Penn State improved to 9-2 on the year Saturday afternoon after finally pushing past a feisty Rutgers’ team 27-6. Drew Allar missed most of the second half with an undisclosed upper body injury but the Nittany Lions managed just fine for the most part behind Beau Pribula, who saw the most significant action of his career. Penn State will look to close out the regular season next Friday against Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit. But for now, here are the grades.
Offense: C
If you were looking for Penn State to suddenly unlock its passing game, that was probably never going to happen, and frankly wouldn’t have been the best way to win this game in the first place. 234 rushing yards was a pragmatic avenue of attack and Kaytron Allen, in particular, continues to run physically while he and Nick Singleton both averaged over four yards per carry. Penn State went 4-for-5 in the red zone and 4-for-9 on third down on a day that the Nittany Lions racked up 15 first downs. It was a day of long drives as both teams combined for five drives of four or more minutes — Penn State’s second drive of the day was an eight-minute grind right after Rutgers went 61 yards in just over nine minutes.
All told, this game was how Penn State had been winning earlier in the year: grinding it out and wearing teams down. If Allar is out, Pribula is going to need to contribute in the passing game for the Nittany Lions to beat Michigan State and win a bowl against any team of note, but Penn State did just fine in this case under the circumstances. HIs 39-yard run tied Penn State’s longest rush of the year. Also, the Nittany Lions’ tush push needs more push. Nick Singleton’s fumble hurts this grade as well. KeAndre Lambert-Smith has one catch in the last 123 offensive snaps.
Defense: A
Penn State has played sharper games than this one, but end of the day Rutgers didn’t score a touchdown, went 4-for-13 on third down and had just 99 rushing yards, so you can’t hate on it that much. Rutgers passed the ball better than expected but it’s not as though 130 yards is changing the game of college football. Overall you can’t really fault this effort, and if anything it says something about how good this defense has been that something like “the other team moved the ball” seems alarming. Kobe King gets a nod here for 10 tackles while Penn State racked up seven tackles for a loss. The Nittany Lions entered the game with 82 tackles for a loss, the sixth-best total in the nation. Rutgers is a physical team and well coached in spite of a long history of losing and Penn State shouldn’t be penalized for Rutgers being halfway decent.
Special Teams: A
Alex Felkins continues to be an asset for Penn State’s ability to win each week, and his 48-yard and 21-yard field goals only added to a quietly growing resume. For the most part, Penn State’s special teams unit has solidified itself as a mistake-free group, which is really all you can ask for in the long run. Riley Thompson has also had a great year and added a 56-yard bomb to his season total. The return game hasn’t been a threat outside of the occasional burst by Daequan Hardy, but that’s not a knock.
Coaching: A-
It was always going to be unreasonable to expect Penn State to fire Mike Yurcich and then show up a few days later with a completely different playbook. That was never going to happen because that’s not how it happens. That being said, the duo of Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle (who called plays is still unknown) did a good job on Saturday doing the sorts of things Penn State does well. Kaytron Allen continues to run like a physical back and this duo adjusted well to the loss of Drew Allar for most all of the second half. Penn State’s work in the tight red zone lacks but that’s not really a new thing in the grand scheme. All told, for being given the reins less than a week ago, the new coordinators duo didn’t hit any real false notes. Penn State just isn’t that great offensively. If last week made some people raise their eyebrows at coaching decisions, there wasn’t really that moment on Saturday.
Overall: B
Penn State is who it is. Defense is elite, special teams are steady and whatever is or isn’t wrong with the offense, it’s finding ways to win. This offense has problems, but 27 points is what it is. Here’s to stepping up after another emotional loss.
