The Penn State-Michigan State Report Card
The Land Grant Trophy will spend two more years in the Penn State football building following the Nittany Lions' 42-0 flattening of Michigan State on Friday night at Ford Field in Detroit. Penn State broke the Spartans at both ends, rolling up a season-high 586 yards of offense while allowing a season-low 53.
The Penn State report card reflects a holiday bonus. Let's get to it.
OFFENSE: A
Some first-half slips aside (two red-zone penalties and two missed blitz pickups), the Lions looked as sharp, clean and explosive as they have all season. This was the offense Penn State hinted at three months ago against West Virginia, one that didn't mount with any real consistency. The Lions on Friday were creative without being gimmicky, schemed to their talent instead of vice versa and proudly spread the wealth. Kaytron Allen (career-high 137 yards rushing) demonstrated his best burst of the season, and Nicholas Singleton (season-high 118) finally hit the edges he roamed last year. Drew Allar showed no signs of injury residue, and Beau Pribula proved that he should have been on the field long ago.
DEFENSE: A
This felt like Penn State's defensive version of Avengers: Endgame, the end of a two-year ride with coordinator Manny Diaz and his bottomless well of superhero talent. Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac, Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs overwhelmed the Spartans all night. Quarterback Katin Houser, who absorbed six of Penn State's seven sacks, was relieved when that ended. Penn State made 12 tackles for loss, allowed five first downs allowed and held the Spartans to minus-32 yards of offense in the second half and minus-35 rushing in the game (sacks included). Detroit native Jaylen Reed had an interception. Just a marvelous show by a defense that might be radically different for the bowl game.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B+
Kicker Alex Felkins, Penn State's special teams MVP, went 2-for-3 and made his eighth field goal of 40+ yards, an early 49-yarder when the game still mattered. He has been a tremendous portal find. Punter Riley Thompson had another quietly fine day, booting two of his three punts for 50+ yards, and Daequan Hardy nearly set Penn State's single-season record with a third punt-return score. Alas, he went for 38 yards instead of to the house.
COACHING: A
Kudos to co-offensive coordinators Ja'Juan Seider and Ty Howle for refreshing this group with what head coach James Franklin called a smaller and tighter offense. They helped Allar become an asset once again and identified Omari Evans as a big-play target. Seider even called a few extra late runs for Singleton to get him over 100 for the first time this season. Strong work from the coaching staff to coax this kind of performance in a road game on a short week.
OVERALL: A
Penn State needed this game. It won't cleanse completely the disappointment of losing to Ohio State and Michigan again, and 10-2 might feel stale. However, the Lions kept themselves in position to take that next step. Which is an important place to be.
More Penn State Football
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
