Penn State Football: Grades vs Kentucky

Penn State football’s Citrus Bowl comeback attempt vs. Kentucky fell short, as the Nittany Lions lost to the Wildcats 27-24.

It’s safe to say that the Citrus Bowl was a disappointing game for Penn State players, coaches, and fans, as a very winnable bowl game slipped away from them. There’s no doubt in my mind that Penn State was the more talented team than Kentucky, but poor execution plagued the Nittany Lions, specifically on special teams.

Kentucky got off to a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter, with all the points scored due to Penn State special team blunders.

It all started with a failed fake punt on Penn State’s opening offensive drive, which resulted in Kentucky taking over possession at the Nittany Lions 33 yard line. The call to fake the punt was a good one in my opinion, and would have worked had Johnathan Thomas caught the snap. The Wildcats kicked a field goal off of that field position.

Later in the first quarter, Kentucky scored a punt return touchdown to go up 10-0, another special teams mistake by the Nittany Lions. Penn State ended up cutting the deficit to 10-7 by halftime after a terrible offensive start.

The third quarter was where Kentucky started to break the game open. The Wildcats scored 17 unanswered points to go up 27-7. However, it was at this point where momentum started to shift. On what was reported as a broken foot, Trace McSorley led Penn State all the way back in the fourth quarter with two quick scoring drives to make it a six point game.

McSorley was leading the Penn State offense down the field again where on a 4th and 6 with just over four minutes to go, James Franklin and the rest of the coaching staff decided to kick a field goal, a decision that would go on to be one of the most controversial coaching decisions of the season. This made the score 27-24 Kentucky.

The Penn State defense was unable to stop Kentucky running back Benny Snell Jr. from running out the clock, and the game ended without McSorley and the offense getting another chance to win the game, unless you count a final play with just one second remaining.

While that’s just a quick reminder of what happened in the game, there’s a ton more to break down by position. Without further ado, here are the Penn State grades from the Citrus Bowl.