Penn State
Game Report
Game balls
Offense
WR Devin Funchess, Michigan
Michigan’s play-making wide receiver scored its only touchdown of the first half on a play for the highlight reel, stealing a bobbled interception by safety Ryan Keiser and taking it to the house for a 43-yard score. Funchess had 6 catches for 65 yards after three quarters.
Defense
DT Anthony Zettel, Penn State
Zettel was able to provide some pressure up the middle, but the best play he made was one that he made while playing end. He read a screen pass, dropped back and was able to pick off an ill-advised Devin Gardner throw to set up the first Penn State touchdown of the game in the second quarter.
Special teams
PK Sam Ficken, Penn State
With both offenses moving the ball early, the special teams didn’t have much of a chance to shine. But Ficken drilled both of his first-half field goal attempts, from 35 and 32 yards, and was able to cap some stalled Penn State drives with early points.
Player of the game
MLB Mike Hull, Penn State
It would be difficult to play a better defensive game against a diverse offense than Hull played. He led the Nittany Lions with seven tackles at the half, practically stuffing the run personally. He took the designed run for Gardner away, and was equally effective underneath covering the pass.
Report card
Quarterbacks: Christian Hackenberg had his first touchdown pass since the Akron game, and he was efficient early on. But he didn’t clean up some of the mechanical issues that had been plaguing him, took some unnecessary sacks by holding onto the ball too long and threw an irresponsible INT that led to Michigan points. GRADE: C-
Running backs: The Nittany Lions spread out the offense, which created more running lanes for Bill Belton and Zach Zwinak inside. Belton got some big gains out of it, but this offense could really use more of Akeel Lynch, who just didn’t get enough run. GRADE: B
Receivers: Eugene Lewis sat out the opening drive for unspecified reasons, and he really didn’t get involved in the first half. DaeSean Hamilton did, though, and he caught the first touchdown pass by a wideout since the Croke Park Classic. He was pretty much the entire passing offense, though. Lewis has to catch some of the easy ones, too. GRADE: C
Offensive line: That was a much better effort than what they provided against Northwestern, and the results proved it. The Lions rushed for 65 yards after three quarters and really did protect Hackenberg well enough against a hard-charging defensive line, despite the four sacks he took in the first half. GRADE: B
Defensive line: Deion Barnes had a sack, and Anthony Zettel’s interception set up the first Penn State touchdown. But what they did really well was keep Gardner in the pocket whenever there was no designed run. The Michigan running game was nonexistent without injured Derrick Green. GRADE: A-
Linebackers: This is where the defense really stood out. Mike Hull continued to play at an all-Big Ten level, spying Gardner and helping stuff the run game. Nyeem Wartman, playing hurt, might have played his best half of football this season in the first half. GRADE: A
Secondary: The Michigan touchdown came courtesy of a really poor play by safety Ryan Keiser on a ball that should have been intercepted, and both Jordan Lucas and Trevor Williams were beaten for big third down pickups. Still, outside of the first play, the Michigan passing game didn’t break anything big. GRADE: B-
Special teams: Sam Ficken drilled two early field goals, and there were no major malfunctions until the fake punt went awry in the third quarter. Punter Chris Gulla also had a third-quarter shank that set up a Michigan field goal to tie the game. GRADE: C+
Coaching: The run game was better, which is really what had Penn State tied going into the fourth quarter. But the play-calling — especially on the fake punt, which flipped field position in Michigan’s favor. Without weapons at WR, they did what they could on offense. Which wasn’t much. GRADE: D+
— Compiled by Donnie Collins