Penn State vs. Ohio State Position Grades

Oct 17, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions punter Daniel Pasquariello (92) punts the ball in the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won the game 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams:

The special teams, in particular the punting, was a big part of the loss Saturday night.  Something really needs to be done to fix it and James Franklin in his post-game press conference suggested maybe open tryouts as a solution.  Anybody on campus want to start practicing their punting?

Chris Gulla had four punts for an average of 36.2 yards before being replaced by Daniel Pasquariello who was not any better with three punts averaging 35.3 yards.  The average starting field position for Ohio State was their own 40, whereas Penn State’s was their own 14.

That is not going to get it done on the road against the top-ranked team in the nation.

The bright spot was Joey Julius.  He nailed his 33-yard field goal attempt to give Penn State the early lead and he hit his lone extra point attempt, which is something to say after last week.

The kickoff and punt coverage was decent.  Brandon Polk had a nice 30-yard kickoff return.

Grade: D

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