Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from loss at Michigan State

2. DaeSean Hamilton is critical to Penn State’s success on offense

Instead of Barkley, the linchpin of Penn State’s offense has become receiver DaeSean Hamilton. That became readily apparent in Week 9 when the Nittany Lions fell to Ohio State. The Buckeyes eliminated Hamilton from the game, as he caught only one pass for 13 yards in the defeat.

In the first quarter, his touchdown catch helped give the Nittany Lions an early lead that was critical in ensuring that Penn State was tied at halftime. In the first half, he finished with four catches for 82 yards and the score, accounting for nearly 40 percent of Penn State’s offense in the first two quarters.

Trace McSorley began to struggle after the weather delay. As a result, Hamilton was effectively eliminated from the contest and Penn State fell. He had only three catches in the second half for 30 yards. As he was eliminated from the game plan the Penn State offense sputtered. Hamilton tried to find other ways to contribute, such as getting the key block Saquon Barkley’s biggest run of the day in the third quarter.

With each passing season, the senior receiver has become a bigger and bigger weapon in the Penn State offense. The Nittany Lions are eliminated from the Big Ten race. Hamilton will need to make big plays if they are going to have any shot at reaching a New Year’s Six bowl game this season.