Michigan State Football: Report card for win over Penn State

Nov 28, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans place kicker Michael Geiger (4) celebrates a win over Penn State Nittany Lions after a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams: B+

Not much can be said for the Michigan State special teams on Saturday other than there was no real mess up outside of a missed extra point in the first half. If it weren’t for Geiger’s missed PAT, this position group probably would have finished with an ‘A’ and its second or third straight solid performance.

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Coming off the biggest kick of his life in which he helped end Ohio State’s perfect season and snap a 23-game win streak by the Buckeyes, Michael Geiger missed his first extra point of the day in the first quarter and fans were already thinking, “I hope we don’t lose by a point.”

Geiger has to be more consistent as even last week against the Buckeyes, he missed a field goal that would have been a chip shot for him during his freshman season. We aren’t sure what is keeping him from looking as solid as he was a couple of years ago, but he needs to get himself out of this inconsistent rut.

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Jake Hartbarger and the punt coverage units played great, not allowing any big returns and pinning the Nittany Lions inside their own 20 on multiple occasions. Also, outside of an illegal procedure to begin the game, Kevin Cronin and the kickoff unit was solid, even recovering a fumble that led to a score later in the game.