Nebraska vs. Penn State: Grading the Nittany Lions' Game

Penn State attempted to get back in to a regular routine on Saturday by escaping the real-life off-field problems that have disturbed the university over the past week. A football game against Nebraska may not have ended with a win (Nebraska won 17-14) but the team was able to put aside those off-field distractions and nearly pull off a win that would have been one of the most memorable in school history.

Penn State started off slowly on offense and the defense once again did their job in keeping the game within reach to have a chance to win. This day was about much more than football, nobody will dispute that, but let's continue our regular weekly routine of grading each position's performance from the game.

Quarterbacks

Matt McGloin played every offensive play for Penn State under center but had a rough time finding a rhythm against an aggressive Nebraska defense. McGloin finished his day going 16-for-34 for 193 yards and zero touchdowns.

McGloin was hit hard and fumbled the football in the third quarter, which lead to the eventual game-winning score for Nebraska, but for the most part McGloin avoided making a costly mistake. Some of his passes were low-risk passes and he was able to throw the football out of bounds when needed, but he did have a tendency to hang on to the football a little too long, and against a defense like Nebraska's he just cannot do that.

There may have been a few communication errors from time to time, including one time when McGloin rolled left and his receivers all were on the other side of the football, but we do not know how much the coaching changes may have affected that as well.

"It was good to go out there today," McGloin said after the game. We wanted to walk out and show that we were a team together. We were happy with the way Nebraska came out with us in the middle of the field to show that they were right there with us throughout this whole thing."

Grade: C+

Running Backs

With Silas Redd getting dinged early on, the running game was placed largely in the hands of senior running backs Stephon Green and Brandon Beachum. Green had 71 yards on 17 carries and scored each of Penn State's touchdowns against Nebraska.

"It just happened," Green said of taking on a leading role on Saturday. "They called my number and I just tried not to disappoint."

The running game failed to pick up a key fourth down conversion late in the game and they had some highs and lows throughout the game against the Huskers.

Redd had 53 yards on 15 caries, snapping a streak of 100-yard rushing performances. After the game he had a small collar bone injury and he will rehab and get back to 100 percent as quickly as possible

Grade: B

Wide Receivers

None of the Penn State receivers had a particularly good performance against Nebraska. Derek Moye led all receivers in the game with 78 receiving yards, which was boosted by a 40-yard pass from McGloin where Moye made a late adjustment to get into position against a pair of Nebraska defenders. The reception set up one of the two rushing touchdowns by Stephfon Green.

Justin Brown had a couple of receptions and Curtis Drake got into the mix with a 31-yard reception. Drake also completed a pass to Matt McGloin for a gain of 16 yards in the fourth quarter.

The receivers did not have their normal coach on the sidelines due to the recent events on campus. Mike McQuery was placed on administrative leave late in the week, so he was not on the sideline as he usually was. Quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno moved from the booth to the sideline in his place.

"It was really different," Moye said about not having McQuery there. "When he was here he didn't get enough credit for what he did. He kept it very organized on the sidelines—sending people in, sending people out, calling plays. At the beginning we were in a little bit of a cluster, didn't really know what was going on and it showed a little bit."

Grade: C

Offensive Line

Penn State's offensive line played fine for the most part. McGloin was only sacked once when he was holding onto the football too long, and the running game had an adequate outing against a solid Nebraska defense.

It was a physical game for the offensive line and while their shortcomings in not helping to pick up a key late fourth and short conversion will be the lasting image as far as the line is concerned, they seemed to play well enough to win this game.

"That's the nature of the beast sometimes," said offensive tackle Chima Okoli. "Football is a game of inches. Six inches when you need seven won't get it done no matter how close you are. That's what happened. This isn't going to break us. This isn't going to ruin us. We aren't going to be down. We are just going to refocus. We are going to keep going despite what may be going on around us."

Grade: B-

Defensive Line

Nebraska's offensive philosophy found the cracks in the Penn State defense just enough to get an edge. It was clear that running down the middle was not going to be the solution for Nebraska, as Devon Still showed time and time again that it is a mistake when you come in his direction—even with a player blocking. He found a way to make a tackle, but Still's numbers show that Nebraska attempted to stay away from him. The defensive tackle ended his day with six tackles, including one for a loss, and a forced fumble.

Jack Crawford and Jordan Hill each had five tackles in the game, and Crawford's sack was the only one of the day for Penn State.

"The first half was very emotional," Hill said after the game. "Everybody could tell how the momentum and the feeling of the game was. We came out in the second half and we really stepped it up, but we weren't able to come out with the win."

Grade: B

Linebackers

Penn State's Nate Stupar led all players with 13 tackles (Nebraska's Will Compton also had 13 tackles) and Gerald Hodges record nine tackles. The two combined for 11 solo tackles, and Hodges added one tackle for a loss.

The linebackers had a long day chasing down Nebraska's option attack as well. It may have been one of the toughest games they have played all season, except for the Alabama game. For the most part, Penn State linebackers were chasing down Cornhuskers instead of backing up the defensive line for a short gain. But that is what happens against an option-team.

We'll see what they do against Ohio State and Wisconsin with so much still riding on the outcomes.

Grade: C+

Secondary

Penn State's secondary did a nice job throughout the game of making sure Nebraska's passing game did not beat them, but Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez found a way to come up with some key conversions for first down when needed. Nebraska picked up 10 first downs through the air but just had 143 passing yards. 

The secondary, like the rest of the defense, made some adjustments at the half and played better in the second half.

"I think the first half was a completely different game from the second half," Chaz Powell said. "We came out there after halftime and actually started to fight. If we played like we did in the second half we would have won the game, but unfortunately that was not the case."

Grade: B

Special Teams

Penn State's special teams did not exactly cost the team a win but they did not do much to swing the odds in their favor. Anthony Fera missed his only field goal attempt of the game, on the opening drive of the game from 47 yards out.

Fera had quite a day on special teams, averaging 42.3 yards per punt on seven punts, including two touchbacks.

Chaz Powell returned all three Nebraska kickoffs he fielded and totaled 61 yards. On one kickoff Powell struggled to maintain control of the ball while fielding the kickoff, before picking up the football and working his way back to about the 20-yard line.

Justin Brown returned two punts for a total of 30 yards.

Grade: D

Coaching

Nobody was envious of the position Penn State's interim head coach Tom Bradley was in Saturday. Just days after being named to the position as head coach following the release of Joe Paterno, Bradley had a number of changes to make for the coaching staff. With Mike McQuery placed on administrative leave by the university, Bradley moved Jay Paterno from the booth to the sidelines, as well as a couple other tweaks to the staff.

Such tweaks included releasing some of the defensive responsibilities to Ron Vanderlinden and Larry Johnson Sr., although Bradley admitted that because of the swiftness of the changes, he held on to some of the larger defensive responsibilities such as calling out plays.

"Today, because of the situation, I helped signal in some things because I've done the signaling for the last 12 years," Bradley said after the game. "I didn't want to drop that on them on a Thursday. I did call some defenses in the fourth quarter today."

It was an emotional day for all involved but the team dug deep and did not give in. That is a testament to the coaching, who allowed the players to take the lead this week. But the coaching will have to sort itself out amid all of the changes if Penn State is going to make a run in the final two weeks of the season.

For this week, we'll cut them a little slack and commend them for a job well done, considering the circumstances.

Grade: B

All quotes either provided by Penn State athletics or recorded by Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Kevin McGuire.  Follow Kevin McGuire's Penn State football coverage on Twitter.