Well that sure was something!
I won't necessarily watch all of every Penn State game this year (looking at you, Villanova), but I watched every second of the opener agaisnt Wisconsin, then really dug into every play thanks to the full game being posted on YouTube. So, here are some extremely detailed grades and thoughts having pored over the thrilling victory.
Quarterback: 7
Sean Clifford's first half was true nightmare fuel. He had decent looks on a couple of possessions where he simply missed the throw, notably a missed hitch to TE Theo Johnson that would've moved the chains on an early drive. Thankfully, the second half was also played. Clifford looked cool as a cucumber, spreading the ball all over the field, especially toward the sidelines and down the field. He spent almost the entire second half delivering confident balls that were largely on target, one missed mid-third quarter out to WR Jahan Dotson notwithstanding that was followed immediately by an exceptional play where he hit WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith after going through his progressions for a 52-yard go on a third-and-10. He did miss another deep ball to WR Jahan Dotson, but he also hit on two.
The stats bear out the shift in Clifford's day. In the first half, he was 7-of-14 for 41 yards. In the second half? 11-of-19 for 206 yards and one touchdown. That's about as productive as a Wisconsin defense will permit. He looked a little skittish in the first half. In the second? His first touchdown pass looked professional as Clifford began with a play fake, scanned the defense, shifted backward to avoid a blitzing linebacker (more on this below), and hurled a beauty to an uncovered Jahan Dotson for six.
Perhaps most notably, Clifford was extremely careful with the ball. As a result, Wisconsin's best field position was a drive that began on their own 34 (a kick catch interference penalty notwithstanding) and all seven second-half Badger possessions began at their own 25 or closer to their own endzone. If Clifford gives his defense that much field to work with all season, opposing offenses are going to have a very difficult time putting up big numbers.
Offensive Line: 5
Kudos to LG Anthony Whigan for earning a timeshare after arriving on campus two years ago without enough strength to get on the field. Unfortunately for Whigan, the offensive line proved much more efficient when Harvard transfer Eric Wilson rotated in. Wilson took a couple of snaps to get his feet wet, but then he stabilized what had been a shaky interior; I did not see Whigan get a snap in the second half. Fellow new starter RG Juice Scruggs took a while to find his footing -- his return to football in general is incredible, so him making a start is miraculous -- but he looked like a genuine starter by the second half.
RT Caedan Wallace had a debut to forget. Late in the second quarter, OC Mike Yurcich dialed up a perfect post route for WR Jahan Dotson following Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz's fumbled exchange that gave Penn State possession deep in their own territory. Dotson got a step (maybe a bit more) on Wisconsin CB Faion Hicks and would've taken a clean throw to paydirt. Unfortunately, Wallace was manhandled, Clifford couldn't step into the throw, and the ball sailed as a result. LT Rasheed Walker also got off to a terrible start, exemplified by a third and long in the second quarter where Wisconsin OLB Nick Herbig threw Walker aside to blow up the play. Walker has 100 pounds on Herbig and aspirations of being a high NFL draft pick. That simply can't happen. For good measure, Herbig also ended a third quarter drive ripping through Wallace for an easy sack. Nevertheless, on the whole, both Walker and Wallace played much better in the second half.
C Mike Miranda's game largely mirrored everyone else above him. He struggled with a few missed protections in the first half. In the second, he commanded the offense well and kept things smooth up front, springing Noah Cain on Penn State's one big run of the game with a nice block to seal off a rushing linebacker.
Wide Receivers: 9
Jahan Dotson is a force. He was positively uncoverable on Saturday. He is widely known to be the focal point of the Penn State offense, yet Dotson got himself wide open deep four times against Wisconsin. If Clifford enjoyed average accuracy on Saturday, Dotson likely goes for between 150 and 200 yards. Dotson even did a great job blocking whenever he was asked to do so on short passes to Parker Washington. Washington himself did exactly what he did last year. Got open, caught everything thrown his way, and made at least one man miss every time. Lambert-Smith made a few nice plays, none bigger than his long catch in the third quarter that set up Jordan Stout's missed chip shot. Unfortunately, he dropped a gimme hitch to blow what should've been a first down in the fourth quarter. He'll need to eliminate such plays. Cam Sullivan-Brown and Winston Eubanks got a few snaps with no targets. I did not see Daniel George on the field.
