Penn State vs. Indiana Position Grades

Oct 10, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) looks to throw a pass during the third quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Indiana 29-7. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterbacks:

Christian Hackenberg had a great game against the Hoosiers Saturday.  Offensive coordinator John Donovan opened things up and let Hackenberg loose.  Even when things weren’t working early, they stuck with the intermediate to long passing game and it finally paid dividends.

Hackenberg finished the day completing 21 of 39 passes for 269 yards and tossing two scores.  The most surprising part of Hackenberg’s game was his running ability.  He took the ball in for two scores, including a Superman type leap into the endzone in the 4th quarter.  His longest run went for 22 yards and set up the Nittany Lion offense with a 1st and goal on their third scoring drive.

Another positive was no turnovers for the junior signal-caller, although his fumble that was recovered by Indiana was overturned by a Hoosier personal foul penalty.  My biggest gripe was the consistency with his receivers especially early in the game.  Hackenberg was either missing wide open guys or his receivers were dropping them. Work on getting consistent and this offense could be potent.

Trace McSorley got into the game late and mostly handed the ball off to the running backs.  He did, however, take a read option for a first down and threw a screen pass for a first down to end the game.

Grade: A-

Next: Running Backs