QUARTERBACK: C
This might be the lowest grade Hess has received during his tenure at YSU. The junior threw his first and second interceptions of the season that were admitted, and obviously, bad passes. He made some nice plays with his legs, but he couldn't do much in terms of the passing.
RUNNING BACKS: C
The Penguins as a unit rushed for 94 yards, which is a season low, but it's also the most rushing yards the Bison have allowed this season. Jamaine Cook rushed for 43 yards and Torrian Pace added 35. There were very few holes for the backs to find.
RECEIVERS: C
The receivers didn't have a chance to do much, as the Bison secondary were covering them hard. The few times Hess did have protection, he couldn't find an open man and either had to run it or dump it off for a few yards.
OFFENSIVE LINE: D
Also the lowest grade the unit has received in a long time. The normally strong unit was outplayed by the defensive line of NDSU. Hess was sacked once and hurried eight times. The running game could never get going and Hess many times looked like he was running for his life.
DEFENSIVE LINE: D
The line could not stop NDSU running back John Crockett. YSU was never able to get him down on the first hit, and sometimes even the second or third. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry, which means he was easily getting past the defensive front.
LINEBACKERS: D
Travis Williams had the only YSU sack on the day. The linebackers missed a lot of coverage, because a lot of the time they were trying to anticipate what NDSU would do, and guessed wrong. Also, when is this group going to start pressuring the quarterback?
SECONDARY: D
The secondary didn't learn from Albany's flea-flicker, because the Bison ran the exact same play for the same outcome. This unit has to start getting better. While there were many times the NDSU receivers made good catches, there were also many times the secondary was out of position.
COACHING: B
Honestly, very little of this game came down to coaching as they can't make protect the ball or make the blocks. The play calling was strong on the lone scoring drive and on the drive before Hess' first interception. After that, the game was out of their hands.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
The only thing keeping this unit from a "D" is that punter Nick Liste had three punts, all for more than 50 yards. He averaged 52.3 yards and his long was 56. But then there were the missed tackles on the punt return the Bison scored for the touchdown.
