Week 11 Grades

I really do hate writing about games like this.  Penn State should NOT have lost to Illinois and the calls for James Franklin's head, less than one full season into his tenure in Happy Valley, are already hitting a fever pitch.  Let's keep this in perspective, though.  Bill O'Brien lost his first 2 games ever to mediocre Ohio and Virginia teams.  It seemed like the sky was falling then too, but he turned it around and won 8 out of his last 10 that year.  I'm still very optimistic about Penn State next year and a full offseason with Franklin and his staff should fix most of the tiny execution errors that have cost them so far this season.  In the meantime, I say let's all just be happy that we're going to a bowl game and try to enjoy the little things as I roll out this week's grades!

Offense
QB: (D) Hackenberg technically played better than last week, but not by much.  He increased his passing back up to 50%, although that came on fewer pass attempts (16) as the coaching staff seemingly lost all trust in the young signal caller and his receivers.  On the bright side, Hack managed to finally get another passing TD and avoid an INT for the first time in forever.  However, his pocket presence and awareness appear to have disintegrated into nothing, and his accuracy has dropped off dramatically.  If things don't improve quickly, the once unthinkable scenario of a Hackenberg transfer may very well come true.

OL: (B) The offensive line continued to get better with the return of Miles Dieffenbach and Donovan Smith.  Sacks are down, and time to throw is up.  It's not their fault that Hackenberg still doesn't want to get rid of the ball even with more time.  More importantly, though, is that the big guys up front have been much better at opening holes for the running game allowing a 100 yd rusher in each of the last 3 games.  Keep it up!

RB: (B) Akeel Lynch's 28 carries for 139 yds and a TD were one of the few bright spots on offense against the Illini.  With Zach Zwinak out for the year, and Bill Belton suffering a shoulder injury early on Saturday, Lynch became the feature back sooner than he expected.  He narrowly avoids the "A" because of his costly fumble.  Nevertheless, it's good to know Penn State has a rushing attack again.

WR: (D) When you're watching a football game on TV, it can be difficult to see everything that is happening.  The camera tends to focus in on whoever has the ball.  So while you stare at Christian Hackenberg screaming "get rid of the ball!" you might not realize that downfield (and off camera) his receivers simply aren't open.  This is supposedly (if you believe the announcers) what is happening with Penn State's receivers right now.  They aren't getting enough separation from defenders to allow Hack windows in which to throw the ball.  Against Illinois, no receiver had more than 1 catch... just digest that statistic for a second.  That also includes all of the TEs and every RB except Lynch who had 2 catches.  When I say the coaches don't trust Hackenberg right now, this is what I'm talking about.

TE: (C-) Adam Breneman (who is out for the year with an injury) was featured on the PennLive Penn State Football Podcast recently.  He said that much of the supposed decrease in TE production this year is really just the result of 1. a different offensive scheme, and 2. a greater focus for the TEs on blocking (especially to help the struggling O-line).  That makes sense.  So with that in mind, the lone catch each for Jesse James and Mike Gesicki doesn't look quite as awful.  Why the "C-" then?  Because Kyle Carter couldn't catch anything and instead stunk up the place all afternoon.

Defense
DL: (C) A rare off day for a group that is usually guaranteed at least an "A-" grade.  Numerous missed tackles kept more than one Illinois drive alive.  But it was Anthony Zettel's offsides penalty on a punt which directly led to Illinois points and killed the group's grade.  The numbers were still relatively solid, but judging by the eye test, the pass rush just wasn't there and Riley O'Toole was able to make all the throws he needed in order to win the game.  Kudos to Austin Johnson who led this unit with 5 tackles, 1 for a loss, and a QB hurry.  Also to backup Brad Bars whose 32 yd scamper on a fake punt was arguably the most entertaining part of the entire game.

LB: (C-) For the second time this season, we were reminded that the linebacking corps just isn't the same without their starting 3 (Bell, Hull, and Wartman) in place.  When Nyeem Wartman was out against Northwestern, the defense struggled and Penn State ended up losing.  On Saturday, it was more of the same against Illinois as Brandon Bell was sidelined with an injury and the defense struggled again in a losing effort.  Mike Hull was his usual ridiculous self, wracking up another 10 tackles.  But all that does is make you wonder what will happen next year after Mike Hull graduates?

DB: (D) Plain and simple, the defensive secondary was absolutely torched by Illinois' Mike Dudek who had 115 yds on 11 catches.  Despite that, I'm still very impressed with the play of certain guys like Marcus Allen who was second on the team with 9 tackles.  However, overall this might have been the group's worst game of the season.  They recorded no turnovers and allowed a backup, dual-threat QB (with known accuracy issues) to go 18 of 25 and more than double our passing yardage.  I will say that the coaching staff's decision to switch from man-on-man to zone coverage played a key role in the downfall, but these guys also just needed to play better.

Special Teams
K: (D) Ficken didn't make a single FG for the first time since the Akron game (where Penn State scored 3 TDs instead).  He did attempt a FG, but new holder Chris Gulla bobbled the snap and it went into the books as a -8 yd run.  Meanwhile, in the return game, Grant Haley miscalculated a kick return (that, to be fair, changed course due to a sudden wind gust), effectively handing the ball back over to Illinois for an easy 3 points.  Not a good day for the kicking game.

P: (B) For once, I have very little to critique regarding the punting game.  Daniel Pasquariello continues to improve and had one of his best days yet, especially impressive considering the high winds in Memorial Stadium.  He averaged 39 yds, including an impressive 50 yarder and only 2 of his 7 punts were fielded for a mere 18 combined yds.  Jesse Della Valle only managed to return 1 of his punt opportunities, but did a decent job bringing it back for 11 yds.

For today's bonus grade, I'm giving the coaching staff a big, fat F!  First of all, the team came out ill-prepared and lacking any semblance of energy.  That's always the coaching staff's fault.  Then, the offensive staff in particular engaged in their usually terrible play-calling, sticking to the run and almost completely abandoning the pass by game's end.  For this game at least, the defensive staff wasn't much better as they switched to zone coverage and allowed Mike Dudek to eat the secondary alive.  Clock management has been an issue all year and Saturday's game was no exception.  Lastly, the conservative philosophy at the end of the game and the decision not to go for it on 4th and 1 served as the final nail in Penn State's coffin.  James Franklin rightly took on all the blame, but his coordinators shouldn't escape this fiasco that easily.

We're almost done sifting through the carnage of this embarrassing loss.  Check back tomorrow as I attempt to find a few diamonds in the rough worthy of my weekly awards.  My Facebook page gets better by the day, so be sure to go like and share that for all the latest Penn State football news.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!