Grades: Rutgers
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Quarterback: Will Levis wasn’t great in his first college start. He made plenty of mistakes in the passing game, including an interception on a ball that was severely underthrown to Daniel George. He made enough plays on the ground for Penn State to survive, though, and hit Jahan Dotson deep to put the game away. He gets a passing grade, but an ugly one.
Grade: C
Running Backs: The yardage totals weren’t especially gaudy, but this was a bright spot in a game that didn’t offer many of those. The Nittany Lions, collectively, averaged 5.5 yards per rush and Journey Brown found the end zone three times with a 103-yard day.
Grade: B
Wide Receivers & Tight Ends: Is an incomplete grade an option? Penn State only threw the ball 15 times, with its offense becoming especially one-dimensional with Levis under center. Dotson contributed a big play and the receivers and tight ends were OK blocking in the running game.
Grade: C
Offensive line: The running lanes were there throughout the game for Penn State, and a different starting quarterback likely had something to do with the Lions’ difficulties picking up Rutgers pressure. That said, you can’t allow four sacks in a game when you have such superior talent to what Rutgers offers on its front seven.
Grade: D
Defensive Line: It wasn’t a standout day for the Nittany Lions along the defensive front without Yetur Gross-Matos, but they did enough to keep Johnny Langan running for much of the afternoon, collecting a sack that was split between Judge Culpepper and Daniel Joseph
Grade: C+
Linebackers: This unit was probably the highlight for Penn State on the defensive side of the ball. Micah Parsons and Cam Brown both came away with sacks, while combing for 17 tackles. However, they also missed a few tackles and struggled to contain.
Grade: B-
Defensive Backs: Things got really ugly in the secondary in the first half for Penn State, playing several young players while dealing with injuries to John Reid and Tariq Castro-Fields. They ended up holding Rutgers under 200 passing yards for the game, but the Scarlet Knights’ 13.3 yard per completion number looms large.
Grade: D+
Special Teams: A 72-yard punt by Blake Gillikin and an onside kick recovery more than made up for a blocked extra point.
Grade: B+
Coaching: Certainly, this is not a game you would throw in the highlight reel for Penn State’s coaching staff, given the final score and the talent disparity. It should be noted that Penn State was without several key contributors, including its starting quarterback, though.
Grade: C-
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