Penn State vs. Illinois Position Grades

Oct 31, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions place kicker Tyler Davis (95) kicks a field goal against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams: 

Penn State just can’t seem to win this year on special teams. Just when one area looks to be improved, something else creeps up in another area. Against the Illini, it was the kicking game that struggled. However, before talking about the bad, let’s start with the good.

Because Illinois failed to score any points, the Illini only kicked off one time. Koa Farmer took the opening kickoff of the second half 55 yards and energized the team and the entire stadium. Punter Daniel Pasquariello had some good punts and averaged 41 yards. He did a good job of pinning the Illini deep in their own territory.

Now for the bad.

DeAndre Thompkins had a forgettable day returning punts. He returned three punts for a total of three yards and a fumble. He also had a fumble on a pass he caught as a wide receiver.

Also bad against the Illini was the kicking game. Starting kicker Joey Julius had two extra points blocked and also kicked a kickoff out of bounds. Tyler Davis replaced him and also had a kick go out of bounds. Davis did however convert on all of his extra points and nailed two field goals from 42 and 28 yards.

Like I stated, there were improvements in some areas, namely punting, but then other areas struggled. Penn State still doesn’t have it figured out on social teams, and that has to change soon.

Grade: C-

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