Penn State Football: Handing Out The Grades Following Penn State’s 23-20 Loss To Nebraska

For much of the Nebraska game things were going Penn State’s way enough that fans and players felt like the Nittany Lions had a chance to win.

But mistakes and miscues pile up, and eventually a game that could have been a victory slowly turns into a loss. That was the case Saturday night as Penn State’s errors and inconsistencies piled up just enough so that a struggling Nebraska team could steal the victory in the game’s final stages.

It wasn’t all bad, but little details that have plagued Penn State all season came to light again on Saturday.

Offense: C

On the one hand, Penn State’s offense was good enough that the Nittany Lions were always in the game and always able to respond to Nebraska. But on the other hand, Penn State converted only 2 of 14 third down chances which limited the Nittany Lions ability to grab control of a game that Nebraska was no more interested in controlling. Zach Zwinak was strong with 35 carries for 149 yards and Christian Hackenberg went 16-33 for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Overall though, the offense couldn’t put it all together despite some solid individual performances. If one or two more drives had been successful, overtime may have never even happened.

Defense: B

Penn State’s defense really played a solid game on Saturday — aside from two plays. A 50-yard run by Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah and a 27-yard touchdown pass were the only two significant plays the Nittany Lion defense gave up all night. Taking the one 50-yard gain out of consideration, Abdullah averaged 4 yards a carry over 24 carries for just under 100 yards rushing and was for the most part kept from making huge gains. Quarterback Ron Kellogg was solid with 191 yards passing but seemed to only be a threat to throw for big gains if the defense allowed him to, rather than Kellogg’s throwing ability being good enough to force the issue.

Overall Nebraska’s offense made enough plays to win, but it’s hard to put the blame on Penn State’s defense for holding a talented team to only 20 points over four quarters of play. Some timely turnovers and a goal line stand help this grade as well. Brandon Bell made his first real appearance for Penn State at linebacker and was impressive for most of the second half.

Special Teams: D

Sam Ficken didn’t get much help with bad snaps and poor holds and he missed a crucial extra point and overtime field goal because of it. Alex Butterworth was blocked once thanks to a poor snap and a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown took all the air out of Penn State’s sails in the second half. Butterworth was strong all night, but he was really the only bright spot on a unit that helped Nebraska more than it helped Penn State. Ficken will get the brunt of the blame from fans, but it was a group effort on Saturday night from Penn State’s special team’s unit.