Penn State Football: Grades vs Kentucky

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ORLANDO, FL – JANUARY 01: Lynn Bowden Jr. #1 of the Kentucky Wildcats returns a punt 56 yards for a touchdown against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first quarter of the VRBO Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Defensive Line

Penn State’s defensive line was one of the best units on the team this season, but it wasn’t their best game. In the grand scheme of things, Penn State only allowed 4.2 yards per carry on the ground, as Kentucky ran for 176 yards on 42 carries.

However, Kentucky’s Benny Snell was able to run for 144 yards on 26 carries, good for 5.5 yards per attempt. Penn State’s inability to stop Snell was what ended up clinching the game for the Wildcats. Snell ran for 25 yards on Kentucky’s final drive to run out the clock.

In terms of getting pressure on Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson, Penn State was decent, as they had four sacks in the game, three of them by defensive linemen. Defensive tackle Kevin Givens had two sacks, while defensive end Shareef Miller and defensive tackle C.J Thorpe each had half a sack. Miller also had eight tackles. Givens and Miller each declared for the NFL Draft this week following the game.

Despite the loss of Miller and Givens to the NFL, I expect Penn State’s defensive line to remain strong next year, with defensive ends Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Toney returning, and former four star recruit Jayson Oweh likely seeing a lot of time in Miller’s spot.

Grade: B-

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