Penn State vs. Michigan State Position Grades
By Shane Lunnen
Nov 28, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans tight end Josiah Price (82) makes a catch against Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Grant Haley (15) during the second half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Secondary:
The secondary was absolutely thrashed by Connor Cook and the Spartan offense, giving up three touchdown passes. The trend of missing tackles continued this week and it’s something that has to be worked on during the bowl practices.
Malik Golden, filling in for the injured Jordan Lucas, led the team with nine tackles, followed by Marcus Allen with six tackles. I noticed Allen getting particularly burned and missing tackles on several occasions. John Reid, Grant Haley and Troy Apke all finished with five tackles each, with Haley having a nice pass breakup early in the game to force a Spartan punt.
This secondary looked completely lost and left receivers wide open all day. It also didn’t help the front seven could get no pressure on Cook. Just not a good day from this unit that is desperately missing Lucas.
Grade: D+
Next: Special Teams