Following is Neil Rudel's report card from Penn State's 34-7 victory over Indiana Saturday at Beaver Stadium:
POSITION GRADE COMMENT
Quarterback C Ball slippery, but Clark was erratic. He didn't hit open receivers in stride, missed others altogether, fumbled twice and took two sacks. Had Clark played better, Devlin would have played more.
Running backs B Royster's TD run that opened the game was sensational. Green's role growing (10-30). Did you catch Chaz Powell lined up as RB?
Offensive line B- Early third-and-1 stuffed. Cadogan (gave up sack, holding penalty) seemed to struggle for second straight game. Lucian has been a versatile replacement at multiple spots.
Receivers B Norwood led with seven catches. Nice to see good guy Butler breaking Engram's all-time reception record. Williams scored twice, but also dropped two. Great hurdle on 9-yarder by Zug.
Tight end B Shuler made two catches for 31, including key 18-yarder. This season has proven he is better all-around player than Quarless, in whom the staff has lost confidence.
Overall offense C Took too long to get rolling and committed three turnovers. Sharper performance could/should have resulted in 50 points.
Defensive line A Gaines injury a concern heading into MSU game. Maybin made five tackles, one sack. Ogbu active. Staff went to true frosh Crawford and redshirt Lattimore.
Linebacker B In wake of Iowa loss, more blitzes were used with Hull and Bowman. Tackles were missed on Thigpen long TD run, Indiana's lone score. Not sure why Mauti, after being rushed into Iowa game late, hasn't played much.
Secondary A Not overly challenged by Indiana offense. Rubin made great interception in first half. Tony Davis played solid game with breakup and tackle for loss.
Overall defense A Bradley went to dime package, adding Wallace and Astorino to starting unit. Various coverages helped limit IU to just six first downs.
Special teams A Boone had his best game of the year and Kelly, despite his first miss from 40-and-in, moved into third place on the NCAA career kick scoring list with 412. Stupar got second punt block of season.
Overall coaching B Can't say team was overly ready to play, but lack of opposition was timed perfectly. Smart use of timeouts at end of half and better adjustments this week as Nits came out with more resolve.
The other guy D+ When you face the long, uphill climb that Bill Lynch does, you must accept small victories, such as the Hoosiers' effort in the first half when they hung tough and trailed only 10-7.
Officials B It sure seems like they haven't been much of a story this year.
Overall gradeC+ Defense and special teams should take some momentum into Big Ten finale with Michigan State. Offense? Well, it has some things to work on.
Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com. He will respond to brief comments and questions in Gameday.
