Victory Bell Rings
Fansided

Penn State vs. Purdue Position Grades

By Shane Lunnen

Oct 29, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) escapes a tackle in the first half at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) escapes a tackle in the first half at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 9
Next
Oct 29, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers wide receiver Gregory Phillips (10) runs into the tackler Penn State Nittany Lions safety Malik Golden (6) in the 2nd half at Ross Ade Stadium. Penn Sate won the game 62-24. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers wide receiver Gregory Phillips (10) runs into the tackler Penn State Nittany Lions safety Malik Golden (6) in the 2nd half at Ross Ade Stadium. Penn Sate won the game 62-24. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports /

Secondary

Like the linebackers, the secondary had problems in the first half with wrap tackling.  The second half was a different story, and they were decent in the last 30 minutes outside giving up a 62 yard catch and run for a touchdown.

Malik Golden led this unit with eight tackles, including one for a loss.  Marcus Allen had six tackles on the day, and Grant Haley tallied three.  With the game well in hand, Christian Campbell had an interception which he returned for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the score was called back for an illegal chop block penalty.

Purdue quarterback David Blough threw for 281 yards and there were plenty of missed tackles from this unit.  However, the Lions were able to overcome their mistakes.  Plenty to correct here.

Grade: B-

Oct 29, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions place kicker Tyler Davis (95) prepares to hit a PAT as Chris Gulla (37) holds in the first half at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions place kicker Tyler Davis (95) prepares to hit a PAT as Chris Gulla (37) holds in the first half at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports /

Special Teams

The special teams did pretty well against Purdue, and they did not have the mistakes that could have cost them against Ohio State.

The punt team caused a fumble, giving the Lions great field position that they turned into a touchdown two plays later.  Punter Blake Gillikin had three punts for an average of 41.3 yards.

Joey Julius was plenty busy.  He booted 11 kickoffs in total with five touchbacks.  He did have one go out of bounds, but the coverage unit held the Purdue return game in check.

Tyler Davis rebounded from his first career miss last week to nail both of his field goal attempts, plus he was perfect on all eight of his extra point attempts.

Grade: B+

Home/Penn State Nittany Lions