It seemed like nothing could go right for Penn State football on Friday night in its 34-13 loss to Northwestern at new Ryan Field. This dropped the Nittany Lions' record to 3-2 overall and 0-2 to start Big Ten play of the 2026 season.
In Week 4, quarterback Rocco Becht and the rest of Penn State's offense couldn't find a rhythm and had to rely on their defense to come up with the big plays that gave the Nittany Lions the upperhand for a majority of the contest. On Friday, the defense was practically invisible, especially against the run, and Penn State's offense continued its struggles from the week before.
Against Wisconsin, though, Becht didn't look good. He looked better scrambling than he did passing, and he only put up 23 yards on 10 carries. He also had the only touchdown of the game, rushing into the end zone, but he didn't lead the offense in any way.
On Friday, Becht may not have had the best stats, but not everything fell on his shoulders.
Rocco Becht quarterback grade for Week 5 loss to Northwestern: B-
Compared to Week 4, Becht's grade bumped up a whole letter grade simply because the mishaps weren't all his fault. Becht was 28-of-41 for 243 yards, one touchdown, a 63 completion percentage, and a 11.5 passer rating.
A B- might seem like a bit too high of a grade for him, but it's not shocking to see Becht underperform in the Big Ten. Considering he had little help the entire game, all of the things that make him a mid quarterback at best in this conference looked worse, so that's also a factor in this grading.
The Nittany Lions wanted to spark the run game early in this contest, but Northwestern's defense didn't allow it. In the first half, Penn State managed just 26 rushing yards. Also in that first half, Becht was 12-of-19 for 113 passing yards. Offensive coordinator took too many chances trying to get the run game going when he had the most experienced quarterback in the NCAA closer to getting into a rhythm in comparison.
Becht also had to do some work with a ton of pressure coming in on him. The Wildcats had one sack and three quarterback hurries in the first half, and consistently had that pocket closing in on Becht. Without a guy like receiver Koby Howard out there, Becht did what he could to find and create plays.
Now, that's not to say Becht wasn't ever at fault. The Wildcats' secondary was injured and that's where the pass game should've exploited. It could've been a play calling issue, but when Becht needed new looks, he wasn't focused on the right players or area of the field. When he was, his pass catchers either came up short or he wasn't fully aware of where Northwestern's defenders were and threw interceptions when Penn State needed Becht playing at his best. In addition to his stat line above, he threw two picks, one of which ended the game for the Wildcats.
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