Game Grades: Penn State vs Maryland
Penn State turned in an impressive 38-3 victory over Maryland on Saturday in the Nittany Lions final home game of 2018. Let’s take a look at each unit and hand out game grades for their performance on Saturday.
Offense: A
After a very subpar performance at Rutgers last week, Penn State’s offense turned in one of its best performances of the season. In his final home start, Trace McSorley turned in a very efficient day, going 12 for 22 for 230 yards and one touchdown pass. He also added two rushing touchdowns.
The Penn State ground game was also very effective. Miles Sanders led the way, rushing for 128 yards on 14 carries. Freshman Ricky Slade had 11 carries for 64 yards, and McSorley also ran 11 times for 64 yards. Altogether, Penn State gained 310 yards on the ground on 44 carries.
KJ Hamler shined once again in the passing game, catching three passes for 90 yards. Freshman tight end Pat Freiermuth continued his impressive first-year campaign, adding another touchdown catch, his sixth of the season.
In a year where Penn State’s offense has been criticized for being too conservative and lacking explosiveness, it was nice to see Penn State push the pedal today. 38 points are its most since the week four win over Illinois. We’ll see if that momentum carries over into the bowl game.
Defense: A+
As impressive as the offense was on Saturday, the defense was just as good, turning in one of its best performances of the season. Three points given up was a season-low for the Penn State defense with six points to Pitt in week two being the next best performance.
This is a Maryland team that put up 51 points against Ohio State one week ago and arguably should have won. The Terrapins also beat a very good Texas team week one. Penn State held Maryland to 259 total yards and only 13 first downs on the afternoon.
Maryland quarterback Tyrell Pigrome was coming off a huge game last weekend, but the Penn State defense held him in check on Saturday. Pigrome threw for only 185 yards and no touchdowns, while also holding Maryland to 74 total yards on the ground on 36 carries, a mere 2.1 yards a carry.
The growth of Penn State’s defense is 2018 has been one of the more fun storylines to watch. This is a young unit with a lot of talent and should take a huge step forward in 2019. Brent Pry deserves a lot of credit for developing this unit this season. They have come a long way from giving up 38 points to Appalachian State week one.
Special Teams: A
Another impressive development this season has been the growth of true freshman kicker Jake Pinegar throughout the season. James Franklin deserves a lot of credit for sticking with Pinegar when he struggled early in the season. It appears that Pinegar has a bright future in Happy Valley.
Blake Gillikin turned in yet another impressive regular season and will likely be back for one more rodeo next season. He has been so key in flipping field position all season long and the same was the case on Saturday.
Coaching: A+
This might have been Penn State’s coaching staff's most impressive game of the season. It was a very emotional day with it being senior day, but Penn State handled it very well and turned in a very impressive performance.
Ricky Rahne called one of his best games of the season and hopefully, that is a step in the right direction for the young play caller. Rahne has faced a lot of criticism this year and it was nice to see him and the whole coaching staff have a good end to the regular season. Hopefully, the momentum carries into the bowl game and into 2019.
Jake Starr is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jas7954@psu.edu.