Tight Ends: 2
It was a day to forget for the group and especially for Brenton Strange. Strange narrowly missed making a big catch late, and a few missed blocking assignments earlier in the game turned potential first downs into punts. His second half blocking was much better. Theo Johnson blocked well all day, but he never really had a chance to make any grabs in what should be a breakout season for the Canadian. Tyler Warren got some action as a blocker. It went OK, though he failed to create a running lane on a fourth quarter run where Cain was stuffed inside the 10, leading to a field goal.
Running Backs: 8
Noah Cain. What a guy. The Nittany offense is exponentially better with him around. And it's not just because of the three huge plays he made with the ball in his hands in the fourth quarter, those being a 30-yard sweep, an excellent slipped tackle to convert a third-and-4 late as a pass catcher in the flat, and another 15-yard catch-and-run just prior to his touchdown plunge. On Clifford's first touchdown bomb to Dotson, ILB Mike Mascalunas came through untouched, but Cain shifted over and blocked him out of the play, giving Clifford time to hit the open Dotson. Keyvone Lee's tackle-breaking skills proved to be a liability in the game as he kept moving backward to escape going down. Devyn Ford got a few forgettable snaps, though he did contribute on coverage units.
Defensive Line: 7
The front four was my biggest area of concern entering the game. DT PJ Mustipher was the expected star of the group, and he didn't disappoint. Mustipher was a menace in the middle of the line, routinely winning his one-on-ones and spending a good chunk of time in the Wisconsin backfield until the Badgers finally decided to double-team him. Unfortunately, DT Derrick Tangelo was quiet in my first watch, and the rewatch was bad news. Tangelo was pushed back on almost every snap. On one third quarter run, Wisconsin's RG pushed Tangelo from just inside the left hash all the way to the right hash in a one-on-one. For a 22-year-old with NFL aspirations, I think he should be more concerned about losing snaps and quickly. DT Coziah Izzard got some action in the second quarter, and after being blown off the ball on his first snap, did a great job pushing into the Wisconsin backfield a few snaps later. Chez Mellusi ended up with a big run as the linebackers misdiagnosed the play, but it was good to see Izzard on the field and making some noise. DT Fred Hansard also had some snaps but was very quiet in his action. He looked a lot like Tangelo. Rather surprisingly, DT D'Von Ellies got on the field and ate up space reasonably well, leading to an extended run for most of the fourth quarter. Ellies looks like he needs to get a bit stronger before he can ascend toward Mustipher's level, but that's the projection at this point.
Linebacker: 6
Luketa is covered above. New Will Brandon Smith was a positive on the whole. He did a nice job whenever he had a chance to pursue and his coverage looked strong. However, in tight quarters, Smith struggled and he was non-existent as a pass rusher. Never fear, because Ellis Brooks was there (for most of the game anyway) to make play after play in the middle of the defense. Brooks went from a borderline starter to a core performer in one game. His positioning was spectacular and he was surpsingly explosive. Curtis Jacobs didn't do much on the stat sheet, but there were a few plays where he forced a ball carrier to redirect his path, especially on a key third-and-1 stop early in the third quarter that sprung Brooks and Smith to make the tackle. Obviously the hope is that Jacobs pushes toward his lofty ceiling and quickly. Charlie Katshir made the most of a couple of snaps, planting Mertz on a fourth quarter dropback that should've led to a Ji'Ayir Brown interception.
