Apologies for not having a position grades post last week, as I was out of town. Plus, with the team deciding to take that week off, it was probably for the best. The effort was certainly much better last night, though still painfully short. So, with that being said, let’s get on with it…
Quarterback: B+
Rocco Becht had by far his best performance against an opponent with a pulse, throwing for 289 yards and a touchdown and only (by my count in real-time) had one batted pass. We still got some “Bad
Rocco” sprinkled in and his scrambling consists of somebody tapping the “dive” button too early, picking up only a couple yards instead of maybe five to seven.
Running Back: C-
Carson Hansen had a whopping 28 yards on 14 carries…but he did score a TD to tie the game up at 14 in the second quarter, which I guess counts for something (as in just barely avoiding a D grade).
Wide Receiver: B+
Chase Sowell led the way with four catches for 95 yards and had the longest play of the game with a 47-yard reception on PSU’s opening drive that resulted in a TD. Brett Eskildsen was also having his best game in a Nittany Lion uniform with four catches for 70 yards until an untimely fumble with less than four minutes to play gave USC the ball back and ultimately allowed the Trojans to run out the clock.
Tight End: B+
Andrew Rappleyea had himself a game, leading the team in receptions with seven of them for 63 yards and a TD on PSU’s opening drive. Gabe Burkle also caught a few balls to help move the chains in what was a solid effort from this unit.
Offensive Line: B
Run blocking still leaves something to be desired, but the pass blocking was solid, allowing Becht time in the pocket (when he wasn’t being rolled out) and only gave up one sack.
Defensive Line: D
Yvan Kemajou seemed to be rising to the occasion before leaving the game, getting some pressure on Jayden Maiava. Otherwise, it was another underwhelming game from a unit that lacks any run-stuffers or game-wreckers.
Linebacker: C–
Tony Rojas props this unit’s grade up with his solid 10-tackle, one-sack performance. Otherwise, if Kooper Ebel is starting alongside Rojas, how dire is the linebacker depth behind them?
Secondary: F
Giving up 300 yards and three TD’s through the air is quite rough. Benching Marcus Neal, arguably one of the most hyped incoming defensive transfers this past offseason was even rougher (though necessary).
Special Teams: A-
Ryan Barker was his usual clutch self, nailing all three of his field goal attempts, while Nathan Tiyce put two of his punts inside USC’s red zone, and Zay Robinson had a 12-yard punt return. It was a pretty good night, overall for Justin Lustig’s group.
Coaching: D
This grade isn’t fair to Taylor Mouser, as I think the offensive play calling was good overall, especially the fourth down call that sprung Rappleyea loose for an easy pitch-and-catch TD, and there is only so much you can do when you don’t have a running game. I can’t say the same for the defensive side of things, with D’Anton Lynn insisting on trying to generate pressure with a three-man rush and have the other eight defensive players cover when it was crystal clear all night long they didn’t have the horses to do so against these USC skill players.
As for Matt Campbell: I feel like I’m beating a dead horse and lighting the carcass on fire at this point, but the dude is so clearly in over his head and his tenure in Happy Valley is likely to be short-lived. His conservatism makes Joe Paterno look like a riverboat gambler, his game management makes James Franklin look like Curt Cignetti, and watching him get clowned into burning PSU’s final timeout when USC lined up Maiava and put their punter out at wide receiver on fourth down from deep in their own territory makes me wonder how many Nigerian prince scams he fell for back when those were a thing.
(BONUS CATEGORY) White Out Crowd: A+
Kudos to fans, who set a new Beaver Stadium attendance record with over 114,000. Too bad last night, along with the other four most-attended games in stadium history are now all for naught because PSU lost.
