Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions vs. Michigan State

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EAST LANSING, MI – OCTOBER 26: Wide receiver Jahan Dotson #5 of the Penn State Nittany Lions returns a punt against the Michigan State Spartans 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) /

. . . SPECIAL TEAMS . B

It was a roller coaster ride for the special teams, just like it is every week. The game started out with a K.J Hamler fumble on the kickoff return, which was recovered by Penn State. There was also a holding penalty on Penn State on that same kickoff return.

The special teams sloppiness continued in the game, as Jordan Stout had a kickoff go out-of-bounds, and Jake Pinegar missed on the extra point. Penn State also had a penalty on punt return that took back a touchdown by K.J Hamler (the second straight week that’s happened as a kickoff return touchdown was taken back last week).

However, there were some positives from the special teams. Shaka Toney blocked a Michigan State field goal when Penn State was leading 13-0. That was a huge momentum swing back towards the Nittany Lions after the Spartans had put together a 15-play, 59-yard drive lasting 7:46

Furthermore, Blake Gillikin’s punts were extremely good as usual. The Nittany Lions also recovered a muffed punt by Michigan State, which set up Penn State’s fourth touchdown. K.J Hamler also deserves a lot of credit for fielding every punt clearly despite the bad weather.

If there’s one thing to take away from the special teams, it’s once again the penalties on punt returns and kick returns. As we saw against Michigan, a penalty like that can change the entire game. This is easily the biggest special teams problem right now for the Nittany Lions.

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