Following is Neil Rudel's report card from Penn State's 16-10 victory over Indiana on Saturday at Memorial Stadium:
POSITION GRADE COMMENT
Quarterback C+ Combined 16-of-36 for 271. McGloin (10-22, 204) deserves to start. Bolden locks on receivers, underthrows deep routes and can't execute screens.
Running backs C Redd's fumble was costly. He did get 129 yards, but it took 27 carries. Dukes averaged 9.0 per. Day saw some snaps. Zordich dropped a pass and Qbs just couldn't find Suhey.
Offensive line D Blown up on short-yardage plays three times, and Bolden, already jittery, was pressured early. Farrell stepped in for Chima, who false-started.
Wide receiver B Moye (6-158) missed one tough early but gained great separation on TD. Kersey (2-32) emerging as another deep threat.
Tight end D Szczerba's holding penalty wiped out early TD that may have given Bolden and Lions needed confidence. Staff turned to Haplea.
Offensive coaching CReally can't quibble with most of the calls. Liked how quickly QB sneak was called on fourth-and-1 (Bolden made it) when such instances in past would bring indecision. Why Smith at TB late?
Defensive line A Still and Hill combined for five TFLs, and Stanley has now forced three fumbles in three games to rank among Big Ten leaders. Crawford again blanked.
Linebacker A Hodges may have played his best game with 11 stops. Carson added seven but missed one well behind line early. Stupar made four and broke up a pass.
Secondary B Held up well without Lynn. Sukay was behind tight end in end zone on the late TD. When Morris was injured, true frosh Amos came in and broke up two passes.
Defensive coaching B+ Injuries piling up, but staff adjusting and mixing in depth. Now, if it can only get some help from the offense.
Special teams B Powell has got to be more aware on the IU punt that hit him. Thomas nailed with personal foul penalty. Fera made up with solid day and true frosh Ficken, an Indiana native, got last kickoff.
The other guy B With losses to Virginia, Ball State and North Texas, Indiana put up a gallant fight and played better than expected. PSU, of course, fully cooperated.
Officials C Seemed to get most of the calls right, but often after lengthy discussion. And have you ever seen offsetting pass interference calls on the same play? Make a decision, fellas!
Atmosphere D Half-empty stadium at a place with little football tradition. Kevin Wilson has a lot of work ahead of him. Nice to see Rene Portland, now living in Bloomington.
Overall grade DGiven the state of Indiana football, the Nittany Lions should have had a much, much easier time and thus take very little momentum into Iowa.
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Neil Rudel can be reached at 946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com. He will respond to brief
comments in Gameday.
