Blue White Illustrated

ity, length and great positional speed. It's been estimated that 19 members of the defense have 4.5-second or better 40-yard speed. That includes Oweh, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end, and Parsons, a 6-3, 245-pound linebacker. PSU radio analyst Jack Ham has said this is the fastest Nittany Lion defense he has ever seen. And yet, heading into the Big Ten sea- son, the defense was sending out mixed signals as to whether it was ready to ful- 6ll its preseason expectations. Against Idaho, Penn State's defense did what was expected. Gross-Matos and company held the Vandals to 4 yards rushing and 145 yards of total of- fense. The Lions recorded seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss and allowed Idaho to convert only 1 of 15 third- down opportunities. It was an impres- sive performance, but one that the coaching staff and most Penn State football fans kept in proper perspective given that the Vandals came from the Football Championship Subdivision and had a history of struggling against opponents from college football's top division. Against Bu7alo, many fans came away feeling as though the defense had been a disappointment. The Nittany Lions ended up winning the game handily, 45- 13, but the defense looked vulnerable at times, particularly in the 6rst half, as the Bulls amassed 245 yards of total o7ense and converted 7 of 12 third-down op- portunities on their way to building a 10-7 hal8ime lead. Bu7alo ended up with 429 yards of total o7ense, rushing for 184 yards and completing 16 of 32 passes for 245 yards and one touchdown. The Bulls con- verted 10 of 23 third-down opportunities, and their ex- perienced o7ensive line, considered by some to be the best in the Mid-American Conference, surrendered only one sack all night. The fact that Bu7alo rushed for nearly 200 yards may have been the biggest disappointment of the game for Penn State's defense. A year ago, the Nittany Lions struggled against the run, allowing 169 yards per game to rank eighth in the Big Ten. They went into their game against Bu7alo believing that their run defense could be one of the most improved aspects of the team. The performance vs. the Bulls seemed to cast serious doubt on that possibility, but then a week later, in a 17-10 victory over Pitt, the Lions were dominant against the run, allowing the Panthers to gain only 24 rushing yards on 25 car- ries. Their performance did raise some other concerns, as they struggled to put pressure on Kenny Pickett, even though the Pitt quarterback threw 51 passes. But Penn State shut down the Panthers' running game decisively. One of the reasons I was convinced Penn State's defense could end up chal- lenging Michigan State's as the best in the Big Ten this fall was that Pry had in- dicated to BWI this past summer that he felt he had the personnel to use a variety of di7erent schemes. HURRY-UP DEFENSE Gross- Matos has been one of the Nittany Lions' top pass rushers since the beginning of last season. He's a key part of the "Wild Dog" package PSU has been using this year. Photo by Steve Manuel

• Cover