Grades: Rutgers

QUARTERBACKS: Trace McSorley became Penn State’s all-time leader in wins, but this wasn’t the kind of performance that put him in that position, as he completed just 46 percent of his passes for 183 yards. His 99.9 quarterback rating was the second-lowest of his career.

GRADE: C-

RUNNING BACKS: Miles Sanders averaged a season-low 3.3 yards per carry (88 yards on 27 carries). He fought hard for extra yards, but also hurt himself a few times trying to do too much.

GRADE: C

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: Freshman TE Pat Freiermuth had another excellent game, totaling 47 yards and two touchdowns. Compared to what we’ve seen all season, the wide receivers were average, which is a bit disappointing considering how poor Rutgers’ pass defense has been this season. C for the receivers, A at tight end.

GRADE: B

OFFENSIVE LINE: The Knights didn’t record a sack, but the offensive front also struggled to create the kind of running lanes that were expected against the nation’s 119th-ranked rushing defense. Coming into today, Rutgers was allowing an average of 230 yards on the ground. Penn State had just 139.

GRADE: C+

DEFENSIVE LINE: If there was one stat that Rutgers was proud of coming into the game, it was the fact that they were allowing just 1.2 sacks per game. The defensive line totaled three sacks on the day and eight tackles for loss. Another impressive performance by Sean Spencer's group.

GRADE: B+

LINEBACKERS: Micah Parsons got the first start of his career, but the guy he was replacing, Koa Farmer, ended up leading the Lions in tackles with eight. Parsons and Jan Johnson both added seven tackles of their own.

GRADE: B

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Rutgers had just 46 yards passing, but poor quarterback play was the main reason why. John Reid made a nice play to scoop an interception and Garrett Taylor took advantage of a total gift for the second pick. Solid effort, but they weren’t really tested.

GRADE: B

SPECIAL TEAMS: Rafael Checa put a kick out of bounds, but aside from that, it was a solid day. Blake Gillikin had three punts at 50 yards or longer. He also pinned three more within the 20-yard line. Freshman Jake Pinegar made both of his field goal attempts.

GRADE:

COACHES: There were certainly a few questionable calls, but we did like the aggression in the passing game. That’s been a complaint for a lot of fans this season. If McSorley is able to connect on just a few those, this could’ve been a totally different game. Brent Pry’s defense once again looked good.

GRADE: C