Penn State improved to 10-2 on Friday evening at Ford Field following a dominating 42-0 victory over Michigan State that saw the Spartans gain negative yards in the second half and have just five first downs all game. This was as dominating as it gets and that’s a credit to Penn State top to bottom, no surprise here but the grades are good.
Offense: A
There’s something to be said about the fact Michigan State is not very good at all but Penn State has played bad teams before this season and has not always looked as convincing in victory. Friday was the exception to this rule and after some late-drive issues in the first quarter the Nittany Lions dominated through the air and on the ground. Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton both broke the 100-yard mark while Drew Allar tossed for nearly 300-yards and two touchdowns with a beautiful near-touchdown to Omari Evans that traveled an easy 60-yards through the air. Penn State finished the night with 586 yards of offense – a season high – and racked up 23 first downs. A 4-for-11 effort on third down isn’t great but it didn’t really end up mattering.
10 different players caught a pass in this game and Allar looked as sharp as he has all season in the pocket. Penn State will miss this tight end room even if it isn’t as flashy as some that have come before it. Credit here to Tyler Warren for laying in some good blocks during this game. Full marks all around, better late than never. Six drives of 50+ yards was a nice wrinkle as well. So too were six passing plays of 15+ yards and six rushes of 10+. Hello explosive offense. Final note, here’s to using Beau Pribula in a way that makes sense, even if Penn State didn’t really need to in order to win this game.
Defense: A
Good lord. This group held Michigan State to seven drives that actually lost yards en route to giving up just 68 total yards when it was all said and done. This was a group effort top to bottom. Michigan State has struggled on offense all season and had absolutely nothing to offer Penn State on a regular basis that was ever going to make this game an actual game. Penn State’s defense deserves to hit 10-wins and probably even more than that. Enjoy this group while you still can. Michigan State averaged 1.4 yards per play and gave up 12 tackles for a loss to go with seven sacks. This was Manny Diaz’s group at its best, and sure Michigan State is awful but there’s still something special about watching an apex predator do its thing. There’s nothing about this defense that hasn’t been said at this point already. Elite, elite, elite.
Special Teams: B
Alex Felkins made a 49-yarder and doinked a 40-yarder but his 30-yarder in the second quarter was key to making Penn State’s lead feel like it actually existed in spite of some early bumps in the road on the finishing front. Riley Thompson was also excellent with two of his three punts going for 50+ yards and two of them landing inside the 20. This group continues to be the most improved and Felkins has been so good for so long that he gets a half-pass for the missed field goal. Penn State’s return game had plenty of chances and and Daequan Hardy’s 38-yard return once again showcased his explosive abilities.
Coaching: A
Manny Diaz continues to dial up all the right things at all of the right times and the offensive coaching staff looked even more prepared for the role given another week working together. It’s still unknown – and Franklin won’t say – who is calling plays, but considering it doesn’t really matter that mystery can remain. There wasn’t a false note here and aside from the harsh truth that not all drives end with touchdowns, Penn State was the better team in all three phases. It’s hard to judge offensive improvements against a team as bad as Michigan State, but Penn State’s approach made sense, worked and worked on a regular basis. That’s good coaching.
Overall: A
When it’s all said and done this is one of the most dominant performances Penn State has had against a long time Big Ten member. Michigan State is having a strange year and that matters, but Penn State showed up and took care of business in a way that has sometimes avoided the Nittany Lions. Hard to grade a 42-0 win in this fashion anything less than near perfect.
