Penn State football team’s report card vs. Northwestern

By admin — In News — October 3, 2026

   ​EVANSTON, Ill. – Grading the Penn State football team on its 34-13 loss to Northwestern Friday night at Ryan Field:QuarterbacksF: Rocco Becht misfired on several passes to open receivers and threw two interceptions in his second straight poor performance.Running backsD: James Peoples, Carson Hansen and Quinton Martin combined for 42 rushing yards on 19 carries, which won’t get it done in the Big Ten.ReceiversC: Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen combined for 11 catches for 113 yards. As a group, they got open many times but Becht missed them.Offensive linemenD: They didn’t open many holes for the running backs and their pass protection was spotty, resulting in Penn State gaining less than 300 total yards again.Defensive linemenD: The tackles often occupied two blockers, but the ends had limited pressure and were fooled by Northwestern’s misdirection and invisible for most of the night.LinebackersD: Tony Rojas had 12 tackles, including 3.5 in the backfield, but Kooper Ebel missed three tackles that resulted in long runs.Defensive backsC: They allowed one long pass on a run fake and didn’t get much action because Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles didn’t have to throw much.Special teamsC: Nathan Tiyce had a decent game punting, but Ryan Barker missed a field goal and the return game had limited production.CoachesF: The blowout loss was an utter failure by Matt Campbell and the coaching staff. The offense and defense were dominated, especially at the line of scrimmage.