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Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (C) leads the team onto the field to play the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
After the rivalry game with Pitt, let’s get to grading the Nittany Lions.
Penn State traveled to Heinz Field to take on the Pitt Panthers on Saturday and came up just a bit short in a fun game to watch, 42-39.
In the first half, it looked more like the Nittany Lions would get run out of Heinz. Penn State couldn’t stop Pitt on the ground as the Panthers racked up over 200 yards rushing. The Nittany Lions were lucky to go into halftime down 14 points.
However, Penn State adjusted at the break and played a better second half. But, the mistakes of the first half and a few more in the second, led to the Nittany Lions eventually coming up short. There was a chance to kick a game-tying field goal late, but that was given up by an interception.
There are some positives to talk about, but when Penn State loses it’s sometimes hard to see those. This one will hurt at least a year until the teams meet again in Happy Valley.
Let’s take a look at each position and dole out some grades. Feel free to leave comments and discuss.
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley (9) scrambles with the ball against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterbacks
Trace McSorley had his second career start under center and first on the road and played fairly well. While it was ultimately his late interception that sealed the Nittany Lions’ fate, there are many positives to take away from his performance.
McSorley went 24 for 35 for 332 yards and threw one touchdown, a 40 yard completion to Saquon Barkley.
Unlike last week against Kent State, the Panthers were much better up front and pressured McSorley more. He was sacked four times and coughed up the football three times, losing two of those fumbles.
A big thing is that despite being down by two and three scores for long stretches of the game, McSorley never gave up. He showed a lot of fire and toughness to hang in there, rally the team and nearly completed the comeback.
Looking at the interception again, I think McSorley missed a receiver underneath and probably missed the safety in coverage. Not a good decision, but overall this is a performance that McSorley can build and learn from.
Grade: B-
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) rushes the ball against Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Jordan Whitehead (9) during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Running Backs
Pitt came into this game with a plan to stop the run and force Penn State to throw. Well, Saquon Barkley may not have eclipsed 100 yards on Saturday, but he accounted for all of the Nittany Lions touchdowns.
Barkley had 20 carries for 85 yards and had five total touchdowns, four rushing. He is the first Nittany Lion to have five touchdowns in a game since Ki-Jana Carter did it during the 1994 season versus Michigan State.
He also had two receptions for 45 yards, one being the 40 yard catch that he took to the house.
His only negative was coughing up the ball with the Nittany Lions driving into Pitt territory in the third quarter. It was another outstanding performance from Barkley. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out on the scoreboard.
Grade: A-
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (5) can not come up with a catch on a pass against Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Terrish Webb (2) during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. PITT won 42-39. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
The receivers had a pretty good day overall, with McSorley spreading the ball around to eight different receivers. This was despite missing Saeed Blacknall for unspecified reasons.
DaeSean Hamilton led the team with eight receptions for 82 yards. The one that got away is the one remembered. Late in the fourth quarter, Hamilton got behind the Pitt defense and had two steps on the defender. However, he couldn’t hang on to a well-thrown ball. At worst that’s a first down deep in Pitt territory, but it could have been the go-ahead score.
Chris Godwin had an usually quiet game and appeared to get banged up on a few plays, but still hauled in 4 catches for 36 yards. DeAndre Thompkins had 3 catches for 87 yards, including a fantastic one-handed grab in the second half that led to a Nittany Lion touchdown. Penn State’s last drive was kept alive by a Thompkins catch on fourth and 16.
Finally, tight end Mike Gesicki had four catches for 47 yards. It has been a very impressive year from Gesicki thus far after struggling for much of last year.
Grade: B
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) dives over the line of scrimmage into the end-zone for a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive Line
Oh boy. There were flashbacks to the last two seasons watching that offensive line in the first half Saturday.
There was particular trouble on the left side of the line with left tackle Brendan Mahon. He could not handle Pitt’s defensive end Ejuan Price, who forced two fumbles, had a sack and two tackles for loss. Sorry to pick on Mahon here, but perhaps the coaching staff needs to look at someone different at the blindside tackle spot. Two weeks in, and Mahon has been beaten badly leading to turnovers.
