Week 12 Grades

Going into the Michigan State game, I, like many of you, was fairly certain that Penn State was going to lose.  Losing never feels good, but at least we were able to take solace in the fact that with 6 wins, we were going to a bowl game anyway.  Well if the college football gods hadn't already done enough to our poor school, a very strange but important announcement was made today that could potentially keep the Nittany Lions out of a bowl game, despite qualifying.  It's out of our control, unfortunately, so it's probably best not to think about that right now.  Instead, we turn our attention back to a bitterly cold Senior Day loss to Sparty.  Let's roll out some grades!

Offense
QB: (D) Oh Hackenberg... yet again the franchise QB failed to even reach the .500 mark going a dismal 21-45, including an INT and 3 sacks which were almost entirely his own fault.  All the excuses became tiresome weeks ago.  Something else is going on here.  Either Hack doesn't like the coaching staff, the coaching staff is inept at developing QBs, or, dare I say it, Hackenberg just isn't very good.  I'm not sure which one is true right now, and we'll probably have to wait until Sept 5, 2015 to get anything remotely close to a definitive answer.  What I do know is that next year's offensive success hinges solely on whether or not he can get it together in time.

OL: (C-) They keep getting better, even if only by a little bit.  Much like the offense as a whole, there are flashes where Hackenberg has all day to throw and running lanes are big enough to drive a truck through... but they're just flashes, and quite rare.  With an outstanding coach, an entire offseason to gel, and some big time talent coming in, I expect to see marked improvement with this group in 2015.  In the meantime, they just need to be competent for the bowl game.

RB: (C) After starting the season as the 3rd string option, Akeel Lynch was the featured back in this one, getting 14/17 carries.  He even managed to score the lone TD of the game for Penn State!  However, all of that work netted a paltry 52 yds.  Lynch ran hard and seemed to hit the few holes that were open with confidence, but until we see dramatic advances along the line, no running back is going to succeed in this offense.

WR: (B+) Although they weren't always open when Christian Hackenberg needed them the most, overall, the receivers had a decent game.  Daesean Hamilton led the way with 6 catches for 55 yds, followed by Geno Lewis with 3 catches for 29 yds.  Saeed Blacknall was the only other receiver to register on the stat sheet with 1 catch for 9 yds, as Chris Godwin was only used twice all game, on a running play called a "jet sweep."  This is one of the youngest positions on the PSU roster.  They will grow up and they will get better.  Oh, and there's even more talent coming in behind them next year.

TE: (A-) The TEs were probably my biggest surprise of the day.  After criticism began to creep in, partly because of decreased production, all 3 starting TEs finally decided to show up.  Despite a couple of early drops, Kyle Carter got his act together and ended up leading the unit with 3 catches for 28 yds.  Jesse James was next with 3 catches for 25 yds, and freshman Mike Gesicki pulled up the rear with 2 catches for 33 yds.  All told, that's 86 yds of production; not too shabby.  None of the TEs are graduating and Adam Breneman will return to the lineup in 2015, so this is one of the biggest positions to keep an eye on for next year.

Defense
DL: (B+) It was all Anthony Zettel in this one.  He may have only had 5 tackles, but he had 3 for a loss, a sack, and his 3rd INT of the year!  The junior would go on to earn First Team All-Big Ten honors and set up a ridiculous senior season next year.  Speaking of seniors, C.J. Olaniyan was second on the line with 4 tackles, while his DE partner Deion Barnes came in third with 2, including 1 for a loss.  Conspicuous in his absence on the stats page was Austin Johnson, which might explain how Michigan State's Jeremy Langford managed 122 yds on 30 carries and 2 TDs.  Let's hope they clean that #1 rush defense up before the bowl.

LB: (B) Much like it has been all season long, the linebacker position was all about one player: Mike Hull.  Hull led the team in tackles every single game this season, only tying for the lead once.  More to the point, he led the entire Big Ten in tackles and earned the Butkus-Fitgerald Linebacker of the Year Award while also receiving First Team All-Big Ten honors.  His leadership and impact on this defense cannot be overstated.  Against the Spartans he racked up another 13 tackles, 2 for a loss, and a pass breakup.  His second in command, Nyeem Wartman, also played well, accruing 8 tackles of his own with 1 for a loss. The third member of the unit, Brandon Bell, was still injured and replaced primarily by Gary Wooten who added 3 tackles.  Still, the defense gave up their highest point total of the year and were gashed on the ground by Langford.  You can't get an A for an effort like that.

DB: (C+) When the game began, I had a lot of hope for this group.  All told they combined for 4 pass breakups, and I believe they all came in the first half.  Things were going well and the DBs played their part in limiting MSU to mostly FGs.  By the end of the game, though, it started to get ugly and QB Connor Cook seemed to be connecting on everything he threw.  Everyone has a bad game (except Marcus Allen apparently, who had another 9 tackles) and the secondary has otherwise played quite well for most of this season.  Let's hope they clean it up for the bowl game.  Otherwise, there's a boatload of talent coming in that would love the chance to take over.

Special Teams
K: (C) Sam Ficken broke the Penn State single-season record for most FGs made!  But against the Spartans he also had his first non-blocked miss of the year and his kickoffs left much to be desired.  Not the best way for the senior to go out on Senior Day.  Grant Haley also didn't do anything special in the return game.

P: (A-) Daniel Pasquariello has cemented himself so firmly as the starting punter that I actually went through the hassle of memorizing how to spell his last name.  The freshman from "down under" continued his trend of increasing his average every week and had his best game yet, averaging 40 yds per punt for the first time this season.  He even bombed one for 63 yds at one point!  Jesse Della Valle only managed to return 1 punt for a respectable 7 yds.

Today's bonus grade is a big fat F- for the weather and parking.  First of all, it was incredibly cold, with day old snow everywhere, and a whipping wind.  However, that can't be controlled.  What can be controlled is the parking.  Now I understand not letting 2-wheel drive sedans on the grass tailgating lots.  But why were the gravel lots closed, especially for vehicles which could clearly handle it?!  I guess the University figures, once they have your ticket and parking money, it's not their problem if you're prevented from getting what you paid for.  Not cool!

That will do it for the grades.  Check back in tomorrow for the final awards post of the year.  Head on over to Facebook and give my page a like.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!