Penn State vs Rutgers Game Grades

Sep 13, 2014; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights linebacker Darnell Davis Jr. (59) blocks Penn State Nittany Lions field goal attempt during the first half at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O’Connor- USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams

It was a disappointing performance from the special teams on Saturday night. After the first two games of 2014 there were signs pointing towards an improvement from last year in this department. However, that wasn’t really the case against Rutgers.

Sam Ficken was solid, making two of his three field goal attempts. On Ficken’s only “miss” the Scarlet Knights’ Kemoko Turay skied up to block the attempt.

The Nittany Lions also allowed a blocked punt. Penn State punter Chris Gulla performance was nowhere near as impressive as it was in the Akron game. Gulla seemed shaken after the blocked punt and seemed eager to get the kick away as quickly as possible sacrificing distance. Gulla averaged just 33 yards per punt. Another “special teams” miscue was the horrendous 5-yard punt by Christian Hackenberg (more on that in the next slide).

The return game was also nonexistent.

Grade: C-