10 Questions with Victory Bell Rings about Penn State Football

Penn State was at the bottom of the conference in pass defense in 2016, what explains the trouble?

The pass defense is not as much of negative as it looks.  Penn State’s run defense was one of the best in the nation allowing just 3.8 yards per carry forcing teams to go to the air.  Furthermore, the Nittany Lions gave up just 10 touchdown passes in nine Big Ten games, so overall it’s not as bad as it looks on paper.  Bringing back senior safety Marcus Allen should only reinforce an underrated pass defense.

Badger of Honor Reaction:

Fair response by our friend Collin.  However, perhaps the Nittany Lions felt compelled to load up to stop the run which left the secondary exposes.  I mean, 3.8 yards per carry isn’t amazing but that’s still pretty productive.  That means on average two runs sets up 3rd & short where you can pass or throw to get the conversion.  Committing resources there and biting on play action is a sure way to get burned in the passing game. Perhaps losing a fearsome pass rusher like Carl Nassib who had 15.5 sacks his senior year in 2015 was trouble.  A great pass rush can mask a lot of weak spots in the secondary.  In the Rose Bowl meltdown, the defense sat back in zone play soft coverages and not blitzing.  USC picked the Nittany Lions apart taking advantage of a Penn State secondary scared of getting burned deep.  The defense may need to take some chances by blitzing in order to get pressure on the QB and help out the secondary.