Penn State Football: Positional report card for win over Illinois
Defensive Line
The defense was not good for Penn State, and that is definitely their weakness heading into their matchup against Ohio State. They allowed 411 total yards of offense to a very average Illinois offense.
Robert Windsor had 0.5 sacks, and no one else on the defensive line had a sack. They also gave up 245 rushing yards, giving the defensive line a very low grade for Week 4.
Grade: C
Linebackers
The linebackers played a little better than the defensive line since they had two interceptions. Jan Johnson and Ellis Brooks each intercepted a pass.
Cam Brown had a strip near the goal line, but there were many missed tackles and they struggled to slow down the run game, especially in the first half.
They played much better in the second half, but Brooks and Micah Parsons are both freshman that are getting significant playing time. The lack of playing experience at linebacker is really hurting the Nittany Lions, even if they have some very talented players there.
Blitz Stickers from Nittany Lions’ win over Illinois. dark. Next
Grade: C+
Secondary
Safeties Jonathan Sunderland and Garrett Taylor were the leading tacklers, which is not a good sign for any defense. That means too many plays were getting to the secondary and were not being stopped by either the defensive line or linebackers.
The secondary did give up two passing touchdowns, but one of those was a trick play. They at least limited Illinois to just 166 passing yards, so the secondary receives the highest defensive grade this week.