Penn State pulled off the most impressive win of the Matt Campbell era last Saturday, backed by a 21-point second quarter that featured two touchdowns of 20+ yards and three consecutive three-and-outs by the defense. It also got a little messy.

The Nittany Lions 28-25 victory at Washington added to their perfect 5-0 record against the Huskies, and Campbell is 1-0 in cross-country games. So there’s certainly a lot to unpack. Here’s who’s trending up, and who’s down after a thrilling Penn State win. 

Stock up: Cornerback Ibn McDaniels

Aside from running back Cam Wallace, no one earned a larger role out of the bye week than McDaniels. On Saturday, he put that expanded workload to use, playing 16 snaps (a personal high in Big Ten games) and intercepting Washington quarterback Demond Williams at the beginning of the fourth quarter. 

The redshirt sophomore from Syracuse, who’s been a rotational player at cornerback, helped save the Nittany Lions from blowing a 22-point lead against the Huskies. He has totaled three tackles, one pass breakup and two passes defended in seven games. Expect McDaniels to get more playing time in the coming weeks. 

“To be honest with you, I think the guy that's been the surprise of our whole team on defense has been Ibn,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday. “That guy has played as good as anybody the last two weeks. The play he makes in a critical moment in the football game on Saturday is unbelievable. It's awesome.” 

Stock up: Quarterback Rocco Becht

Becht was a turnover machine in road Big Ten games up until Saturday. The fifth-year quarterback threw four interceptions and lost one fumble in games against Northwestern and Michigan. But he took care of the ball at Washington, committing zero turnovers. The time-zone change didn’t seem to affect him.

Even outside of his decision-making, Becht looked sharp. Despite completing under 60 percent of his passes for the first time in five weeks, Becht was fairly accurate throwing the ball downfield, minus an overthrow to running back Quinton Martin Jr., who would’ve had a walk-in touchdown. 

The quarterback completed 4 of 7 passes of 20+ yards downfield, including two touchdowns and three 30-yard strikes. Becht’s final line was 16-for-27 passing for 240 yards and two scores. He impacted the game on the ground as well, rushing for two huge first downs on a drive that spanned 7:40 to seal the game.

"Hopefully the writing on the quarterback will be a lot better today than maybe it has been," Campbell said at Husky Stadium. "But the reality is, that guy gives you poise. That's why that guy's really special. When it matters the most, that guy always gives you a chance to win the game. He has all year, and he did it again tonight." 

Stock up: Penn State’s rushing attack

Running back Carson Hansen broke the 100-yard mark on Saturday for the first time as a Nittany Lion, rushing for 119 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Combined with his performance against Purdue, Hansen has rushed for 215 yards on 31 carries in his last two games. 

He and Wallace have been the answers the offense has been looking for. Wallace added 56 yards on seven carries (8 yards per carry) and a touchdown against Washington. He ran for a 46-yard score, providing much-needed explosiveness since his uptick in playing time out of the bye week. 

Even though Penn State ran for fewer yards against Washington, the offense did so against a more formidable defense, proving its performance against the Boilermakers wasn’t an outlier. 

There’s no doubt the Nittany Lions need to continue running the ball to add to their two-game winning streak, with a matchup against Minnesota at Beaver Stadium looming.

Stock down: Penn State’s second-half playcalling

Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser called an exceptional game on Saturday. In the first half. 

The Nittany Lions went pass, pass, run immediately out of halftime, leading to a three-and-out. On the ensuing drive, Mouser called two runs compared to five passes — including a wonky gadget play on fourth-and-7, where Becht threw a screen to tight end Ben Brahmer, who pitched it back to Martin for a 5-yard loss. 

In total, Penn State ran the ball three times and passed 10 in the third quarter. It wasn’t Mouser’s best performance as a playcaller and helped Washington win the quarter 11-0.  

And it wasn’t like the Nittany Lions were struggling on the ground. They gained 110 rushing yards on 14 carries (7.9 yards per carry) in the first half. 

“I think we take the lessons learned, again, in that game, in those situations, where could we have been better,” Campbell said. “That certainly was a talking point for us. That wasn't just, per se, always a Mouse call. Sometimes it is an RPO. If those are situations, then we shouldn't call the RPO with it. We should just call the run. I think a lot of good conversation from our end.” 

The aggression is nice, but when the run game is flowing, and Penn State has a 22-point lead, there’s no need to almost abandon it.

Up next

Penn State hosts Minnesota for a prime-time game Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on FS1.