Penn State Football: Position Grades For The Army West Point Game

Oct 3, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Army Black Knights running back Drue Harris (34) runs with the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Line:

The coaches did a lot of substituting of lineman Saturday to keep them fresh against the Black Knight’s triple option attack.  The decision nearly cost them dearly because on the two Army scoring drives, the backups were playing along the line.

The linemen weren’t nearly as dominating as they had been the last few weeks, but they still did a serviceable job against an offensive attack they will not see again this season.  Anthony Zettel had four tackles, including a tackle-for-loss and a forced fumble.  Austin Johnson, Curtis Cothran, and Torrence Brown each had four tackles.  Carl Nassib had only two tackles, but one was his eighth sack of the season which is the second most in the nation.

For most of the game Army’s offensive line was getting a good push against the Penn State front 4, opening up lanes for Army’s running backs.  I don’t think we should worry too much about this performance because of the triple option being a tough offense to defend.

Grade: B-

Next: Linebackers