In my humble opinion, there is no game tricker to grade than one like yesterday’s where the final outcome was never in doubt, the final score was 34-0 in favor of the good guys, but the performance itself was less than aesthetically pleasing. It sure still beats grading a loss any day of the week, though. With that in mind, here goes something…
Quarterback: C+
Although he tossed a pair of touchdown passes, including a 42-yard laser to Devonte Ross in the end zone, it was a rather inconsistent day for
Drew Allar, as he misfired on what should’ve been some easy completions and seemed out of sorts for a good chunk of the game. It also seems like the coaching staff told Drew not to run at all in the RPO’s after taking a good hit last week against Nevada, as the only time he even attempted to run were when he was trying to evade pressure. I’m usually not one to buy into “saving it” for a bigger opponent, but I would expect Drew to run it a handful of times out of the RPO when Oregon comes to town.
Running Back: B
Kaytron Allen looked like the much better back yesterday, rushing for 144 yards on 16 carries, including a 67-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. In addition to his power and (improved) speed, his vision and ability to break tackles and make guys miss seemed superior to what Nicholas Singleton brought to the table. Singleton to his credit, did run for a TD to help finish the job of Chaz Coleman’s fumble recovery that started PSU inside the FIU 10-yard line, but overall, it seems like he’s regressed back to his 2023 self with the lack of explosiveness and vision, which makes it hard not to wonder if he’s banged up.
Wide Receiver: B
Ross’ 42-yard TD grab was enough to give him 61 yards on three catches for the day, as he seems to be making solid progress getting back to his pre-injury self. Meanwhile, Kyron Hudson led the way for the unit in receptions with five of them for 37 yards, while Trebor Peña caught a 30-yard pass.
Tight End: B
Death. Taxes. Khalil Dinkins catching TD’s in the red zone. Luke Reynolds led the team in receptions with seven of them for 58 yards, and it’s hard not to start wondering if he is becoming the next Tyler Warren with how frequently he is being targeted.
Offensive Line: C-
Even this might be a generous grade for the O-line, but they did at least block well enough on the Allar-to-Ross hookup and Kaytron’s TD run. Otherwise, super disappointing how they struggled to knock FIU’s defenders on their collective behinds, especially in short yardage situations. I don’t know what the issue is with guys who played very well together last year suddenly struggling, but this is a unit that needs to figure it out ASAP, as they only get one more warm-up before Oregon comes to Happy Valley.
Defensive Line: A
Once again, the D-line accounted for all of PSU’s turnovers, as Alonzo Ford snuffed out FIU’s most promising drive of the game with his red zone interception, while true freshman Chaz Coleman continued his meteoric rise as a key player, literally stealing the ball out of FIU QB Keyone Jenkins’ hands and nearly running it back for a TD. The unit did a heck of a job all game long of generating pressure on Jenkins, and would’ve recorded far more than just two sacks if Jenkins wasn’t so elusive himself. I would like to see them do better at plugging up the running lanes, but when the defense as a whole is pitching a shutout, it’s hard to be too picky.
Linebacker: A-
Tony Rojas (10) and Amare Campbell (9) led the team in tackles, as they did a good job of making open field tackles and preventing what could have been truly explosive gains for FIU’s offense.
Secondary: A-
FIU only managed 127 yards passing, and part of that was due to the secondary making some timely breakups. Perhaps no breakup was more crucial to preserving the shutout than Zakee Wheatley, who showed incredible closing speed to get his hand in at the last split-second to deny what should have been a TD bomb for the Panthers.
Special Teams: B
Well, we now know why Gabe Nwosu usurped Riley Thompson for the punter job, as Gabe boomed a 67-yarder to flip the field from deep in Nittany Lion territory to comfortably into Panther territory. Such punts will really become clutch once PSU enters the heart of conference play. Gabe does need to clean up the kickoffs though, as he put a pair out of bounds. Ryan Barker nailed a pair of field goals, and had a 53-yard attempt blocked.
