Penn State Football: 2017 position grades vs Ohio State

The first loss of the year obviously has some lower grades for the Nittany Lions. However, Penn State football came out with some bright spots as well.

Gut-wrenching, heart-breaking and all the other brutal adjectives headline Penn State football’s 39-38 loss to Ohio State. A fast start and an 18-point lead evaporated late under a red-hot Ohio State offense.

Saquon Barkley’s kickoff return set the tone that this game would be title fight. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, the tone-setter at the beginning didn’t reflect a great game on either side of the ball. A porous offensive line allowed defenders to live in the backfield and stuff Saquon Barkley. Trace McSorley more than lived up to his billing as a top-tier quarterback, but the offense performed stop and start.

The team might’ve scored 38, but it doesn’t go to the offense for the most part. The special teams helped score twice off Barkley’s and Koa Farmer’s returns. A defensive fumble recovery also aided the struggling offense.

On defense, the game started like usual. Penn State dominated up front and kept receivers in check. After the first quarter, it went completely south. The run game surged for 201 rushing yards on the afternoon, and J.T. Barrett picked apart the Nittany Lions’ most sound unit, its secondary. He completed 33-of-39 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns. He looked far too comfortable.