Tag: ellis brooks

Report Card: Grading Penn State’s Loss to Ohio State

REPORT CARD: Grading Penn State’s individual performances in a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes

Despite the loss, this was a different Penn State team from a week ago against Illinois. The Nittany Lions came in to Ohio Stadium in Week 9 with a chip on the shoulder and many doubted them. They opened the week as underdogs, giving Ohio State a three-touchdown favorite. However, Penn State still gave the Buckeyes a run for their money before coming up short in a 33-24 loss in Columbus.

Let’s take a more in-depth look and grade the performance of Penn State tonight.

Quarterbacks: A-

Oct 30, 2021; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) drops to throw during the first quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Clifford came in this game with a chip on his shoulder, and boy did he show out. It was clear last week against Illinois that he was still banged up from his shoulder injury against Iowa. It also didn’t help that he didn’t practice much throughout the week leading into that game.

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Next: Running Backs

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Report Card: Grading Penn State’s performance at Iowa

The grades are in for Penn State after its first loss of the year. Some highs, but too many lows.

Penn State fell to Iowa 23-20 in a nail-biter. As predicted by many, this was merely a defensive battle between both teams.

Let’s take a look at the report card and grade the performance of Penn State today.

Quarterbacks: D+

Joseph Cress-USA TODAY Sports

There were certainly a few flashes here in there from Sean Clifford, but the quarterback play was not there today once Clifford was knocked out of the game. The offense was off to a bad start, but then slowly started to get things going. Overall, it wasn’t the best performance from the quarterbacks.

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

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Inside the box score: The key factors that lead to a Penn State loss

Penn State’s offense was in an uphill battle against the Iowa defense after Sean Clifford was knocked out. Inside the box score…

Penn State held onto the lead for well over the majority of this game. However, penalties really hurt them big time and it came back to bite them. And the offense was a mess after the injury to starting quarterback Sean Clifford.

Let’s take a look at the key factors that lead to Penn State eventually losing this football game.

 

Report Card: Grading Penn State’s win over Villanova

REPORT CARD: Penn State’s passing game earned high marks in a win against Villanova while the running game can improve

Penn State defeated Villanova in fashion today 38-17, despite a scare in the end of what was almost a fumble recovery touchdown by the Wildcats. But all in all, there were plenty of positive for the Nittany Lions to reflect on. At the same time, there is clearly some room for improvement as Penn State returns to Big Ten play for the rest of the regular season beginning next week.

Let’s dive deeper and grade Penn State‘s performance

Quarterbacks: A+

Sean Clifford was on fire today. Several people and analysts were very hesitant as to how he would do the season. Through the first four games, he has not only looked more confident by the week, but he is also showing off his athleticism and the ability to get several of his weapons involved in the game.

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

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Report Card: Grading Penn State’s win over Auburn

The grades are in, and Penn State did pretty well for the most part against the Auburn Tigers in Week 3.

This was an exciting matchup to watch all game. Mistakes were made from both sides, but Penn State came out on top towards the end.

Let’s dive deeper and grade Penn State’s performance.

Quarterbacks: B

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

This was another test for Sean Clifford under a new offense and he actually put on an impressive performance. They were plays throughout the game where he adapted under pressure and showed some flashes of athleticism, including one that resulted in a red zone touchdown to wide receiver Jahan Dotson.

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Report Card: Grading Penn State’s win over Ball State

The grades are in and Penn State earned high marks for its win over Ball State in Week 2

Penn State won in fashion on Saturday, 44-13, against the Ball State Cardinals. Just like last week, let’s break down the team from a grading standpoint.

Quarterbacks: A

STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 11: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions attempts a pass against the Ball State Cardinals during the first half at Beaver Stadium on September 11, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Sean Clifford had immense improvement from last week. He had a few hiccups, but his performance was considerably better than last week. Auburn will be tough, but not only are they at home, but Clifford also enters this game with a lot of momentum going his way.

Next: Receivers benefit from spreading the ball around

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Report Card: Grading Penn State’s Week 1 win over Wisconsin

Grading Penn State’s performance against Wisconsin in Week 1, where the defense earns high marks all around.

