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Grades: Purdue

Freshman RB Noah Cain put the game away with a solid fourth quarter.
Freshman RB Noah Cain put the game away with a solid fourth quarter.

QUARTERBACKS: Sean Clifford looked like he might just keep rolling following the best showing of his career against Maryland. An interception in the second quarter seemed to sap his momentum, though, and he struggled to find his rhythm again from that point forward. Regardless, over 250 yards and three touchdowns is nothing to sneeze at.

GRADE: B


RUNNING BACKS: Penn State’s four-man running back rotation was quiet almost all afternoon until Noah Cain awoke late in the fourth quarter. The only running back to find the end zone on the day, Cain was easily the most productive back with 105 yards on 12 carries. That aside, Penn State never broke off the kind of game-changing chunk play on the ground that we’ve seen them produce in previous games. The Nittany Lions did much of their first-half damage through the passing game, and when the aerial attack began to sputter, Penn State’s running backs couldn’t provide a reliable second option until late, leading to an ineffective offensive performance in the second half.

GRADE: B-


WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: The Nittany Lions’ pass catchers looked dynamic as ever when the offense was clicking in the first half. KJ Hamler and Pat Freiermuth found the end zone, Jahan Dotson exploded for a 72-yard score and Nick Bowers surprised with a productive day offensively. Overall, a solid day at these positions for Penn State.

GRADE: B+


OFFENSIVE LINE: The big men kept Clifford upright for most of the game, allowing just one sack. Their run blocking wasn’t as impressive, however, as Purdue finished with seven tackles for loss. It's hard to be too critical considering Penn State

GRADE: B-


DEFENSIVE LINE: Shaka Toney and Yetur Gross-Matos combined for five sacks. Jayson Oweh and Fred Hansard also had one each, with Robert Windsor and Antonio Shelton combing for another. With 10 total sacks on the day, the defense fell just one shy of tying a team record. The Boilermakers finished with minus-19 yards rushing.

GRADE: A+


LINEBACKERS: Micah Parsons had just five tackles and a sack, but he and the rest of the linebackers did a good job freeing up Gross-Matos and Toney while blitzing. Purdue had limited success throwing short and intermediate routes.

GRADE: A


DEFENSIVE BACKS: Lamont Wade led the team in tackles with 11 and John Reid did a good job limiting freshman WR David Bell. Against Reid, Bell had just one chunk play and was limited to just three receptions.

GRADE: A


SPECIAL TEAMS: Jordan Stout showed again that he’s human. That’s back-to-back games now where he’s had a few mistakes. Jake Pinegar also missed a field goal and the tackling was sloppy at times. The punt team didn’t have a great day.

GRADE: C-


COACHES: It felt like the offense once again tried to go conservative when they got up four touchdowns, but there were also quite a few plays that simply should've been executed better. The special teams are beginning to come back to earth, but at the end of the day, this game was never in any doubt.

GRADE: B


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