Did Penn State football's defense play the 'perfect game'? Our grades vs. Michigan State
DETROIT — It was a prolific Penn State football throw from Drew Allar.
Maybe his best of the entire 2022 season — certainly his most productive since the opening-game victory over West Virginia, so very long ago back in September
Go to the third quarter on Black Friday night on Ford Field. Allar, who was injured just last weekend, cranked up and delivered a beautiful bomb down the middle of the field, with the attention of putting away the undermanned Michigan State Spartans.
The ball sailed long and high and fell perfectly into the hands of sprinting wideout Omari Evans. The speedy backup stretched, hauled it in and dove to the 2 yard line.
A 60-yard connection. The kind of play so many envisioned but rarely saw anything like it from the 6-foot-5, big-armed Allar.
A few moments later the Lions scored again to make it 28-0 and seal victory with more than a quarter to play.
Here's your grades from the Lions' 42-0 suffocation of the Spartans, improving to 10-2, yet again.
Offense: A-
This group, rather stunningly, moved the ball at will from beginning to end in racking up 586 total yards.
Finally, tailbacks Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton broke out together, both going over 100 yards (255 combined) on the night. That opened things up for Drew Allar and the maligned passing game.
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Add in some Beau Pribula pizzazz (2 TDs) and you have the kind of effort so many expected weeks ago.
Defense: A+
What more can you ask for from one of the most consistent units in the nation?
It somehow held Michigan State to just 53 total yards (-35 rushing) in pitching its third shutout of the season.
The stars were everywhere, from defensive end Adisa Isaac (7 tackles, 1.5 for loss) to linebackers Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs (3.5 combined sacks) to safeties Jaylen Reed and KJ Winston.
Special teams: B+
Yet another consistently impressive effort from what may be the team's most impressive unit, considering all of the instability and unproven parts entering the season.
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The kicker-punter combination of Alex Felkins (two early field goals) and Riley Thompson (45-yard average) led the way. Punt returner Daequan Hardy was active and a threat throughout, taking seven back for 77 yards.
Coaching: A
It all worked well, from the playcalling, to the use of use of Pribula in red zone packages to motivating that defense to turn in maybe their most stellar effort of the season.
If nothing else, they running backs finally got the work needed and success expected. That was planned and it worked to perfection.
Overall: A
The kind of domination that was expected in this kind of outing, but often not accomplished.
The Lions took advantage of a short-handed opponent on a fast track and owned the night from beginning to end in all three phases.
The running backs and defense owned the important moments early which didn't allow the Spartans to gain any traction.
An impressive finale for a team that missed out on its top goals, but still rebounded to finish as well as possible.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football report card vs. Michigan State: Defense dominates
