Penn State's top players in brutal loss to Northwestern

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In a game with almost no positives, it's tough to single out players for the Nittany Lions who looked like they wanted to play football last night. It was a listless performance with few highlights as they were utterly dominated 34-13 by a Northwestern Wildcats team hungry to open their new stadium with a bang. Still, it's no excuse for yet another disappointment for the blue and white and it won't just take a long, hard look in the mirror for them to overcome this. In terms of players of the game, while there were some bright spots, these guys just felt like the most lively of ghosts on the field. Here are the players of the game for Penn State in yet another baffling loss.

Offensive player of the game: Chase Sowell

Sowell barely gets this award in a week in which even I implored him to take a step up. However, instead of a loud, dominant performance that gave Penn State a chance to win this game, his fourth quarter touchdown felt more like a whimper rather than an announcement. The fact that he only had 68 yards as the blue and white's leading receiver in a situation where the WR room needs a new leader should frustrate a lot of fans. Sowell was supposed to be a guy with the ability to break out on a much bigger platform. It seems like we'll have to continue this moment. For now, Penn State fans may have to accept that mediocrity is just the new normal in Happy Valley.

Defensive player of the game: Kooper Ebel

There's something crazy about the transfer linebacker: For all intents and purposes, he is a fantastic, intuitive player. He has the ability to be the leader of this defense and command attention for opposing offenses. And yet, it feels like when he performs well, it means nothing. In a game in which he had 11 tackles, second only to Tony Rojas, Ebel's performance was not one of leadership, but an aberration. And while you can say that's on Ebel to lift the defense up in tough situations, maybe it's really down to the collective team mindset of inadequacy. This could have been a special season for Ebel with an opportunity to truly become one of the nation's best defensive players. Now, his potential final season will be clouded by his team's ineptitude.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State's top players in brutal loss to Northwestern

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