Grades: Iowa
QUARTERBACK: It appeared as though Trace McSorley was going to be out for a while when he left the game with an apparent knee injury in the second quarter. But he returned in the second half, and looked like his usual self on a 51-yard touchdown run. He also found Pat Freiermuth in the back of the end zone while throwing on the run. His passing stats were modest, and a fourth-quarter pick-six could have been more costly than it turned out to be. But he got the job done. Props to Tommy Stevens, too, for going 2 for 4 and running for a TD while filling in.
GRADE B-
RUNNING BACK: There just weren’t a lot of yards to be had against a very solid Iowa front seven. Without any real room to run, Miles Sanders finished with 62 yards and no touchdowns on 17 carries, averaging 3.6 yards per attempt. McSorley was Penn State’s leading rusher with 63 yards on 12 attempts, 51 of which came on one carry. Penn State finished with 118 yards on the ground, which wasn’t a lot but was still about 40 more than Iowa was surrendering going into the game.
GRADE C+
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END: K.J. Hamler was as dynamic as ever, finishing with 96 yards on five catches. Also, Freiermuth had an 18-yard touchdown catch, continuing his ascent. But the best piece of news here was that DeAndre Thompkins had a solid afternoon with five catches for 59 yards. He had only caught seven passes all season heading into Saturday’s game. Juwan Johnson barely played due to an injury he received last week at Indiana, so the Lions needed their healthy wideouts to step up. Thompkins answered the call.
GRADE B-
OFFENSIVE LINE: Iowa totaled five tackles for loss and three sacks, but the Hawkeye defensive front is also one of the best PSU will see all year. The situation at right tackle remains an issue, but overall, it was one of their better performances of the season when you consider the opponent.
GRADE: B -
DEFENSIVE LINE: Yetur Gross-Matos had the best game of his career, totaling nine tackles, including four tackles for loss and two sacks. Iowa’s offensive front was able to push this unit around at times, especially in the middle and late in the game. Depth remains an issue, but all things considered, this was one of the defensive front’s better performance of the season.
GRADE: B+
LINEBACKERS: Once again, it was a mixed bag from this group. Micah Parsons and Cam Brown have both stepped up in recent weeks, combing for 13 tackles Saturday. The rest of the linebacker corps got pushed around at times, especially in the run game. Their pass coverage was better. Not great, but better.
GRADE: B-
DEFENSIVE BACKS: First off, it’s great to see John Reid making plays again. He didn’t have a great start to the season, but the past two games have easily been his best this season. Nate Stanley had a poor game, no doubt, but solid coverage played a part in that. The two interceptions bumps this up to an A.
GRADE: A-
SPECIAL TEAMS: Jake Pinegar was a difference-maker, going 3 for 3 on field goals, all from beyond 40 yards. Hamler set up the last of those attempts with a 67-yard kickoff return, another big moment for the freshman. But otherwise… ugh. Penn State gave up two safeties on botched punt attempts, surrendered a touchdown on a fake field goal and allowed a 49-yard kickoff return. In the end, the Lions got away with all of it, but it’s hard to imagine them being so fortunate at Michigan if the problems persist.
GRADE D
COACHES: Brent Pry called a very good game, bringing pressure at all the right times. Offensively, Ricky Rahne has taken some heat this season, but overall, we thought he had a solid game. You can always point to a few plays, but he took more shots this week, which is important in this offense. However, the special teams keeps this from being a B.
GRADE: C+
CROWD: Penn State announced the attendance at 105, 244. It looked more like 80,244, which all things considered is still pretty impressive given the conditions. Props to everyone that stayed throughout.
GRADE: A