Analyzing Penn State’s 20-7 win over Rutgers: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Penn State’s leader in touchdown receptions is a freshman. No, it’s not electrifying Paul Hornung finalist KJ Hamler. It’s not five-star wideout Justin Shorter, either.

No, that title belongs to Pat Freiermuth — the somewhat surprising successor to Mike Gesicki.

Freiermuth, a four-star tight end out of Massachusetts, didn’t generate a crazy amount of buzz in the offseason. Heck, as a recruit he was ranked below classmate Zack Kuntz. But the 6-foot-5, 258-pound pass-catcher developed into Trace McSorley’s primary red-zone target.

Freiermuth, who leads the Nittany Lions with six touchdowns, found the end zone twice at Rutgers. He snared a well-designed, 6-yard play-action toss and later high-pointed an 18-yard throw on a perfectly-run wheel route. Both were difficult catches, but the freshman made it look natural.

“He has great body control,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said after Penn State’s 20-7 win over Rutgers. “He can contort his body in different positions and come down with the ball.”

It’s what he’s done all year after beating out upperclassmen Jon Holland, Danny Dalton and Nick Bowers for the starting gig.

“He’s earned it,” Franklin added. “He’s earned it the hard way.”

Good

• On third-and-5 with 30 seconds left in the first half, McSorley spun his best ball in weeks. With plenty of time to go through his progressions, the fifth-year senior stepped up in the pocket, identified man-to-man coverage on the outside and ripped a 35-yard throw in-stride to Jahan Dotson. The freshman wideout hauled it in, setting up a chip-shot field goal before the break. The connection with Dotson was McSorley’s longest throw since a 39-yard hookup with Hamler against Iowa, and even that ball was slightly underthrown. This was a bullet, one Rutgers corner Avery Young — a probable freshman All-American — could do nothing to stop.

• Penn State recovered a fumble. It’s a miracle. Yes, it actually happened; Nittany Lions defensive end Daniel Joseph fell on the ball coughed up by Rutgers running back Isaih Pacheco late in the third quarter. It was Penn State’s seventh scoop on the season, a poor recovery number given the 23 forced fumbles. In 2017, the Nittany Lions corralled 15 of the 20 forced fumbles. Quite a difference.
  
  

• Micah Parsons drew the headlines, making his first start and racking up a pair of TFLs. But let’s not forget the overshadowed redshirt senior. Koa Farmer turned in a fine performance, tying the team lead with eight tackles. On Rutgers’ first four drives alone, No. 7 recorded four stops and a pass breakup. With Parsons pushing for more time at WILL linebacker, Farmer made his case Saturday.

Bad

• McSorley’s jump-ball interception likely would have been a 45-yard gain two years ago. One-on-one with Rutgers corner Isaiah Wharton, who played well all afternoon, freshman wideout Justin Shorter mistimed his leap, lost an advantageous position and Wharton came down with it. Shorter, a former five-star prospect, has a bright future — but needing to rely on an inexperienced player like that in 50-50 situations is less than ideal. And it’s a major reason why the Nittany Lion passing game hasn’t clicked: They don’t have a go-to, jump-ball receiver. In 2017, it was Mike Gesicki. In 2016, it was Chris Godwin — a 50-50 machine who’s doing the same for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Two years ago, when McSorley first flourished in Joe Moorhead’s big-play offense, Godwin had 18 catches of 20 yards or more, tying the Big Ten lead. A lot of those were jump balls. The Nittany Lions don’t have a presence like that in 2018 — and it’s hurting McSorley and the offense’s effectiveness.

• The Nittany Lions didn’t really miss him because Parsons performed and, you know, it was Rutgers, but Cam Brown was not on the field for the first half. Franklin said after the game Brown’s absence was a result of a “minor” violation of team rules. Expect him to start next week against Maryland.

• McSorley went on a run to close the first half but, boy, did he struggle early on. The captain started 4 of 15 for 43 yards, looking jittery in the pocket and indecisive pushing it downfield. McSorley admitted after the game that he was tensing up, trying to aim it and not throw it. You could tell.

Ugly

• The Nittany Lions entered Saturday as one of the nation’s top red-zone offenses. But they didn’t get the job done against the lowly Scarlet Knights. Penn State settled for field goals of 19 and 22 yards in the first half and came away completely empty on two other red-zone trips. Before Jake Pinegar’s first chip shot in the opening quarter, the Nittany Lions cruised 66 yards in seven plays to Rutgers’ 9-yard line. Their first-and-goal play lost four yards, and it was followed by an incompletion and 9-yard scramble. And at the end of the first half, Ricky Rahne and the offense had two cracks at the end zone from the 2-yard line. A Miles Sanders run went one yard and then Dotson couldn’t hold on to a McSorley dart, forcing another field goal. Against Rutgers, it didn’t kill the Nittany Lions. But they can’t afford those mistakes next week against Maryland, a team that took Ohio State into overtime. “You want to finish those types of drives. That’s critical,” Franklin said. “We’ve got to score touchdowns.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2018 at 4:29 PM.