Giving grades out to the Nittany Lions

For the second consecutive season, the Penn State Nittany Lions football team finished with 10 wins. The Nittany Lions finished 11-3 a year ago, and once again have the chance to get to 11 wins with a New Year’s Six Bowl appearance set for either late December or early January. As of right now, most bowl game prognosticators have the Nittany Lions playing in either the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29 or the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.

This season’s 10-win campaign was their seventh since joining the Big Ten and 23rd overall. It’s also the first-time Penn State posted back-to-back 10-win seasons since 2008 and 2009. I think it’s fair to say that it was a pretty solid effort in 2017. Any time you can win 10-plus games, while being a part of the Big Ten East, in my opinion means that you’ve had a pretty good season.

However, the Penn State fan base is passionate and they display just that on most Saturday’s during the fall when they turn State College into the third largest city in Pennsylvania when the Nittany Lions are playing at Beaver Stadium. I would be lying if I said there wasn’t disappointment that Penn State is not a part of the Big Ten Championship or College Football Playoff picture. The talent was there this season, but some things just didn’t fall Penn State’s way, which in some cases was on the Nittany Lions, and we’re about to dive into that in just a second.

With the regular season over, it’s now time to give out some grades. I will give out an overall grade for the offense and defense and then I will give grades for specific position groups under each category.

OFFENSE - B+: The Penn State offense was once again explosive this season and a big reason why it got to 10 wins. The offense averaged 41.6 points per game and over 450 yards of total offense per contest. The only thing keeping me from giving the offense an A was the inconsistency in the running game throughout the season. When it mattered most against Ohio State and Michigan State, the run game was nowhere to be found. The Nittany Lions were also efficient in the red zone, which is always a vital indicator of a good football team. Penn State’s red zone percentage was 91 percent with 79 percent of those being a touchdown.

Quarterback - A: Redshirt junior Trace McSorley was a Big Ten Second Team selection on offense, which was well deserved. McSorley finished the season with 3,228 yards passing and 26 touchdowns with just eight interceptions and rushed for 431 yards and 11 scores.

Running Back - A: Saquon Barkley was terrific once again in 2017, rushing for 1,134 yards and 16 touchdowns at 5.7 yards per carry. He also was a weapon as a receiver out of the backfield, catching 47 balls for 594 yards and three scores. All this was done with an average offensive line at best. Barkley was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and was a Big Ten First Team offensive selection.

Receivers - A: DaSean Hamilton, Juwan Johnson, Mike Gesicki, and DeAndre Thompkins formed one of the best wide receiving groups in the country this season. Hamilton led the team with 747 yards, with Juwan Johnson next up with 635 yards, Gesicki with 501 yards, and Thompkins pitching in with 404 yards. Gesicki – one of the best tight ends in the country – led the team with 51 receptions and nine touchdowns. Penn State was one of only two FBS teams in the country with four players that had 40-plus catches.

Offensive Line – C-: Once again, the line was a liability on the offensive side of the ball. At times, this group looked improved, but against elite defensive line talent, except for the Michigan game, the offensive line didn’t perform. There was a three week stretch where Barkley averaged less than 50 yards rushing per game, which

is inexcusable. The physicality wasn’t there throughout the season and it showed in Penn State’s two losses.

DEFENSE – B: The Penn State defense was good this season, but it wasn’t great, and to be honest, I expected a little more from this group. Injuries to starting defensive ends Torrence Brown and Ryan Buchholz certainly didn’t help. Getting pressure on the quarterback was the defense’s biggest problem and that showed against the Buckeyes and Spartans, where J.T. Barrett and Brian Lewerke absolutely carved up the Nittany Lions secondary. Overall, like I said, still a solid year as they allowed 15.5 points per game and forced two turnovers per game.

Defensive line – C: The Penn State defensive line struggled at times this season. Depth seemed to be an issue at the defensive end spot, and as noted against Ohio State and Michigan State, it just couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback. Last week against Maryland was the first solid performance since Week 8 against Michigan from the defensive line. Shareef Miller had a good year at defensive end with 34 tackles, four sacks, and 10 tackles for a loss.

Linebacker – B: Jason Cabinda had another good season as the leader of the Penn State defense, leading the team with 84 tackles. Cabinda also had six tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles. Brandon Smith also did well when given time with 55 tackles and Koa Farmer ended the season with 46 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. Manny Bowen has been going through some things and hasn’t been available the last three weeks. He finished with 51 tackles.

Defensive Back – B+: Marcus Allen is one of the best safeties in the country and it showed as he finished with 65 tackles and two forced fumbles. This secondary group was aggressive and I liked their physicality and ball skills. I didn’t like the scheme of the Penn State coaches at times that forced this group to sit in a zone, but overall this was a good season for the defensive backs. Christian Campbell had a solid senior campaign with 41 tackles and his partner at cornerback Grant Haley finished with 36 tackles and two interceptions. Amani Oruwariye showed his ball skills at corner this season, leading the team with four interceptions. Allen’s safety counterpart, Troy Apke, finished fourth on the team with 52 tackles. Youngsters Lamont Wade and Tariq Castro-Fields also made an impact when given the opportunity.