2023 Penn State football game grades: UMass

Rainy, cold conditions saw Beaver Stadium host its fewest number of fans this season, but while the suboptimal conditions kept some spectators from showing up, No. 6 Penn State showed up and showed out.

The Nittany Lions cruised past UMass 63-0 in its annual Homecoming Game to improve to 6-0 on the year and become bowl-eligible for the ninth time during James Franklin’s tenure.

Here’s how each unit fared coming off the bye week.

Offense: A

Despite scoring seven touchdowns on Saturday afternoon, it was another slow start for the Drew Allar-led blue and white offense, which failed to score until the second quarter.

The Nittany Lions were moving the ball on their opening drive when a Harrison Wallace III fumble killed the momentum. That would be the only offensive turnover of the game, and after their second drive of the contest resulted in a Riley Thompson punt, Penn State entered cruise control.

Allar settled into a rhythm to finish 16-of-24 for 162 passing yards and four total touchdowns, while Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 24 carries, 147 yards and one touchdown. The two sophomore running backs averaged 6.13 yards per carry after entering the game averaging just 4.13.

Although Franklin noted that his team won the explosive play battle, the Nittany Lions have yet to have 20+-yard rushes from either Allen or Singleton this season. Redshirt senior Tank Smith’s 39-yard run in the fourth quarter is now the longest rushing play this season for Penn State.

Regardless of the lack of huge plays, the Nittany Lions established a balance of run and pass, which Franklin discussed earlier in the week.

“We want to have the ability to run or pass in any game or in any given situation,” Franklin said during his Tuesday press conference.

The Nittany Lions did just that, splitting their seven offensive touchdowns as evenly as possible with three through the air and four on the ground as they found a way to put up 63 points for the second time this season.

Defense: A+

It’s fairly simple: Defenses are meant to keep the opponent scoring to a minimum.

Manny Diaz’s unit did just that against UMass, holding the Minutemen to the minimum number of points possible, zero.

Saturday marked the second consecutive home game for the Nittany Lions, in which they held their opponent to a goose egg. The Nittany Lions have allowed just 23 points in four games at home this season and have allowed just 49 total points through six games.

The Nittany Lions rank second in the country, allowing 8.00 points per game, which puts them one spot behind Michigan and one ahead of Ohio State, their next opponent.

The blue and white held the visitors to 109 yards in the game, as the Minutemen didn’t make it to the red zone. A large part of that was the three multi-sack recorders for the Nittany Lions. Adisa Isaac led the way with 2.5, while Cam Miller and Chop Robinson each got to the quarterback twice on their own.

Keaton Ellis had the lone takeaway for this unit, who lost the turnover battle to the Minutemen. The senior from State College returned the interception for a touchdown, but the touchdown was taken off the board due to a penalty.

Special Teams: A++

Bonus points!

Not only does the “A++” indicate bonus points on this report card, but also indicates one plus for each of the touchdowns, which gave the Nittany Lions bonus points that Stacy Collins’ unit provided on Saturday.

Daequan Hardy opened the scoring with a 56-yard punt return for a touchdown toward the later part of the first quarter. But Hardy was hardly done, as the redshirt senior, who had never returned a punt at the collegiate level, returned another 68 yards to the house in the third quarter.

The Pittsburgh native tied Penn State’s single-season punt return touchdown record, two, on just three tries on Saturday afternoon.

Kaden Saunders, who Hardy replaced on punt return duties after the first one was returned for six yards, also found some space later in the game with a 37-yard return of his own. While it did not go for six, it gave the Nittany Lions a short field that resulted in a Theo Johnson touchdown reception.

The good didn’t stop there either, as Alex Felkins and Sander Sahaydak combined to go nine-for-nine on PATs through the slick conditions. Those two moved to a perfect 35-for-35 on point after attempts through six games.

While Cam Miller was charged with a lost fumble on special teams and a Gabe Nwosu kickoff, one of his nine ended up out of bounds.

However, the good outweighed the bad by plenty.

Coaching: A+

Penn State held a 3-7 record coming off of bye weeks in the Franklin era heading into Saturday’s matinee with UMass and left the field with a 4-7 following the week off.

The Nittany Lions coaching staff had the players ready to go in all facets of the game and the game within the game, such as the middle-eight, in which Penn State outscored UMass 14-0, and the penalty battle, which the blue and white committed three fewer than the Minutemen.

Not only did the coaching staff navigate through an injury to starting left guard J.B. Nelson and a key rotational piece at tight end, Khalil Dinkins, but it also found ways to get many of its younger players and reserved pieces valuable playing time.

All attention now turns to No. 3 Ohio State in a game that has potential Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff Implications at stake.

Justin Ciavolella is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.