Grades: Maryland
QUARTERBACKS: In a season full of ups and downs,Trace McSorley finished strong, completing 12 of 22 attempts for 230 yards and one passing touchdown. He also stepped up in the rushing game, totaling 64 yards and two scores. McSorley’s 157.4 quarterback rating was his highest since the game against Illinois in September. His curtain call in the fourth quarter was well-deserved.
GRADE: A
RUNNING BACKS: If this was the final game in Beaver Stadium for Miles Sanders, he played well, averaging 9.1 yards per carry, his second-highest average this season. The only real blemish was a fumble late in the game. Freshman Ricky Slade also played well, totaling 64 yards and two scores on 11 attempts.
GRADE: A
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: Penn State got the ball to seven different receivers on the day. KJ Hamler led the way again with 90 yards, while tight end Pat Freiermuth had the lone score from this group. There were a few drops, but they did a pretty solid job at finding space.
GRADE: B+
OFFENSIVE LINE: Maryland had just two tackles for loss and one sack on the day. The Lions also totaled 565 yards of offense. You can’t ask for much more than that.
GRADE: A
DEFENSIVE LINE: Penn State totaled 15 tackles for loss, eight of which were from the defensive front. Yetur Gross-Matos, who had 3.5 tackles for loss, continues to show everyone that he has NFL potential. This unit went from a concern to a strength in 2018. Next year should be even better.
GRADE: A
LINEBACKERS: Cam Brown led the Lions with five tackles. He also had a 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Micah Parsons added four tackles with a tackle for loss. Most importantly, along with front four, they held a run-heavy offense to just 74 yards on the ground.
GRADE: A
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Maryland had a few more chunk plays than the staff would prefer, but they also still held the Terps to just 185 yards through the air.
GRADE: B
SPECIAL TEAMS: It was a limited performance from this unit. Blake Gillikin only had three punts, while Jake Pinegar had just one field goal. Rafael Checa’s kick out of bounds knocks them back a bit.
GRADE: B-
COACHES: The team played its best game of the year. Not only did the staff make some good adjustments to free up Gross-Matos and Shareef Miller, but they also did a good job limiting the jet sweeps and motion plays that Matt Canada burned them with while an offensive coordinator at Pitt in 2016.
GRADE: A
CROWD: Between the weather and the parking, you knew that today’s crowd was going to be small. The fans that showed all deserve an A, but when you compare it to a normal crowd, even for post-Thanksgiving standards, it wasn’t the best. Still, how can we give the people that showed today anything less than an A?
GRADE: A