QUARTERBACK

Jayden Maiava has played so many games that the template is clear. If you give him to pass, he can hurt you. D’Anton Lynn watched Lynn for two years at USC and decided the best tact was to rush three men. Seriously. The other factor was the return of Trent Mosley.

Grade: C+

RUNNING BACKS

USC grinded out a 4.3-yard per carry average against a defense that struggles against the run. “The world hasn’t seen nothing yet from this room,” King Miller said Tuesday. I agree with Miller. But probably not in the way he was referring.

Grade: C-

WIDE RECEIVER

It was nice to see a game where USC actually throws to its two best receivers. Trent Mosley and Tanook Hines were the two top receivers, which is how it should be.

Grade: A-

OFFENSIVE LINE

They weren’t opening huge holes against a porous defense. What excuses can we use? Oh, yes, a true freshmen started at tackle. At least he recovered a fumble. Another non-descript performance from this unit.

Grade: C

DEFENSIVE LINE

Penn State’s running backs were even worse than the receivers. But the defensive line can only deal with what’s in front of it. Stiffer challenges are ahead.

Grade: B

LINEBACKER

Desman Stephens returned from his one-game suspension and had a team-high nine tackles. Deven Bryant was also solid. But like elsewhere, some of it was due to an inept opponent. Does anyone remember the play where the running back was completely uncovered but the QB made a poor decision and threw a poor pass receiver in the end zone?

Grade: C+

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Does Penn State have the worst collection of receivers in the Big Ten? Some of it is because of injuries. Nevertheless, plenty of people were open and the Nittany Lions passed for 289 yards. Can anyone cover on a consistent basis?

Grade: D

SPECIAL TEAMS

It’s not really fair to judge Ryon Sayeri on the 56-yard field goal when it was his first kick of the season. That’s because Riley refuses to kick field goals most of the time from 50 yards, where Sayeri would probably make it.

Worse, why did Riley think an on-side kick was a good idea to start the second half? Can you imagine doing that against Indiana or Ohio State? That would have been a real momentum changer against a real team.

Grade: D+

COACHING

The Lincoln Riley bootlickers think this was some sort of coaching masterclass. What was the better decision? The on-side kick to start the second half that backfired? Or the decision to wait until the third quarter to run the ball against a defense that can’t stop the run? USC was losing at the time, by the way.

But Scott, did you see the defense? Compare what the Washington Huskies’ offense did the week before they faced USC? What did Penn State’s offense do against Northwestern compared to USC?

Has the defense turned a corner or just played terrible offenses?

But, wait, didn’t you see Charles Nelson Riley force Matt Campbell to burn his final timeout? Penn State ran one play the rest of the game after that. Did it really impact the game?

Bob Chesney just beat Dan Lanning at Autzen Stadium in Year 1. But Joel Klatt says USC is for real because Riley beat Matt Campbell at Beaver Stadium. Wow!

Grade: D