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Penn State’s season is spiraling out of control after the Nittany Lions lost their third consecutive game. If last week’s loss to UCLA was a shock, then Penn State’s 22-21 loss at home to Northwestern was simply mind-numbing. Penn State is once again shaking its collective head in disbelief as a once-promising season full of national championship bluster is quickly morphing into a season where Penn State may be fighting just to become bowl-eligible. Yes, we are at that point midway through October, and the schedule is not about to get any easier.
Here is a look at this week’s postgame grades for the Nittany Lions.
Quarterback: C
Drew Allar deserved a better fate than he had on Saturday, leaving the field on a cart with a season-ending injury. Putting that emotional aspect to the side, Allar did not have a particularly good outing against a tough Northwestern defense. Half of Allar’s passing yardage came on a short pass that saw Devonte Ross take off for a big gain after the catch, and Allar struggled to connect with his intended targets on a couple of occasions in key spots. Allar was also picked off in the end zone on Penn State’s first offensive series of the game, after getting the football in great starting field position following a blocked punt. But Allar showed once again he is a gamer and will try leaving everything on the field. It just wasn’t good enough before his injury.
Ethan Grunkemeyer came in to relieve the injured Allar but only saw one snap, a fourth-down play where he was stuffed on a rushing attempt. We will see him take over the offense moving forward.
Running backs: C
Kaytron Allen was another player who appeared to be ready to play for Penn State. Allen led the Nittany Lions in rushing yardage, as he typically does, and he reached the end zone once. Nicholas Singleton didn’t have as productive a day on the ground but he did add another rushing touchdown to the mix. Allen got the first few offensive series in the game and just had a better overall performance. Something just feels lacking with the running game as Singleton, specifically, has not been able to break loose for many big gains this season, including this week.
Wide receivers and tight ends: D
There was really only one big play from the Penn State passing game, when Devonte Ross caught a short pass on third down and took off with his speed for another 60 yards down the field. But other than that play, there was not much happening with the receivers. Trebor Pena and Kyron Hudson combined for 3 catches and 15 yards. Hudson had one notable catch broken up by a Northwestern defender. Penn State continues to search for a more balanced passing attack, spreading the production around between these three receivers a little more consistently.
There was not one catch by a tight end in this game, which is a far cry from where things were with the offense a year ago.
Defense: C
The defense did not have a horrible outing, and it was far better than the week before against UCLA. The defense rose to the occasion in a couple of bad spots and found ways to get off the field in the first half, but the unit seemed to run out of some gas in the second half as Northwestren found success over the middle with the passing game and the running game to help close out the win. Penn State’s defense did not force any turnovers (the turnover by Northwestern happened on special teams).
Special teams: D
Early in the game, it looked as though the special teams was going to get a solid A for this week. Dani Dennis-Suton blocked an early Northwestern punt and the Nittany Lions recovered a muffed punt later by the Wildcats. But the special teams also let Penn State down in a big way, with its own muffed punt giving Northwestern the football deep in Penn State territory and a mind-boggling decision to try taking the football out of the end zone on a kickoff that put the offense deep in its own end with the game on the line. In this case, the negatives outweigh the positives.
Coaching: D
Was the coaching better against Northwestern than it was against UCLA? In some areas, yes. The defense was clearly better, but it was hardly at the level that is expected of it. The offense was frustrating, while it was not really an issue the previous week against UCLA. There were some key moments where players were clearly unaware of the situation, including the late kickoff return out of the end zone. The offense has been slow to start all season long, and it once again was sluggish in the first half of this game, with just two scores in the first half (a third potential score ended in a turnover in the end zone).
Some may question the fourth quarter decision to go for a fourth down conversion immediately following the injury to Drew Allar with Ethan Grunkemeyer coming in to play instead of punting the ball and using the three remaining timeouts and two-minute timeout to stop the clock, given the field position.
Overall: F
Just when you thought Penn State had hit rock bottom against UCLA, the Nittany Lions came out flat at home and dropped a second straight game as a 20-point favorite. Inexcusable is the best word to use in this situation, and there is plenty of blame to go around. That all starts with James Franklin, who once again will be under massive fire this week as he looks to find some way of turning things around before it is too late. But maybe it is too late, if not for Penn State, then for Franklin himself.
Penn State will be on the road next week for a primetime game at Iowa. The Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes will air exclusively on Peacock, the streaming platform for NBC. Kickoff is set for 7 pm.
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