Well folks, we’re back with yet another season of your favorite Sunday post here on BSD! It just dawned upon me that this will be my tenth year doing position grades, which is mind-boggling to believe. I’ve had a blast doing these and reading your feedback in the comments telling me how right or wrong I am with my grades, and I look forward to more as this season chugs along, hopefully culminating in the Nittany Lions hoisting the College Football Playoff championship trophy in Miami come January.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s how yesterday’s dominating win over Nevada grades out:
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Quarterback: A
Penn State scored on each of its first nine possessions, and a good part of that had to with Drew Allar having an solid game, going 22-of-26 passing with 217 yards and a touchdown strike to one of his new favorite tagets, Kyron Hudson. Drew sure looked like a guy who was a lot more trust in his wide receivers compared to last year. Ethan Grunkmeyer also impressed in garbage time, leading a 94-yard TD drive and throwing a couple lovely strikes, en route to him finishing the drive in the end zone, himself.
Running Back: B+
Even though neither back lit up the stat sheet or ripped off a truly explosive play on the ground, Nicholas Singleton had a pair of TD runs and Kaytron Allen added another TD for the running back corps. Cam Wallace and Corey Smith also showcased their stuff, with Wallace doing his best Saquon Barkley impression by hurdling a guy, showing that he was fully healed from his horrible knee injury suffered last season.
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Wide Receiver: A
Yes, it’s Nevada. Yes, it’s only the first game of the year. But, you know what? Penn State did not have a single wide receiver catch more than five passes in a game last season, and yesterday we saw not one, but two Nittany Lion receivers eclipse that mark, with Hudson catching six balls for 89 yards and a TD, while Trebor Peña racked seven catches for 74 yards, plus a 13-yard carry. Devonte Ross is working his way back to 100 percent from an injury, but his lone catch of the day helped move the chains on 4th down.
Tight End: B
We knew the tight ends wouldn’t be targeted quite as much as they were a year ago. Luke Reynolds seemed to get the most reps, though and was targeted a handful of times. Khalil Dinkins and Andrew Rappleyea both had some nice catches from Grunkmeyer, in what was a a solid effort overall from this unit.
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Offensive Line: B
Overall, the O-line played fine, but considering the massive amount of hype they were getting, yesterday felt a tad underwhelming. Much like with the D-line, there was plenty of rotating going on to get a bunch of players valuable experience before the conference slate. The botched snap at the goal line that sailed over Drew Allar’s head cost PSU what should’ve been a TD to cash in on an interception. Better to get those mistakes out of their system now, than in a more critical game.
Defensive Line: A+
Dani Dennis-Sutton was a one-man wrecking crew, constantly living in Nevada’s backfield, racking up a sack and 2.5 tackles for a loss. He also was responsible for two of PSU’s three turnovers forced, forcing a pair of fumbles that the Nittany Lions ultimately cashed into points. Zane Durant also had an interception that he nearly picked-sixed. With Zuriah Fisher out with an injury, younger guys such as Jaylen Harvey and Chaz Coleman saw their share of action off the edge.
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Linebacker: A
Amare Campbell was the leading tackler, garnering six of them. Considering that he only arrived in Happy Valley in April, Campbell has done a tremendous job quickly acclimating to a new defense. Dom DeLuca also recorded a sack, in what was a solid day for a group that was instrumental in holding Nevada to 78 total rushing yards.
Secondary: A
AJ Harris and Zakee Wheatley both had fumble recoveries, which were the most notable plays for a unit that just really wasn’t challenged at all by a team that showed no desire to throw the ball more than ten yards downfield. Nevada put up most of their 125 passing yards in garbage time against the 2’s and 3’s, scoring a TD in the final minute.
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Special Teams: A
Although he was called upon a little more frequently than we hoped, Ryan Barker remains money as a field goal kicker, nailing all four of his attempts. King Mack also had a nice “Welcome Back to Penn State” moment with a 73-yard kickoff return that set up a scoring drive. Gabe Nwosu would have made his punting debut in addition to his usual kickoff duties, but the Lions never punted.
Coaching: A–
Jim Knowles had a solid debut as defensive coordinator, as his unit made life difficult all afternoon for an overmatched opponent. Even on the most promising of drives for the Wolfpack, the defense bent but didn’t break, with the starters giving up just a field goal. Offensively, we saw a lot more no huddle from Andy Kotelnicki and a desire to try and establish chemistry between Drew and his new set of receivers, while also trying to give Singleton and Allen their share of carries.
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Really, the only coaching decision I had an issue with was with deciding to kick a field goal on 4th and 2 from Nevada’s 10-yard line late in the first half instead of just going for it. Granted, PSU’s defense did get a stop and then got the ball back with enough time for PSU to score a TD right before halftime to take a comfortable 27-3 lead to the locker room, so what do I know…
(BONUS CATEGORY) Scorigami: A+++
Congratulations to both teams on giving us college football’s first-ever 46-11 result, giving us a scorigami moment.
