Penn State Football: Positional report card for win over Michigan

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 21: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with Trace McSorley #9 after catching a 42 yard touchdown pass in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines on October 21, 2017 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

2 of 7

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

DL. Penn State. DEFENSIVE LINE. A.

The Nittany Lion defensive front four was fantastic against the Wolverines. They overpowered an overwhelmed Michigan offensive line all night and harassed quarterback John O’Korn.

Michigan came into this game very determined to establish the run. Penn State was having none of that as they allowed the Wolverines to rush for only 103 on 42 carries. Allowing only 2.5 yards per rush is what you would call stingy. Yes, Michigan did score their only two touchdowns on the ground, but one of those was on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line and the other was on a 6-yard run by running back Ty Issac.

This defensive line is very good at keeping guys fresh so nobody had more than four tackles in individual stats. But as a unit, the front four combined for 4.5 sacks on the night. Very well done by this team. It will be interesting to see if they can bring it again next week against a better offensive line in Columbus.

Home/Penn State Nittany Lions