Penn State Football: Grading the Nittany Lions vs. Iowa

The wide receivers and tight ends have had a phenomenal season so far as a unit, but Saturday was probably their worst game so far. That doesn’t mean they had a bad game, but there were more drops than there should have been, and only four different players caught passes in the game.

K.J Hamler had an up-and-down game, as he had a phenomenal 22-yard touchdown reception that required him to go airborne to get into the end zone. However, he also had a couple of costly drops, as well. Hamler ended the game with seven receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown and was Penn State’s leading receiver in the game.

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Tight end Pat Freiermuth had two receptions for 25 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown catch that was overturned after a long replay review. Head referee John O’Neill ruled Freiermuth’s knee down at the 1-yard line, a call that was clearly wrong after the replay review. Penn State only ended up with a field goal on the drive.

In addition, Jahan Dotson had two receptions for 19 yards, and Justin Shorter had a catch for 12 yards in his first game back from a concussion that sidelined him in the game vs. Purdue.

There’s no doubt that it was an up-and-down game for the receivers, as they were clearly rattled at times just as Clifford was. This is a very young team, though, and that’s going to happen. That being said, when it mattered, there still were some big plays made by the pass catchers.