Offense: C
This grade is about as much fun to decide on as the weather in town today. On the one side Penn State had a fairly balanced attack amassing 108 yards on the ground with the third, fourth and fifth running backs on the depth chart. After struggling the week prior, Nick Scott and Jonathan Thomas both averaged at least 4-yards a carry. Mark Allen also had a respectable outing with a 12-yard long on one of his six carries. It was flashy but it kept the ball moving.
Christian Hackenberg did well for himself as well on a 10-for-19 outing for 156 yards and a touchdown. Hackenberg now has five touchdowns on the year and four in the last two games. Equally as relevant, only two interceptions to his name so far this year. Chris Godwin continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise unremarkable passing game with four catches including a 49-yard fingertip grab that kept a drive alive.
The real issue here is consistency. Penn State was 5-of-15 on third down and only had two drives over 23-yards the entire day. That’s a problem, even without Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley. The fact Penn State only converted one third down in the second half only adds to the issue. Given more time and maybe a few better plays Army could have made the comeback. That falls on the offense as much as anyone.
Defense: B+
The defense did its part. Forcing three turnovers and two in Army territory should have led to meaningful points. While Penn State getting 13 points on three mistakes isn’t bad, it could have been better. The issue defensively is once again tackling and second half scoring drives of 76 and 84 yards. On some level it’s not the defense’s fault for spending the game on the field, but long drives are long drives.
Jason Cabinda is another star in the making with 14 tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble to his name this weekend. Jordan Lucas was also solid in his return from injury with eight tackles, second best on the day.
Overall Penn State’s defense gave up a few big plays and was far from perfect, but this unit isn’t why the game was closer than it probably should have been. Army though, to its credit, was good at running the triple option effectively. In fact the Black Knights 261 yards on the ground were the most since 2003.
Special Teams: C-
Another up and down area for Penn State. Chris Gulla has gone from an asset to an issue in about two weeks. His 12-yard punt is probably all that needs to be mentioned in this department. That aside, Joey Julius was perfect on the day with makes from 37 and 27-yards. The game was fairly limited in the return area but DeAndre Thompkins had a 25-yard return. Other than that it was an unremarkable day for special teams.
Absolutely worth noting, Manny Bowen stepping up and making six tackles on the day with three on special teams. Getting one tackle on a kickoff is hard enough, let alone three. Bowen also recovered a fumble on a defensive snap.
This grade probably should have been lower but when you score six of 20 points it’s worth something. Especially when your offense does nothing in the second half.
Overall: C-
Penn State is turning out to be a team that is not overly inspiring but getting just enough done to pick up victories. That makes for a difficult watch but wins are wins. Defense played okay, offense was below average as well as special teams. It’s not a D because Penn State won, but rain or not, it wasn’t the best game to watch.