Secondary: 8
Only one place to start here: S Jaquan Brisker looked every bit like an All-American. He was everywhere for the Penn State defense, making plays in the backfield and downfield. His diving play in the first quarter stopped Mellusi for a one-yard gain on a fourth-and-one instead of a 30-yard touchdown. He broke up a deep out to Davis in the fourth quarter with a singular effort. His interception of Mertz with just over two minutes to go was the perfect combination of athleticism and headiness, and it came two plays after a TFL on an interior run where Brisker absolutely exploded into the backfield. Brisker did it all in spite of considerable physical impediments. Brown made a hugely important and seriously impressive tackle to wrestle Jake Ferguson to the ground and keep the clock running with under a minute left. Brown's tackle cost Wisconsin 15 crucial seconds. Also: never underestimate the importance of a player going down after making a game-ending interception instead of continuing to run around with the ball. Jonathan Sutherland got extensive reps despite not making a ton of noise; Kendric Pryor dropped Sutherland's jock on a third quarter end around, but otherwise Sutherland was in the right spot.
Tariq Castro-Fields played like a veteran, multi-year starter. He was an extremely sure as a tackler, and provided strong coverage in the limited moments where Mertz made a catchable throw. Joey Porter Jr. didn't have a lot of chances to make plays, but the big play he did make sure stood out. It looked like Badger WR Jack Dunn had the game-winning touchdown floating into his hands late before Porter leaped across his face to knock the ball away. Kalen King had an extremely limited run during which he was called for pass interference. Not good but it's early for the true freshman. Slot corner Daequan Hardy proved a liability once again; a missed throw by Mertz to Dike was the only reason Hardy wasn't the game's goat. Hardy also committed an uncalled pass interference penalty in the first half and was beaten by Dike in the endzone early in the fourth on a throw where Mertz underthrew the ball. Hardy was a huge liability. I did not see Marquis Wilson, Johnny Dixon, Zakee Wheatley, or AJ Lytton (on defense).
Specialists: 6
Jordan Stout the placekicker was an abject failure (and don't give me noise about the laces being back -- that doesn't matter on a PAT). Jordan Stout the punter and kickoff specialist won Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. That probably says enough. Drew Hartlaub stepped in as a gunner and made a big play in the second quarter, then got blocked all the way into Dotson on a third quarter punt return that could've been disastrous.
Coaching: 9
James Franklin had his team focused and competitive in a brutally difficult Week One road game. That says a lot about the shape of the program. Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich spent halftime figuring out that he needed to attack Wisconsin on the perimeter. Once he did so, the offense exploded. The play design on Clifford's 40-yard fourth quarter bomb to Dotson was a thing of beauty. Wisconsin bit hard on the bubble screen action to Washington with Dotson and Strange apparently blocking. This left Dotson running free with five yards of separation to set up the game-winning touchdown. Brilliant! That play only worked because Clifford sold two fakes beautifully and Wallace and Scruggs held up on iso blocks, but the result was huge and the design was beautiful.
Brent Pry's defense was stupendous...except for the baffling late-game strategy that gave Wisconsin easy access to the sideline for passes covering 10+ yards. Inexplicable. But that only mattered because Pry went on the road and refused to let Wisconsin into the endzone.
Officiating: 9
The zebras had an interesting game, as is to be expected at this time of the year. On the whole, I thought that they did wonderfully. Of course, there are individual plays that offend the conscience. For example, when Kalen King was flagged for pass interference in the second quarter -- on a play where Kendric Pryor really oversold things -- DE Jesse Luketa ripped inside of TE Jake Ferguson and won a free shot at Mertz...only to have Ferguson commit a blatant hold to prevent the free shot on the QB. No flag. Some amount of holding occurs on every play. Normally the "oh crap, my QB is about to get popped" emergency hold gets called. But not there. Ebiketie was also tackled to the ground on the game's final snap, but a holding call in that situation was exceedingly unlikely.
They did a nice job getting together to make some big calls, especially a couple of intentional grounding calls on Mertz and a couple of kick catch interference calls on Nittany gunner AJ Lytton. They did need some help from Paul Chryst to spot the targeting penalty on Brooks, but they eventually applied a crappy rule correctly and DQ'd the linebacker.
Stars of the Game
Just for fun, here are my stars of the game:
- S Jaquan Brisker
- DE Arnold Ebiketie
- WR Jahan Dotson
- RB Noah Cain
- QB Sean Clifford
- DT PJ Mustipher
- DE/LB Jesse Luketa
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