Penn State Football: Position Grades versus Indiana Hoosiers

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: DaeSean Hamilton #5 of the Penn State Nittany Lions crosses the goal line on a touchdown pass thrown by Saquon Barkley #26 (not pictured) during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers on September 30, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Indiana 45-14. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – SEPTEMBER 30: Jason Cabinda #40 of the Penn State Nittany Lions pushes past Brandon Knight #62 to sack Richard Lagow #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half on September 30, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

Linebackers

This was the linebackers best game of the season. Jason Cabinda recorded a game-high 14 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss. He looked like a man possessed. While Manny Bowen and Brandon Smith finished right behind him with eight and seven tackles respectively.

A lot of people were waiting to see this unit bust out for a big game. Finally, they got what they wanted. With just a run-of-the-mill effort from the D-Line, the Penn State football linebackers stepped up and shutdown the running game allowing 3.8 yards per carry on 47 carries.

Koa Farmer, Cam Brown and Jake Cooper added a combined 11 total tackles rounding out a highly productive afternoon. The biggest thing these two did was clean up. Ten of those 11 tackles were assisted. During the game, you’d see both Farmer, Brown and Cooper fly into the picture to make great stops. It’s a great illustration of a strong, deep linebacking corp.

Grade A+

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