Penn State defeated the Badgers 16-10 in a game that came down to the wire. There were gutsy performances on offense, despite them getting hot in the second half.

Let’s go ahead and grade Penn State’s performance today over the Badgers.

Quarterbacks: C

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

This is a fair grade, seeing as Sean Clifford struggled early in this game. He finished strong and performed well when it mattered. However, he was still making careless mistakes early in the game.

Penn State heads back to State College next weekend for their home opener against Ball State. This should be an easy one for the Nittany Lions and one for Clifford to really find his groove in the offense. He didn’t play four-quarter football against Wisconsin, but a game with a new offense is now under his belt.

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WATCH: Joel Klatt was livid over targeting ejection against Penn State

FOX’s Joel Klatt was not at all happy about Ellis Brooks being ejected for targeting and he let everyone know about it.

Nobody who watches a sporting event ever wants a controversial officiating decision to help influence the outcome of a game. This is especially true in college football when a targeting call comes into play. In the season opener, that may have been the case against Penn State and FOX broadcaster Joel Klatt was not having any of it.

Ellis Brooks was having a fantastic afternoon against the Wisconsin Badgers, and his hard hit on Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz along the sideline was initially deemed clean by the on-0field officiating crew. But Wisconsin took a timeout and the Big Ten video replay took advantage of the extra time to carefully review the call for a potential targeting.

After review, it was determined Brooks was guilty of targeting, triggering a 15-yard penalty on the field and an automatic ejection from the game for Brooks.

Klatt went off on a rant against how targeting is upheld in college football and justifiably so.

Complaints about targeting have been the same for years. It is highly unlikely Brooks was head-hunting in this case but a penalty on the field is fair. But ejecting a player for this hit seems a bit harsh.

The premise supporting an ejection is to steer players away from these types of hits. That is a good idea in philosophy. But it is clearly not perfect, and Klatt let the world know it.

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WATCH: Penn State blocks Wisconsin field goal to keep game scoreless

Penn State’s defense came up big in the red zone and the special teams kept the game scoreless at the start of the second quarter

The first quarter between Penn State and Wisconsin lived up to the defensive battle that was to be expected, but the Badgers ended the quarter looking poised to get some points on the scoreboard at the beginning of the second quarter.

Penn State’s defense and special teams unit had other plans.

After coming up with a giant red zone stop inside the 10-yard line with Ellis Brooks making some great coverages in the end zone, Penn State’s special teams unit came up with a big blocked field goal attempt to prevent the Badgers from putting the game’s first points on the board.

The defense has done its part so far, even after a long drive by the Badgers, but the offense for Penn State is having a tough time getting things moving. Penn State gained just one yard on the ensuing possession on a short pass from Sean Clifford to Jahan Dotson. Penn State punted the ball back to the Badgers without giving the defense much of a rest.

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13 days until Penn State football 2021 season opener

There are now just 13 days to go until Penn State football returns. That’s officially less than two weeks away!

Good morning! We are less than two weeks away from Penn State football. The magic number is 13!

Today we will talk about a current number 13, Ellis Brooks.

Brooks is listed as number 19 on our top 21 Nittany Lions players to watch for the 2021 season.

As a recruit, Ellis was a four-star player who committed to Penn State in the class of 2017. He was a pretty big-named player who had offers from all around the NCAA.

Brooks was a consistent player while Micah Parsons was there. But, he really made a big leap after Parsons opted out of the 2020 season.

Brooks brings a lot of athleticism to the table. One Sports Illustrated analyst described the linebacker as explosive and rangey who can impact the game in various ways.

Brooks has been a flashy player who has made plays from all over the field. He enters this season as a redshirt senior. Brooks has made solid progression throughout his collegiate career. Last season, he finished with 58 total tackles and a sack.

We have talked about several linebackers throughout Penn State football history who have made their mark on Beaver Stadium. Brooks has had a collegiate career that is nothing short of impressive.

We are less than two weeks away! We have talked about several Nittany Lions throughout this countdown. With 13 days, there are still plenty of players to talk about. Brooks will be a key contributor for that defense this season, as they hope to bounce back in 2021.

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