Penn State Football’s Post-Rutgers Report Card

via Penn State Athletics

Penn State football has won two in a row, folks!

The Nittany Lions took down Rutgers 23-7 Saturday afternoon in Piscataway after defeating Michigan the previous game. Penn State played complimentary football against the Scarlet Knights en route to the program’s 900th all-time win.

Just about every position group put in a strong showing against the Scarlet Knights. Here are our grades for the Nittany Lions following their second win of the 2020 season:

Quarterbacks: B-

Following his turnover-free performance against Michigan, Sean Clifford played a solid game in Penn State’s win over Rutgers. He completed 68% of his passes, totaled 133 passing yards, and threw one touchdown in the winning effort.

However, he did throw an interception, which is something that has haunted him all season long and certainly brings the overall grade down.

“I thought early on in the first half, I thought [Clifford] played really well,” James Franklin said postgame. “Obviously the turnovers, we can’t have them.”

Clifford added 21 yards on the ground and battled through the tough weather conditions.

Will Levis played a significant role in the game, but it wasn’t with his arm, rather his legs. Levis checked into the game often and ran the ball 17 times for 65 yards (3.8 yards per carry).

With only one turnover coming between the two of them, it was an overall solid showing from the signal callers.

Running Backs: A-

For the second-straight week, Penn State got a ton of production from its running backs. Keyvone Lee, who had a career-high 134 yards last week against Michigan, picked up right where he left off. The true freshman totaled 17 carries for 95 yards (5.6 yards per carry), with his longest run being 31 yards.

He had a big fourth quarter and helped wear down Rutgers’ defense and chew some of the clock.

Lee was joined in the backfield this week by Devyn Ford, who missed the previous game due to a death in his family. Ford carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards (5.9 yards per attempt) and a touchdown.

He did fumble the ball in the first half, however, which is the only glaring mistake the group made in Saturday’s game.

With Lee and Ford finding success throughout the game, Caziah Holmes didn’t get much of an opportunity. He carried the ball just three times for five yards.

Wide Receivers: C+

It was an unusual quiet day for Penn State’s wideouts on a day where the wind was gusting for a good portion of the game. The highlight for the group was Parker Washington’s 29-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.

That was Washington’s only catch, as he wasn’t able to replicate his career-high nine receptions from the previous week.

Jahan Dotson was the Nittany Lions’ leading receiver with four catches for 30 yards. True freshman KeAndre Lambert-Smith also caught four passes, but only for 25 yards.

Isaac Lutz was involved in the offense once again, totaling two catches for 19 yards.

Tight Ends: C

For the second consecutive week, Penn State’s tight ends were awfully quiet.

Brenton Strange hauled in three receptions for 23 yards, and Theo Johnson didn’t catch any passes in his second career start. However, the blocking up front for the Nittany Lions was excellent, and the tight ends deserve some credit for that.

Offensive Line: A-

The offensive line paved the way for the Nittany Lions to rush for 248 yards. It was a dominant performance for Phil Trautwein’s group, as it constantly opened up holes on the ground and allowed just two sacks on the day.

The one negative for the group was the seven tackles for loss allowed, however, there were far more positives. On a day where Penn State was forced to rely on its running game, the offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and set the offense up for success.

Defensive Line: A

Speaking of controlling the line of scrimmage, that’s exactly what Penn State’s defensive line did. John Scott Jr.’s group allowed Rutgers to average just 2.6 yards per rushing attempt, which forced the Scarlet Knights to get it done through the air.

Additionally, as a unit, the defensive line totaled four quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, and one sack. While those numbers may not jump off the screen, Rutgers’ offensive line struggled to get any push up front against Penn State, which is a testament to the defensive line’s performance.

PJ Mustipher totaled three tackles and a quarterback hit, while Jayson Oweh accumulated two tackles, one being for a loss. The group’s lone sack came from redshirt freshman Dvon Ellies.

Linebackers: A

It was really good day for Brent Pry’s linebackers, arguably the best game of the season for the group.

Jesse Luketa led the way with 10 tackles, one for a loss, and a fumble recovery. Ellis Brooks had himself a day as well, totaling seven tackles, two quarterback hits, and one forced fumbles.

It may not show up in the stat sheet, but Brandon Smith was flying around the field for the Nittany Lions. He had two tackles, one for a loss, one pass breakup, and one quarterback hit in the all-around performance.

After the Nittany Lions struggled with open-field tackling for weeks at the start of the season, the linebackers have helped solve that problem the last two weeks.

Secondary: A-

This is the second-straight game Penn State’s secondary has shut down the opposing quarterback, which is a welcomed sight after a rough start to the season.

Rutgers completed just 56% of its passes and threw for 122 yards against the Nittany Lions. Additionally, the Scarlet Knights had no pass plays over 20 yards, as Penn State did a good job of limiting the big plays. Noah Vedral threw one touchdown, but it came on a broken play where he threw up a prayer that was caught by Bo Melton.

Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was the star of the game for the secondary, as he totaled six tackles and one tackle for loss. Marquis Wilson started opposite of Porter and totaled two tackles, while Daequan Hardy had a sack and a pass breakup. At safety, Jaquan Brisker led the way with four tackles and one pass breakup.

Special Teams: A-

It was a clean game for Penn State’s special teams unit. Jake Pinegar made both of his field goal attempts (27 and 30 yards) and both of his extra points. Additionally, Jordan Stout drilled a 47-yard field goal early in the third quarter to put Penn State up 20-0.

Stout did a good job on his kickoffs, putting 4/6 of them into the end zone for a touchback. He punted three times for an average of 37.7 yards per punt.

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About the Author

Gabe Angieri

After a four-year career with Onward State, Gabe is now a college graduate and off to the real world. He shockingly served as the blog’s managing editor during the 2022-23 school year and covered football for much of his Onward State tenure, including trips to the Outback Bowl and Rose Bowl. For any professional inquiries, please email Gabe at [email protected]. You can still see his bad sports takes on Twitter at @gabeangieri.

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