Grades: Nebraska
Penn State made history Saturday, becoming the first preseason top-10 team to start its season 0-4 since Pitt in 1984. That stat can be a bit misleading when you consider that there was no nonconference play this season, but it still counts and feels all the more painful considering the expectations just five weeks ago.
Now, rather than making a push for a fourth New Year's Six Bowl in the past five years, let alone a spot in the College Football Playoff, the Nittany Lions are just hoping to finish with a winning record. Even after receiving some of the harshest sanctions the NCAA had ever extended in 2012, they still managed to win more games than they lost.
For the fourth time this season, we take a look at each position group and how they impacted the 30-23 loss to Nebraska.
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Quarterback - Sean Clifford's demise has been hard to watch, but Will Levis came in and exceeded our expectations. He only completed 45 percent of his passes, but he didn't turn it over and converted in a few pivotal moments. This is clearly his job now, so how he reacts and is able to rally the offense will determine whether or not this team can show any signs of life in the final five games. Clifford scores an F, while Levis scores a B. That equals out to around a C-.
Grade: C-
Running Backs - The running backs were finally given some room to run and all three made positive impacts. Freshman Caziah Holmes had the best run of the day, while another freshman, Keyvone Lee, was arguably the most consistent. In addition to running well, Devyn Ford was great in pass blocking.
Grade: B
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends - Freshman Parker Washington was really the only receiver that graded out well Saturday. For some perspective, the only offensive player that graded out worse than Jahan Dotson and Daniel George was Clifford. On top of that, Washington was the only receiver that graded out in the top half of the offense. At tight end, Pat Freiermuth played really well, especially when you consider that he appeared to hurt his shoulder. However, because of the receivers' struggles, this is the lowest grade on the offense.
Grade: D+
Offensive Line - Saturday was the best performance we've seen from this unit so far this season. Was that because of the opponent? Maybe, but give them credit for finally getting some push in the rushing game. It helped a lot, especially with Levis in the game. The quarterbacks were also given the time they needed on about 80 percent of their dropbacks. This was the best position group yesterday.
Grade: B
Defensive Line - Jayson Oweh is still searching for his first sack of the season, but aside from that, he's done just about everything else well. According to PFF, only Michigan's Kwity Paye is grading out higher than Oweh in the Big Ten currently. Oweh once again graded out as Penn State's best player on defense. Inside, Antonio Shelton and PJ Mustipher have now put together back-to-back solid performances, but Shaka Toney played what graded out to be the worst game of his career. That pulls this grade down a bit, but overall, the defensive line wasn't the problem.
Grade: B-
Linebackers - Brandon Smith has struggled this season, but he played better against the Cornhuskers. After a rough start, his tackling has been much improved the past two weeks. Jesse Luketa tied for the most tackles with nine, but he and Ellis Brooks continue to struggle in pass coverage. The secondary gets most of the blame in the passing game, but the linebackers are a major reason why opponents are converting on so many 3rd downs.
Grade: C-
Defensive Backs - As a group, safeties Jaquan Brisker and Lamont Wade had their best games of the season, but there were still plenty of missed tackles and mistakes. Cornerback Keaton Ellis played for the first time in 2020 and it showed, as he was taken advantage of in coverage more than any other defensive back. Yes, they held Nebraska to just 152 yards passing, but that's also partly because they only threw the ball six times in the entire second half. Most importantly, it feels like teams can always get what they need against this secondary when it matters most.
Grade: C-
Special Teams - Jordan Stout has been an asset most of the season, but Saturday wasn't a good day. His lone punt went just 34 yards, and he also had a kick out of bounds which gave Nebraska good field position. The Cornhuskers went on to score three plays later. Aside from Stout, Jake Pinegar made all three of his field goal attempts, while Dotson had a nice punt return that led to points in the third quarter. Some good, some bad.
Grade: C
Coaching - Penn State's red zone offense was the reason they lost this game, and while the execution certainly wasn't perfect, some of the play calls felt even worse. The fades to Washington, a 5-foot-10 freshman, simply aren't working, but we could say that about quite a few other plays, too. The bigger story, however, is just like last week, this was a make or break game in regards to the program's standards and they came out flat. This was after a week where James Franklin spoke fondly of their focus in practice. Penn State's first losing season since 2004 feels all but certain now.
Grade: F
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