2023 Penn State football game grades: Northwestern

No. 6 Penn State heads into its bye-week undefeated after a 41-13 victory over Northwestern on the road. As we hit the halfway point in the 2023 college football season, here’s how the Nittany Lions did in week five.

Offense: B

Another slow start to the day sets up a big second-half performance for Drew Allar and the offense.

In their first four drives of the game, the Nittany Lions offense punted three times and settled for a 20-yard Alex Felkins field goal. After Kaytron Allen went to the sidelines, where he remained for the rest of the game, Trey Potts came in with an electric 13-yard touchdown run.

That touchdown kicked off a 27-0 scoring run for the blue-and-white that saw Allar and KeAndre Lambert-Smith connect on multiple attempts while Nicholas Singleton ran all over the field. Singleton ended the game with two total touchdowns, 81 yards rushing and 39 yards receiving.

The offensive line had its moments with JB Nelson out and Caeden Wallace off and on the field. The line allowed one sack on 73 plays, but the run game had another season-low 3.4 yards per carry.

Beau Pribula came in for the final drive and connected immediately with Potts for a 30-yard score.

Despite the slow and sluggish start to the game, Penn State scored its second-most points this season and the most it has had against a Big Ten opponent.

Defense: A

The Nittany Lions’ defense continues to dominate from the line of scrimmage to anything thrown in the air.

The defense was put in the worst positions multiple times throughout the game. Penn State’s defense defended its end zone after an opening kick fumble and held Northwestern to three points.

Tied at three to start the second quarter, the Wildcats went on a 59-yard drive to take a touchdown lead and beat down Penn State’s defense.

However, the Nittany Lions did not waiver and went on to stop the Northwestern offense five straight times. Out of those five times, Penn State forced three punts and two turnovers on downs.

Daequan Hardy picked off Brendan Sullivan in the fourth to cap off the Nittany Lion’s standout performance as they allowed 13 points, 45 rushing yards and 130 yards through the air.

Penn State’s defensive line had an incredible 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks from eight players. Zane Durant played a huge role as he recorded a sack and three tackles for loss.

Special Teams: C

Special teams continue to be the Nittany Lions’ worst aspect of the three phases on the field.

To start the game, Singleton fumbled the opening kickoff and immediately put Penn State at a three-point deficit. After that fumble, Kaden Saunders returned one punt for two yards and let everything else go.

Alex Felkins went two for two from 20 and 47 yards while going five for five in extra-point attempts. Riley Thompson attempted four punts and pinned the Wildcats in the 20-yard line twice.

Coaches: B+

For the first time this year, the Penn State coaching staff does not get an A after traveling to Northwestern and looking as flat as ever.

The players looked asleep at the 11 a.m. kickoff in Illinois and struggled with the quiet environment. The coaching staff adjusted at half to go on and win 41-13, but with undefeated teams on the road like Ohio State and Maryland coming up, this staff will need to fix some of these mistakes.

Micheal Bolger is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mpb6233@psu.edu.