Penn State Football: Grading the Nittany Lions Game vs Wisconsin

Penn State was flattened by Wisconsin in the regular season finale by a final score of 45-7. Needless to say, perhaps, but grading this performance was more of a chore than usual with almost nothing positive to take out of the game.

It was a collective disaster for Penn State, with offense, defense and special teams all coming up small. So, without further delay, let's give this a shot.

Quarterbacks

Matt McGloin was 9-of-17 with one interception and one touchdown pass, but after Penn State's opening drive, McGloin, and everyone else, faded away quickly.

Penn State once again tried to use the wildcat offense, but it failed to have the same success it did a week ago against Ohio State.

Rob Bolden eventually relieved McGloin of any more suffering with the game well out of hand in the fourth quarter, and it was clear that Bolden was either rusty after standing on the sidelines in recent weeks or has not grown in his passing skills with overthrown footballs in his limited duties.

Grade: D

Running Backs

Ohio State showed that Wisconsin can be vulnerable against the run, but Penn State failed to find those same holes in the Badgers defense. Silas Redd had just 66 yards, and Penn State's team running game produced just 114 yards.

Curtis Dukes got in to the mix later in the game and finished with 25 yards and after a smashing performance against Ohio State, Stephfon Green had just three carries for four yards. Green broke loose for an 89-yard run in the second half, but it was called back due to an illegal block.

Grade: D

Wide Receivers

Penn State's receivers failed to have a big day as well, catching just 11 passes for 119 yards. Wisconsin's Jar Abbrederis nearly matched the entire Penn State receiving production with seven receptions for 93 yards.

Curtis Drake caught the early touchdown pass after getting wide open down field, but Penn State receivers failed to find open space for the majority of the game, and there were some killer drops once again.

Grade: D

Offensive Line

When the passing and running games struggle the way they did, the offensive line has to take some of the heat for it. While the offensive line did not allow a sack and the running game did average a respectable 4.2 yards per carry, the offensive line has to take some of the heat for this performance.

We won't give them a failing grade, but the offense stunk all around, and there is no reason to give the offensive line any higher grade than the rest of the offense.

Grade: D

Defensive Line

As poorly as the offensive line (and the offense played) for Penn State, the defense was no better. In fact, they may have been worse. Let's start with the defensive line, which has played very well for most of the season.

With a less-than-100 percent Devon Still, though, the defensive line was playing catch-up all game long. After a solid first quarter, the wheels came off the defensive wagon as the Wisconsin offense chewed up large chunks of game clock, forcing Penn State's defense to be worn down in the process. It all starts up front, where the defensive line recorded two sacks on Russell Wilson, but failed to slow down Wilson or Montee Ball at the line.

Grade: F

Linebackers

When the defensive line fails to slow down the Wisconsin running game, fueled by Montee Ball, the linebackers are tasked with trying to make up for it. On this day, they also struggled to lay a hand on. Were they out of position or is Wisconsin's ground attack just too strong. Let's give credit to Wisconsin on this one for sure, but it was not a good showing by Penn State's linebackers.

Glenn Carson showed he was too small to keep up on an every-down basis against this style of offense, although he tied for second on the team in tackles with eight. Gerald Hodges had seven tackles.

Grade: F

Defensive Backs

Drew Astorino had the most tackles for Penn State, with 12, and Nick Sukay tied for second most with eight, but Penn State's secondary failed to come up with some big stops when Wisconsin started to get the momentum in the game, and Russell Wilson pretty much picked them apart.

Grade: D

Special Teams

Anthony Fera did everything he could in the kicking game, but he was not called upon for a field goal attempt. He punted five times and averaged 46.2 yards per punt, with three punts stopping inside the 20-yard line without recording a touchback. He also had two kickoffs average 63.5 yards per kick.

While the special teams overall may have been a bright spot for Penn State, it was a special teams turnover by Michael Zordich that may have taken any steam out of Penn State late in the first half. Zordich fumbled on the ensuing kickoff after the Badgers had taken a 21-7 lead. Wisconsin took advantage of the late gift by scoring their fourth touchdown of the half. Entering this game, Penn State had given up a season high of 27 points in an entire game, to Alabama in Week 2.

Grade: C-

Coaching

First thing's first. Wisconsin was the better team heading in with a much more powerful offense and a great home field advantage. Wisconsin entered the year as the team to beat, and they have certainly lived up to that billing in conference play.

That said, Penn State's total team performance was flat out ugly, and the coaching staff has to take a large part of the blame. When things started to go sour on the field for Penn State, there was no answer and no way to get things turned around. While players still have to make plays on the field and execute the plays called, the blame will always come back to the coaching staff.

We understand that this staff has been tasked with a unique situation that nobody wants to be in and respect the way Tom Bradley has conducted himself since being named the interim head coach. But Saturday's performance leaves plenty to be desired. For losing 45-7, it is difficult to give Bradley and the coaching staff anything but a failing grade.

Grade: F

What's Next

Penn State finishes their season with a 9-3 record and a share of the Leaders Division according to the Big Ten. Now comes the waiting game, as Penn State waits to find out exactly where they will be heading for the bowl season.

There are some who wonder if the recent scandal at Penn State will have an impact on where the Nittany Lions fall in the pecking order of available Big Ten teams. That remains to be seen, so we will see how it all plays out.

The Big Ten will send one team to the Rose Bowl, the winner of the Big Ten championship game, and Michigan is hoping to crack the BCS with an at-large berth. If the Big Ten sends two teams to the BCS games, then that will be good news for Penn State. The Capital One Bowl may take the Big Ten championship runner-up, and the Gator Bowl is reportedly hoping to get Ohio State and Florida in the potential Urban Meyer Bowl.

Nebraska will likely be selected before Penn State as the new Big Ten school and with a terrific traveling base. That seems to leave the Outback Bowl as a likely destination, but we will all have to wait and see.

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