Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State vs. Wisconsin Position Grades

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin gets the trophy from Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 regular season had its conclusion Saturday night with Penn State at the top of the Big Ten mountain

What an unbelievable ride the 2016 season has been for these Nittany Lions and their fan base. James Franklin did not want to discuss the 2-2 start last night, but it’s always worth mentioning because it makes the 9 straight victories that followed even sweeter.

Nobody thought Penn State would stand at the end of the conference season as champions, but all they needed was to believe in themselves to prove the doubters wrong.  How Penn State won Saturday night, with another second half comeback, was a fitting way to end it.

While there is now some disappointment among fans for just missing the cut to the College Football Playoff, a Big Ten championship, and a trip to Pasadena to play in The Granddaddy of Them All is a great reward for the team’s hard work this season.

There will be a lot more to talk about over the coming weeks with this team, but let’s take another look at the wildly entertaining Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin and grade out the positional groups.

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley (9) accepts the game MVP award after the game against the Wisconsin Badgers during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Penn State defeats Wisconsin 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterbacks

Trace McSorley is a winner and he played the game of his life Saturday against one of the best defenses in the nation.

Despite getting pressured and battered a ton by Wisconsin in the first half, McSorley played magnificently and was named the game’s MVP.  He set Big Ten title game records for yards with 384 and touchdown passes with four.

This kid is a gamer, a fighter and a winner.  I don’t know what more to say about his performance except that it was a magical performance and one of the best evenings in Penn State football history.

Perhaps we should just leave it with the nickname bestowed on him by play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson during the game.  The Wizard of Camelot.

Grade: A+

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) catches a touchdown pass against Wisconsin Badgers linebacker T.J. Watt (42) in the second half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Running Backs

Playing through a foot or ankle injury, Saquon Barkley had a pretty great night.

It was clear from the opening drive that the Badgers defense was going to key on Barkley all night. His final stat line of 19 carries for 83 yards is not one of his best games on the ground stat wise, but the Badgers made him work for every one of those yards.

On top of the yards, Barkley scored twice too.  He punched in a one-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 28 late in the third quarter.  Then in the fourth, he caught a 19-yard, perfectly thrown ball for the go-ahead and eventual game winner.

Barkley doesn’t need unbelievable numbers to make a huge impact.

Grade: A

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Saeed Blacknall (13) scores a touchdown against the Wisconsin Badgers in the second half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends

It was a hugely successful night for the receiving corps with McSorley slinging the ball all over the field.

The Lions had not one, but two receivers that had over 100 yards receiving, and all the receivers caught pretty much everything thrown their way, with only a couple drops.

Saeed Blacknall led the way with a career night of six catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns.  His first came near the end of the first half and was a routine mid-range catch, but because of the over-pursuit of the Badger defender, he turned up field and cruised to the end zone.  In the second half right after a Wisconsin field goal miss, he came back to a long ball from McSorley and proceeded to outrun the defense for a 70-yard score.

After having a relatively quiet season, DaeSean Hamilton had a huge game with eight catches and 118 yards.  Chris Godwin only caught three balls for 33 yards, but they all seemed to come at critical points of the game to continue drives.

Finally, Mike Gesicki led off the Nittany Lion scoring with a huge jump ball catch in the end zone similar to the one against Michigan State the previous week.  The tight end finished the game with three catches for 58 yards and the score.

Wisconsin’s secondary is one of the better ones in the country, but Penn State’s receivers seemed to have a slight height advantage and they exploited that all night.

Grade: A+

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive Line

First off, this line has come a long way from James Franklin’s first year as head catch.  It wasn’t the best of nights, but for a unit that was missing three of it’s opening day starters, they got the job done.

The first half was pretty brutal for the unit.  They did not give McSorley a lot of time and he was pressured a lot.  There was not a ton of running room for Barkley.  To top off the poor first half, center Brian Gaia snapped the ball over McSorley’s head and it was picked up by Wisconsin for a touchdown.

The second half was a different story.  More time for McSorley to make the big plays and a little more running room for Barkley.  They made the appropriate adjustments and got better as the game progressed.

Grade: B-

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Bart Houston (13) drops back to pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Line

The defensive front four was unable to slow down Badger running back Corey Clement for most of the first half and were also unable to get consistent pressure on quarterback Bart Houston.  When it mattered most though, they came up with some big stops.

Wisconsin rushed for 241 yards total as a team and Clement was responsible for 164 of those yards.  The unit did settled down in the second half and started to get more pressure.  They contributed to the defensive effort of holding the Badgers to only three points in the second half.

Curtis Cothren was the best player of this unit, turning in five tackles, and three of those were for loss.  Evan Schwan also had a tackle for loss and three tackles total.

Grade: B-

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Bradrick Shaw (7) runs against Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Brandon Bell (11) in the first quarter during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY Sports

Linebackers

This unit also had a shaky start containing the Badger running backs in the first half, but definitely settled down later.

Brandon Bell was a force in this one.  He led the team in tackles with 13, with 10 being solo, a sack, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.  His leap over a Badger running back and stripping the ball from Bart Houston reminded us a little of LaVar Arrington.

Jason Cabinda turned in eight tackles and Manny Bowen had six with a half tackle for loss.  Even though he only had one tackle, it was a sack for Koa Farmer.  He also made a huge play that won’t go on the stat sheet.  With the game tied at 28 late in the third, and Wisconsin driving inside the Penn State 10 yard line, Farmer pressured Houston, who then misfired to a wide open receiver.  Without that pressure, that was an easy six points, but the Badgers had to settle for three points instead.

Grade: B+

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Bradrick Shaw (7) is tackled by Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Grant Haley (15) in the second half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Secondary

For the most part, the secondary played pretty well.  They missed a few tackles on Clement in the first half and allowed 174 yards through the air, but gave up no passing touchdowns.

Marcus Allen led this unit with 11 tackles and Malik Golden chipped in six tackles and a half tackle for loss.  Grant Haley had five tackles, but the biggest of them all came on Wisconsin’s last drive.

Down seven points and facing a 4th-and-1 from the Lions 24 yard line, Clement took the ball from Houston and tried to run for the yardage.  There to meet him was Haley and with a little assist from Allen, brought Clement down for no gain and sealing the championship for the Lions.  Haley and Allen were involved in two of the biggest plays of the season for Penn State, the other being the blocked field goal scoop and score against Ohio State.

Grade: B

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions fans during the Big Ten Championship college football game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams

Nothing really stood out for this unit on the night, but they did what they had to do and there were no mistakes.

Tyler Davis made all his extra points and nailed his 24-yard field goal.  Joey Julius booted seven kickoffs and four of them went for touchbacks.  Blake Gillikin only punted twice, but averaged 49 yards a punt, including a 53 harder.

Nothing notable for the return teams or return coverage.  They just did their jobs and didn’t have any blunders.

Grade: B

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin celebrates after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Coaching

Joe Moorhead’s offense lit up the Badgers as the game wore on.  With the offensive turnaround this year, the athletic department needs to pay that man to stay in Happy Valley for a few more seasons.

Brent Pry’s defensive unit was shaky in the first half, but played well after the break and only allowed the Badgers three second-half points.

The biggest knock on the coaching staff will go to Franklin on his head-scratching fourth down calls that came up short.  It was way too early to go for it on fourth down and one was on the Lions’ side of the 50.

When you win a championship though, all that really goes out the window.  Kudos to this staff on a fantastic season.

Grade: A-

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