Moving on to the rest of the line, not a ton of running room was made for Barkley and McSorley was pressured a ton in the first half. It was shored up in the second half some, but the damage had already been done.
Grade: D
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; The Pittsburgh Panthers offense lines up against the Penn State Nittany Lions defense during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. PITT won 42-39. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive Line
Saturday was a rough afternoon for the front four. The Panthers had over 200 yards of rushing in the first half and ended the day with 341 yards on the ground. Ouch!
Evan Schwan left early and then later in the first half, Kevin Givens left on what looked to be a concussion.
We knew coming into this season it was going to be awfully tough to replace the departures of Anthony Zettel, Austin Johnson and Carl Nassib. So far through two games, that statement still rings true.
The Nittany Lions had trouble getting much penetration through a really solid Pitt offensive line. James Connor and company got to the edge a ton and racked up the yards.
Also, after a week of recording 7 sacks, Pitt QB Nathan Peterman’s jersey was left clean as no Nittany Lion recorded a single sack.
One bright spot was Torrence Brown filling in for the injuries. He had six tackles, two for loss and forced a fumble.
Grade: D
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Nathan Peterman (4) passes against pressure from Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Brandon Bell (11) during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Linebackers
Like the defensive line, the linebackers also struggled for most of the game. It certainly didn’t help that Jason Cabinda didn’t play at all. He had his arm in a sling on the sideline, so we’ll have to keep an eye on how long he could be out.
Manny Bowen and Jake Cooper rotated in with Brandon Bell and Nyeem Wartman-White. This group was collectively slow to close gaps and get to the edges when Pitt ran end arounds and misdirection plays. Wartman-White did lead this group with 9 tackles, 3 for loss.
The depth here is thin outside of the starting three and now that will be tested with Cabinda out for an undetermined amount of time. Just not typical of Linebacker U.
Grade: D
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back Qadree Ollison (37) rushes the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the third quarter at Heinz Field. PITT won 42-39. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Secondary
Let’s start with the positive. The secondary only allowed Pitt to gain 91 passing yards. The negative is that Pitt didn’t need to pass when they were running through and around the Nittany Lion defense.
Again, another injury bit the defense as Grant Haley went down in the first and never returned. The tackling was pretty attrocious from this group and their reactions to plays were just as bad. They also allowed three touchdown passes.
Malik Golden did have an interception off a tipped ball and John Reid recovered a fumble.
The last word on the defense as a whole — it absolutely must get better for conference play.
Grade: C-
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; General view as the Pittsburgh Panthers host the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Special Teams
Let’s get the big no-no out of the way first. After cutting Pitt’s lead to 35-31 in the 4th quarter, Joey Julius had a short kickoff returned 84 yards by Pitt’s Quadree Henderson and Pitt went ahead 42-31 shortly after. That absolutely cannot happen when the Nittany Lions were inching closer and had momentum.
Despite that, there were many positives from this group. With all the momentum on Pitt’s side early, John Reid had a 59 yard punt return that set up the Nittany Lions first touchdown.
I never thought I would be so excited for a punter, but Blake Gillikin was solid. He averaged 46.6 yards on five punts and three were inside the 20, including his first that stopped inside the one. He can really flip the field.
Also, Tyler Davis remained perfect on his career field goals and Julius was solid on kickoffs, outside the short one already mentioned.
This unit has definitely improved over the last two seasons, just have to shore up the return coverage.
Grade: B-
Sep 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. PITT won 42-39. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Coaching
Another slow start ultimately decided Penn State’s fate. Everyone knew the Pitt team versus Villanova wasn’t going to be the same one that showed up versus Penn State, but the way the game started it seemed like the players were unprepared.
However, the team made the adjustments, especially at halftime, and never quit. They could have easily packed it up when it was 28-7 but they showed heart and didn’t quit.
The only complaint on the play calling I have is after the fumble recovery deep in Pitt and Penn State down seven, there were no run calls to Barkley.
I will also say I don’t mind the call at the end that was the interception. I just wish McSorley would have made a better decision. That will come with experience.
Another game in the Franklin era where they fell short, but the team showed heart and can take some positives away to build on.
Grade: C
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