure the receivers aren't having the best day either.  It all started so promising when 3 different receivers caught passes on the opening drive.  Then something went horribly wrong and the passing game never recovered.  Daesean Hamilton had 4 catches for 26 yds, Chris Godwin brought in 2 catches for 31 yds, and Lewis also had 2 but for only 15 yds.  Saeed Blacknall did not record a catch.  A "C" grade is appropriate as those aren't terrible numbers, but they're not great either.  Once Hack shakes the cobwebs out, I think you'll see the WR production improve as well.

TE: (C) Similar to the WRs, the TE performance can be directly tied to Hackenberg.  Jesse James was the only TE to record a catch, pulling in 2 for 30 yds.  Mike Gesicki and Kyle Carter were each targeted at least once, but most of what Hack can't seriously be considered passing.  How one manages to overthrow a 6' 8" TE (James) whose reach has to be nearly 10 feet before jumping, is completely beyond me.  Overall I'm just going to assume that these guys were working on their blocking for this game, and that's another reason the line performed so well... yeah, that's the ticket.

Defense
DL: (A-) The defensive line was instrumental in holding Temple to only 69 yds rushing on 20 attempts.  Those are the kinds of rushing numbers our guys were putting up before this game.  DT Austin Johnson led the group with 4 tackles, 1 for a loss, 1 pass breakup, and even a fumble recovery!  His partner Anthony Zettel added 3 tackles, including 1 for a loss and the defense's lone sack of the day.  Deion Barnes and the backups had a combined 6 tackles.  CJ Olaniyan surprisingly did not have any tackles.  We'll chalk that up PJ Walker's elusiveness.  Overall, another dominating effort.

LB: (A) Mike Hull is back to his old tricks, leading the team with 10 tackles.  Brandon Bell was second with 5.  Those two happened to combine for the best tackle of the day, wrapping up a RB in mid-air.  Nyeem Wartman brought up the rear statistically with only 2 tackles, but if you were paying attention you could find him blitzing the QB all afternoon long, and forcing some of the bad throws that lead to interceptions.

DB: (A+) Speaking of interceptions, 4 members of the secondary, including 2 true freshmen, picked off poor PJ Walker on a day he most likely wants to forget.  Safeties Adrian Amos and Jesse Della Valle, as well as CBs Grant Haley and Christian Campbell all got invited to the INT party, with Haley's interception going for 6 points!  Amos, Campbell, Haley, and Jordan Lucas all had 3 tackles apiece, while Della Valle and Marcus Allen each had 2.  Yes, it was a banner day for this group, and a sign that they will be extremely formidable for many years to come.

Special Teams
K: (A-) Sam Ficken hit 3 FGs including a 50 yd beauty, but once again had 1 blocked as well.  That makes 4 on the season, but continues Ficken's streak of being perfect when the ball crosses the line of scrimmage.  Meanwhile, Grant Haley continues to get better on returns, averaging an impressive 24 yds on 3 tries.  He and Christian Campbell have also made a mark as very impressive "gunners" on the coverage units ("gunners" are speedsters who can race down the field and make open-field tackles in space).

P: (B-) Daniel Pasquariello is improving.  Although he only averaged 38 yds on 5 punts, he had a nice 49 yarder in there and didn't shank a single one.  Jesse Della Valle only had the chance to field 1 punt all game, and only took it 5 yds.  That contributed to the B- grade.

Today's bonus grade is a team grade of B, which of course stands for BOWL GAME!  Because in case I forgot to mention it, the Penn State Nittany Lions are headed back to the post season for the first time since 2011!  Take that NCAA!  You tried to kill our program and you failed miserably, just like you seemingly do with everything.  Now these seniors will have the chance to go out in style and the Penn State fanbase will get to party the holidays away in exotic destinations like New York or Detroit... ok, so those aren't the best places to spend late December, but hey, it's better than sitting at home again watching everyone else have a good time.

Well, that will do it for your Monday grades.  Check back tomorrow as we wrap up Temple week with the awards.  Join all the cool kids and like my Facebook page.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!