Penn State entered Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday hearing about the SEC environment and the SEC speed that they would face in Auburn. A few hours later, they would walk out of Jordan-Hare 3-0 after a convincing and dominating 41-12 win over the Auburn Tigers.
It was one of the most thorough wins of the James Franklin era as the Nittany Lions performed well in all three phrases of the game. While never allowing the Auburn faithful to make a huge impact after securing an early lead.
As we wrap up our Auburn postgame coverage, let’s hand position grades out for the Nittany Lions.
HINT: This was a pretty easy one to grade.
Quarterback: A
Sean Clifford didn't need to be perfect on Saturday against Auburn but overall was extremely efficient against the Tigers for a second-straight season. The sixth-year quarterback was 14-for-19 in the game for 178 yards. He also had six carries for 15 yards and one reception for 25 yards.
Nearly every pass he threw against the Tigers was on target and the few that weren’t, were never in danger of being intercepted. James Franklin, Mike Yurcich, and the rest of the Nittany Lions coaching staff have to love what they've seen out of No. 14 the last two weeks. When he doesn’t have to be the primary ball mover for the Nittany Lions he tends to thrive.
The only "negative" to pull away from the game regarding Clifford is that he needs to learn to either slide and avoid the big hits.
Drew Allar and Christian Veilleux also got snaps against the Tigers going a combined 2-for-3 for 29 yards.
Running Backs: A+
Nicholas Singleton is a special talent and Kaytron Allen may not be that far behind him. The Nittany Lions have a very special pair of freshmen running backs in Singleton and Allen and will give Penn State fans a lot to cheer about over the next few years.
Against Auburn, Singleton had 10 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns including two carries of 50+ yards. Allen had a strong performance of his own with nine carries for 52-yards and a pair of his own touchdowns.
With Singleton and Allen showing they're potential the last two weeks, Penn State's run game is rejuvenated and appears truly dangerous for the first time since the 2019 season. If the Nittany Lions can continue to play at this level in the run game, their overall potential in 2022 has risen by quite a bit.
Also worth noting is Devyn Ford's seven carries for 37 yards while Keyvone Lee had four for 18 yards.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A
I'm not sure you can find any complaints about Penn State's wide receiver and tight-end play against Auburn. There were zero dropped passes in the game for the Nittany Lions while Brenton Strange, Parker Washington, and Mitchell Tinsley all contributed in major ways in the passing game. The blocking by both the wide receivers and tight ends also was of high quality throughout the 41-12 win, providing several big time blocks in the run game.
Strange is deserving of a ton of credit as the junior tight end has elevated his game through the first three weeks of the season. After totaling 20 receptions for 225 yards and three touchdowns last season, the West Virginia native has already has nine receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown this season.
Offensive Line: A-
On paper and on the surface, Penn State had a great day on the offensive line, the Nittany Lions for a second-straight game rushed for 200+ yards and allowed no sacks to the Tigers. You couldn't ask for much more out of Phil Trautwein's position group in the big game environment.
That being said, if we're being picky, there are still obviously some areas that need to be cleaned up and areas of concern. Left tackle Caedan Wallace still had some struggles and while they had a good day on the ground, the offensive line will need to be more consistent in their run blocking.
Defensive Line: A+
Consistent pressure, complete domination, and the list goes on. There are quite a few ways you can describe the Nittany Lions' defensive line performance against the Tigers. No matter who Manny Diaz and John Scott Jr decided to put out there, they were having success.
Chop Robinson and Adisa Saac were dominant throughout their time on the field, combining for four tackles, two sacks, four tackles for a loss, three quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. In the middle, the Nittany Lions' deep defensive tackle rotation ate up valuable space to help stop the Auburn rushing attack while also getting their fair share of pressure in pass rush opportunities.
Linebackers: A
Linebacker has been an area of concern entering this season for Penn State and through the first two weeks. That being said, the entire position group stepped up against Auburn.
Whether it was against the run, in pass coverage, or rushing the passer, the linebacker room stepped up their game and were outstanding against the Tigers. Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs both flashed their potential as pass rushers but also ensured that they wrapped up ball carriers.
The Nittany Lions’ linebacker room was a big part of the Nittany Lions allowing just 119 rushing yards and just 3.3 yards per carry.
Secondary: A-
Penn State may have allowed nearly 300 yards of passing offense in this game and allowed nine passing plays of 15 or more yards but overall, the Nittany Lions secondary did a solid job of containing Auburn's wide receivers.
They did allow several big third-down conversions that will have to be cleaned up going forward but also had two interceptions on their side of the field.
The safety room was especially strong with Marquis Wilson, Ji’Ayir Brown, and Zakee Wheatley all having major performances in the win.
Special Teams: A
Jake Pinegar was 2-for-2 on the day in field goal attempts including an impressive 48-yard field goal in the third quarter. Barney Amour continued being sharp with three punts for an average of 43 yards while pinning the Tigers inside their own 20 twice.
The Nittany Lions didn't show much in the return game, nor did they need to, as Nick Singleton returned just one kickoff while no punts were returned in the game.
Penn State did a good job of containing Auburn’s return game as well.
Coaching: A
Penn State's coaching staff simply outcoached Auburn's staff and it wasn't close. James Franklin had his team fully prepared for what Jordan-Hare Stadium was going to bring and while the Nittany Lions had a few noise-related false starts, overall, the team was disciplined and unfazed by the environment.
Mike Yurcich and Manny Diaz both had strong gameplans coming into the game and stuck to their gameplans throughout the game even when at times, Aubrun had a bit of their own success.
The only major question mark would likely be the idea of going for it on 4th and 1 with the possibility of giving Auburn plus field position. It was an aggressive move that backfired for the Nittany Lions but doing so just seconds after Sean Clifford took one of the hardest hits of his career was quite surprising. That being said at that moment it was clear James Franklin didn’t believe Auburn’s offense could do much against Penn State’s defense, and he was right.
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