Penn State vs Indiana Game Grades

Nov 8, 2014; Bloomington, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Bill Belton (1) celebrates his touchdown with teammates wide receiver Saeed Blacknall (13) and tight end Jesse James (18) in the second quarter of the game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State fans can breathe a little easier now, sort of. After dropping four-straight games, the Nittany Lions celebrated a victory on Saturday for the first time in over a month when the defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 13-7.

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On the surface, the game was very ugly, as both teams looked bad at times. There was little offense, which resulted in the low-scoring affair. The Penn State offense continued to struggle, due in large part to an offensive line that has trouble blocking any defense it goes up against. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, they were bailed out by a stellar performance on the defensive side of the ball.

In this week’s installment of a VBR weekly series, we have assigned grades to each Penn State position group. Feel free to chime in with any and all of your agreements and disagreements!

Nov 8, 2014; Bloomington, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) is tackled by a Indiana Hoosier in the second half of the game at Memorial Stadium. Penn State beat Indiana, 13-7. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterbacks 

Another game, another less than stellar day from Christian Hackenberg and the Penn State offense. Yet again, the young QB endured relentless pressure and made mistakes when he wasn’t under duress. While the line is still playing poorly and Hackenberg has to deal with that, there’s more than a few instances where one would want Hack to throw the ball away. However, a talented quarterback like the sophomore trusts his arm and ability more than he should at times and holds on to the ball in hopes of a play developing. 12 completions on 29 attempts and 2 interceptions isn’t going to get the job done against better opponents, and we’ve seen that over PSU’s previous four-game losing streak.

Grade: D