Penn State's Week 5 PFF Grades vs. Northwestern Point to Team in Disarray

The Nittany Lions roundly earned low marks for their 21-point loss to the Wildcats.

Northwestern Wildcats running back Joseph Himon II (6) runs the ball for a touchdown against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter at New Ryan Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State made several changes to its starting lineup, extended reps to some key players and shortened the bench last Friday against Northwestern. Very little helped. The Wildcats overwhelmed Penn State 34-13 at New Ryan Field, prompting the Nittany Lions to reflect on their preparation for the shortened-week game.

Pro Football Focus, which grades every Power 4 game across college football weekly, judged the Nittany Lions harshly after their 21-point loss, Penn State's worst to Northwestern since 2014. Still, there were some questions regarding a few of those individual grades.

Penn State's offensive grades vs. Northwestern

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) throws the ball against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at New Ryan Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

First of all, Penn State's overall team grade of 66.6 fittingly was its lowest of the season. The Nittany Lions lost most major statistical measures in the game, notably total yards (506-291), yards per play (7.3-4.6), time of possession (36:05-23:55) and turnover margin (2-1).

Offensively, PFF graded Penn State at 61.8 overall, nearly five points lower than in Week 4 vs. Wisconsin (66.7). Quarterback Rocco Becht had another tough week on the report card, receiving a mark of 53.8. It's above his season-low 42.9 vs. Wisconsin but far below his non-conference average of 83.8.

(PFF ranks its grading system like this: 85 and up is "elite," 81-84 is "good to great" and 60-80 is "average to above-average.")

Becht had another off-target day, completing 26 of 41 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Notably, Northwestern broke up nine passes, knocking down four at the line of scrimmage. Two of Becht's three interceptions in Big Ten play have been tipped at the line of scrimmage by Big Ten linemen.

Running back James Peoples replaced Carson Hansen in the starting lineup, but nothing Penn State tried in the run game was successful. Northwestern held Penn State to a season-low 48 yards rushing, including a 1.9 ypc average in the first half.

Peoples (eight carries, 13 yards) received a grade of 62.5, below Hansen's 67.6. Hansen actually led the Nittany Lions in rushing with 19 yards on four carries.

Becht tried to make receiver Chase Sowell the offense's central focus, throwing to him 12 times. Sowell caught five passes for 68 yards, getting 26 of those on Penn State's first offensive play of the game. PFF graded Sowell tops among the receivers at 67.7.

Brett Eskildsen (PFF grade of 62.2) caught six passes for 45 yards. Meanwhile, Penn State still can't find ways to activate Zay Robinson in the passing game. Robinson (PFF grade of 58.3) made two catches for 24 yards.

Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Chase Sowell (0) catches a pass against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first quarter at New Ryan Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ben Brahmer, who thought Penn State's practices weren't physical enough last week, was the highest-graded tight end at 69.9. Brahmer caught five passes for 45 yards. Andrew Rappleyea (65) also caught five passes.

On the offensive line, four starters played all 68 snaps, with center Vaea Ikakoula playing 17 in place of Brock Riker. Right tackle Anthony Donkoh earned the highest PFF grade (69), with right guard Cooper Cousins grading at 62.8.

None of the other three starters graded above 60: Riker (49.2), left tackle Malachi Goodman (50.5) and right guard Trevor Buhr (57.8).

Penn State's defensive grades vs. Northwestern

Ebel has to make this tackle pic.twitter.com/A14ytE5JOq

— LandonTengwall (@LandonTengwall) October 3, 2026

Sometimes, PFF's grades don't necessarily match the eye test. For example, PFF gave linebacker Kooper Ebel Penn State's highest defensive grade of the game (78.4). Ebel made 11 tackles, one behind fellow linebacker Tony Rojas, but only two of them were solo tackles.

Northwestern also exploited Ebel at middle linebacker, either washing him out of run plays or bouncing off his tackles. The above clip from football analyst Landon Tengwall is a prime example.

Ebel basically had Northwestern running back Caleb Komolafe stopped for no gain. Instead, Komolafe ran through Ebel's tackle attempt for 32 yards.

Overall, Penn State's defense had its worst statistical and grading game of the season, with PFF giving it a 69.1. That's one week after the Nittany Lions' defense earned a 77.7 against Wisconsin despite giving up two late touchdowns, albeit with fatigued players.

Three Penn State linebackers earned the highest grades vs. Northwestern, with Alex Tatsch at 71.4 and Cael Brezina at 70.7. Meanwhile, starting linebacker Tony Rojas received his lowest grade of the season (54.1) despite making 3.5 tackles for loss. Rojas had a bit of a boom-bust game, considering he overplayed some angles trying to make something happen.

Northwestern Wildcats running back Joseph Himon II (6) runs for a touchdown as Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Tony Rojas (13) tries to tackle him during the first half at New Ryan Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Defensive end Caleb Bacon (74.9) was the highest-graded Nittany Lion up front, though he made just one assisted tackle. However, Bacon was active and generated an early pass rush that led to a Rojas sack, the only one Penn State made all night.

Tackle Keanu Williams played nearly 50 defensive snaps and earned a 70.5 grade with seven tackles. Despite being listed as questionable for most of the week, cornerback Daryus Dixson led the cornerbacks with a grade of 67.3. Fellow corners Zion Tracy (54.3) and Audavion Collins (64.1) recorded their lowest grades of the season.

At safety, Jamison Patton started in place of Marcus Neal Jr., who had a challenging game against Wisconsin. Patton led the safeties with a grade of 67.3

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