Let’s take a moment to revel on the defensive efforts of the Penn State Football team in the Nittany Lions’ 39-0 win over Illinois. The offensive side of the ball was thoroughly impressive—recording 400 yards while quarterback Christian Hackenberg scored a receiving touchdown—but the defense deserves praise as well. For the entire first quarter the Illini recorded 77 yards and allowed an interception by redshirt freshman linebacker Troy Reeder. Not only did Reeder exemplify why Penn State is referred to as LinebackerU, but his interception (which he returned 45 yards) positioned the Lions’ offense to score from the 6 yard line—which was junior receiver Geno Lewis’ second touchdown of the season. Additionally, arguably the three defensive leaders—Austin Johnson (4.5 total), Carl Nassib (14.5 total) and Anthony Zettel (3 total)—had one sack each against Illinois offense.
As a unit, the Penn State defense held the Illini to just 167 total yards of offense. To put this number into perspective, the Nittany Lions, in their worst yardage game of the season against Temple, recorded a total of 207 yards. Throughout the season, Penn State has not recorded less than 100 yards in any game. By allowing an average of just 157.9 yards per game, the Nittany Lions are just second to Ohio State in the Big Ten conference. Although only one interception was recorded, it is imperative to recognize the efforts of the secondary. The coverage was tight and well executed throughout the game.
Taking a look at Penn State’s schedule shows that their next three games are daunting to say the least. The Nittany Lions’ next three opponents are Northwestern, Michigan and Michigan State, which are all obstacles in the Nittany Lions’ path. But those obstacles are not so large to prevent them from accomplishing the goals that they have set for themselves. This upcoming Saturday, the Lions will travel to Evanston to battle the Northwestern Wildcats. On paper, the Nittany Lions—averaging 7.59 yards per attempt in passing—look to have a stronger running game than that of the Wildcats who are averaging just 5.34 passing yards per attempt. However, the Wildcats and Nittany Lions average the same per rushing attempt. Similar to Penn State’s breakout freshman Saquon Barkley (has recorded 796 total yards), Northwestern’s rushing game is led by sophomore running back Justin Jackson (has recorded 731 total yards).
The Wildcats are just 2-2 in conference play whereas the Nittany Lions are 6-2. Although Penn State does not have a win over a ranked team, and Northwestern defeated a then ranked 21 Stanford (in the Wildcats’ season opener), as the common saying goes “it’s not how you start but how you finish”. In the heavy East Division of the Big Ten Conference, the Nittany Lions are ranked third with a 4-1 conference record (7-2 overall).
If Northwestern’s Justin Jackson is anywhere as explosive as Saquon Barkely is, the Nittany Lion defense is going to need every bit of leadership from its core anchors of Johnson, Nassib and Zettel. Although the Lions tend to perform better at their undefeated home of Beaver Stadium, perfection won’t be required to leave with a win but each unit needs to execute its job effectively—one play at a time and one game at a time.
Main Photo
