Make that two big ol’ Ls in a row for Penn State football.

The Nittany Lions were trampled by Northwestern 34-13 on Friday at New Ryan Field, allowing over 500 total yards of offense and losing the possession battle by nearly 12 minutes.

Now, they sit at 0-2 in Big Ten play.

Here’s a quick review of each position group’s performance against the Wildcats.

Quarterbacks: F

Rocco Becht did not bounce back after one of the worst outings of his career against Wisconsin a week ago. The veteran signal caller completed 26-of-41 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions against Northwestern.

Becht missed a handful of throws and clearly struggled to read the field after the snap. He was 2-for-9 on passes of 15-plus yards downfield. He was also 2-for-7 over the middle on short- to medium-range passes.

His defense did him no favors, allowing Northwestern to jump out to a 24-7 lead by halftime and turning the offense into a one-dimensional catch-up attack, but a quarterback as experienced as Becht doesn’t get a pass for consistently missing reads.

Running Backs: F

Friday marked the worst outing for the team’s runners to date. The running back group couldn’t even reach the 3-yard-per-carry threshold and managed just 35 yards combined.

Carson Hansen rushed for 19 yards and a touchdown on his four carries, followed by an awful 13 yards on eight carries from James Peoples. Quinton Martin Jr. dashed three times for 6 yards, while Cam Wallace did not receive a touch.

Matt Campbell noted the defense’s inability to get off the field contributed to a lack of volume for his running backs, which is fair. But overall, the unit has made little to no progress five weeks into the season, even though the run game has been described as “inches away” within the locker room for over a month.

Receivers: C-

After Chase Sowell was the only receiver to log a catch against the Badgers last week, Penn State’s perimeter players took a small step up in Koby Howard’s absence.

Sowell led the way with 68 yards and a touchdown, but left meat on the bone after hauling in just five of his 12 targets. Brett Eskildsen saw eight targets, catching six balls for 45 yards. Zay Robinson collected two of his five targets for 24 yards.

The volume was there for the Nittany Lions ‘weapons, but they couldn’t make enough plays downfield to keep the offense on schedule and help Becht stay in rhythm.

Tight Ends: C-

Benjamin Brahmer and Andrew Rappleyea were the only tight ends to record stats against the Wildcats.

Brahmer hauled in five of his six targets for 45 yards. Rappleyea also caught five of seven targets for 36 yards.

Despite the rough sledding on offense, Penn State’s tight ends were more productive than they had been the last few weeks.

Offensive Line: C

The big guys in blue and white allowed just one sack and four quarterback hurries in pass protection, but the real failures came in the run game.

Penn State’s backs ran for just 38 yards on 15 carries for an abysmal 2.8 yards per carry. You can’t always blame the blocking, but the Northwestern defense stuffed six runs for no gain or a loss. However, the Nittany Lions’ offensive line was a perfect 3-for-3 in power-run situations.

It certainly wasn’t a dominant showing, but the unit isn’t to blame for the second straight offensive breakdown.

Front Seven: F

The Nittany Lions’ defensive linemen and linebackers were about as useless as they can be on Friday. 

The group helped concede 413 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, as Northwestern ball carriers averaged 7.5 yards per dash. That total was the Wildcats’ most since 2003, when they rushed for 444 yards against Illinois.

Caleb Komolafe and Joseph Himon II frequently went untouched 5-plus yards beyond the line of scrimmage.  The interior defensive tackles got knocked back, and the linebackers, outside of Tony Rojas and his 12 tackles, sack, pass break up, and 3.5 tackles for loss, couldn’t funnel into gaps and wrap up ball carriers, resulting in an embarrassingly poor showing at New Ryan Field. 

Secondary: B-

Quite frankly, Penn State’s defensive backs weren’t tested much against the passing attack on Friday because Northwestern handed the ball off 55 times.

Aidan Chiles put the ball in the air just 14 times, completing 10 passes for 93 yards. The unit didn’t allow a touchdown pass. 

Collectively, the Wildcats’ receivers caught seven balls for 61 yards. Josiah Zayas accounted for a turnover for the second straight game, after recovering a fumble in the second quarter.

This performance by Penn State’s secondary was comparable to blowing out a candle while the house is burning down.

 Special Teams: B-

Ryan Barker missed his only field goal attempt against the Wildcats.  He’s now 7-for-9 on the season. 

Nathan Tiyce booted seven punts for 288 yards. He averaged 41.1 yards per punt and pinned Northwestern inside its own 20-yard line three times. He set a season-high for his longest punt with a 60-yarder on Friday. 

Robinson returned two kickoffs for 41 yards. He did not return a punt.