Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions vs. Michigan State
By Dylan Burd
![EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 26: Safety David Dowell #6 of the Michigan State Spartans is pursued by wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer #12 of the Penn State Nittany Lions after making an interception during the second half at Spartan Stadium on October 26, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. Penn State defeated Michigan State 28-7. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 26: Safety David Dowell #6 of the Michigan State Spartans is pursued by wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer #12 of the Penn State Nittany Lions after making an interception during the second half at Spartan Stadium on October 26, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. Penn State defeated Michigan State 28-7. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/0b3516b33d8d5e36ec0331996d1d575eaef56a85255091e2ae20969e968f3943.jpg)
. . . WIDEOUTS AND TIGHT ENDS . A-
The Penn State wide receivers and tight ends have been phenomenal this season, and they only added to that with their performance on Saturday.
Pat Freiermuth led Penn State in receiving with 60 yards on five receptions. Freiermuth also had three touchdowns in the game.
TD No. ✌️ for Pat Freiermuth today.@PennStateFball opens up a two-score lead: pic.twitter.com/iBPr02vosv
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 26, 2019
Freiermuth’s three touchdowns brought him to 15 in his career, which tied Mike Gesicki for most ever by a Penn State tight end. Freiermuth is certainly making an early case for a high-caliber tight end in the 2021 NFL Draft.
K.J Hamler had five receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown as well. He now has eight touchdowns on the season, which is tied for the Big Ten lead with Ohio State’s Chris Olave.
The second tight end, Nick Bowers had two receptions for 44 yards. Jahan Dotson had two receptions for 14 yards, while Justin Shorter and Daniel George had a reception each, for nine yards and seven yards, respectively.
Despite six different wide receivers or tight ends catching passes, and the group having four touchdowns, they did have a few drops in the game.
K.J Hamler and Jahan Dotson each dropped a pass, and Dan Chisena dropped a wide-open 61-yard touchdown. However, in their defense, the weather conditions were horrible with the rain, so it definitely made it more difficult for the receivers.
There’s no doubt that this team wouldn’t be where they are right now without this positional group. In the end, all those big plays on Saturday ended up outweighing the drops by a lot.