Penn State improved to 2-0 on Saturday afternoon with a commanding 63-7 victory over Delaware in a game that felt more like a scrimmage. Wins are wins and Penn State’s schedule will only get harder from here, save a later season meeting against UMass. Nothing too much to write home about, but here are the grades all the same.
Offense: A+
In a lot of respects, Penn State showing up and beating a team it should by a ton of points simply because everyone on Penn State’s roster is miles bigger and better than its opponent isn’t exactly a “what a performance” moment. That being said, you either execute or you don’t. That’s how upsets happen. Drew Allar looked sharp again, the running game was physical and persistent and Penn State’s receivers were consistent and reliable. The Nittany Lions were a perfect 8-for-8 in the red zone and 9-for-15 on third down. Credit to Penn State for also scoring to end the first half and then scoring to open the second. That’s a good skill to have later on down the road. 541 yards of offense on 91 total plays and 42:22 time of possession was something to see. A methodical win indeed.
Defense: A-
Delaware couldn’t move the ball, converted just two attempts on third down and picked up 66 of its 140 yards on one play. So it’s not like Penn State played poorly. Still, the 66-yard touchdown was the epitome of Penn State’s issue of being gap sound on running plays. All things considered, you can’t really knock the overall performance, and credit to Penn State’s second and third units, but it’s hard not to watch that game and come away thinking about the one issue this defense might have. Maybe docking the grade is a bit harsh, but Penn State has big goals so it should be held to a high standard. Still waiting for Abdul Carter to turn it on, but he did lead the team with four tackles.
Special Teams: B
Punting was better, kicking was a non-issue and coverage was OK, but some miscues and penalties hurt this grade for a unit that can’t afford to be a weakness this season. This grade isn’t hurt because of any one thing, but this unit has to string together more solid outings before it gets an A. Too many consistency question marks at this juncture with too many big games on the horizon. Penn State has still yet to attempt a field goal of 40+ yards, and eventually that will matter.
Coaching: A
This game was well called, Penn State made changes when it needed to and the Nittany Lions didn’t look like a team sleepwalking at any point of the affair. This would be a hard game to mess up but weirder things have happened. Only knock here is that this would have been a good opportunity to work on field goal kicking, but James Franklin and opted instead for fourth down attempts. Not the worst thing in the world but may as well help your kickers gain some confidence when it doesn’t really matter. Nobody needs Penn State’s first meaningful field goal of distance come in its first meaningful game. Then again, Penn State converted all three fourth down attempts, so that’s not a bad skill to have either.
Overall: A
Hard to find too much to complain about in a 63-7 game. The only downside in all of this was that Penn State’s weak points on defense and special teams both showed their respective faces and reminded you that they exist, even in a game when it didn’t really matter. But end of the day, a win is a win, and getting close to 70 points while only giving up seven — backups included — counts for something.
