Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1169916
T H E 2 0 1 9 S E A S O N T here were not a lot of good options on the table when Idaho trotted into Beaver Stadium for its season opener; the outcome of this game had been decided as soon as the ink was dry on the contract. But of all the bad options that were on the table, the Vandals probably chose the worst one when they opted to try a fourth-and-short conversion deep in their own ter- ritory early in the first quarter. Penn State's 2019 defense is not the kind of unit that you want to provoke. Said defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, "We were fired up from the get-go. That just added fuel to the fire." Idaho's conversion attempt failed when Gross-Matos and his fellow defensive linemen caved in Idaho's offensive front, allowing Micah Parsons to swoop in and stop running back Logan Kendall for no gain. The Nittany Lions took over at their opponent's 34-yard line, and shortly thereafter, they posted the first of the 79 points they would go on to score on opening day. Gross-Matos admitted afterward that he was "a little surprised" that Idaho tried to test the Lions on their first possession of the game. "But," he added, "teams are going to come in here and do things we don't expect. We just have to be ready when the time comes to make a play and get a stop. We did that." Did they ever. The Lions held Idaho to 145 total yards and five first downs in their most lopsided victory since an 81-0 rout of Cincinnati in 1991. The Vandals, who last year dropped to the Football Champi- onship Subdivision, hadn't been expected to pose much of a chal- lenge, and they didn't. But the Nittany Lions' defense looks as though it's going to create a few problems for some other people, too, and the biggest problem of all may involve Gross-Matos and his fellow line- men. It is with those four players, and the surprisingly deep corps of backups behind them, where everything begins for Penn State. The way James Franklin figures it, he's got as many as a dozen de- fensive linemen he can win with. "I think at defensive end we are truly three-deep on each side, so we have six guys who we feel like we can play," Franklin said. "I think at defensive tackle, we're hitting that argument between FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE | Led by standout junior Yetur Gross-Matos, the Lions' deep and talented defensive front is poised to wreak havoc on opponents throughout the Big Ten season NOWHERE TO RUN Gross-Matos chases down Idaho quarterback Mason Petrino. Penn State totaled seven sacks against the Van- dals in its season opener. Photo by Steve Manuel