Penn State Football: Game Grades for the Victory Over UCF

Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends:

I’d be a Scrooge if I tried to nitpick and take anything away from the job these receivers did against the Knights. DaeSean Hamilton and Geno Lewis were outstanding at the wide receiver position. Tight end Jesse James had a nice game, and the rest of the bunch made some timely catches and did a nice job of keeping the defense honest.

In his first start in a Penn State uniform after redshirting, Hamilton was everything the Nittany Lions hoped he would be. He finished with 11 catches for 165, including over 100 of those yards in the first half alone. Hamilton made some tough snags on jump balls over defenders and consistently got himself open.

Joining him with a great performance was another possible breakout candidate in Lewis. He was the deep threat, catching eight passes for 173 yards and a 79 yard touchdown in which he found himself wide open before beating the defenders to the end zone. Last note on Geno, WHAT A GRAB on the catch where he tipped the ball up to himself and caught it falling to the ground. As if all that wasn’t enough, he caught the final pass of the game to set up the game-winning field goal.

James had a nice game, getting open in the middle of the field and snagging 7 balls for 60 yards.

The only negative I could find with this unit was Chris Godwin‘s fumble on a short pass, but I won’t hold that against them.

Grade – A