Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530530
W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State made almost a season's worth of mistakes on defense in its 45-37 loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game. Coordinator Tom Allen's unit was whistled for two personal foul penalties in the first half. It gave up a season-high 466 yards and 24 first downs to the Ducks. The secondary had few answers for the Dillon Gabriel-to-Tez Johnson connec- tion. Gabriel, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, connected with his top receiver for 181 yards and a score. One of the nation's bet- ter units on third down, Penn State could not prevent the Ducks from converting on third-and-9 and fourth-and-2 on their final touchdown drive of the night. PSU owning the nation's No. 103 fourth-down defense won't change over- night. But what must change ahead of the Nittany Lions' Dec. 21 clash with S M U i n t h e College Foot- ball Playoff is the sloppiness that hindered them in the c o n f e r e n c e title game. It's true that Allen and the assistants un- der him got the defense to play better in the second half — a com- mon occurrence this season. But the time of the season is here when a complete 60-minute effort will be required if Penn State is to continue playing for as long as possible. If the version of this defense that appeared in Indianapolis reappears in State College, the Lions will not just struggle to cover as 8.5-point favorites but will also find themselves on upset watch. "Coach Franklin alluded to that after the game — the margin of error is so small, so slim in these games that it makes all the difference," redshirt senior defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas said. "I feel like defensively we made more mistakes in that game than we've made in almost any other game. And you know, a great team [will] capitalize. I feel like Oregon did that today." A Quick Fix A Quick Fix After struggling in the Big Ten title game, Penn State's defense needs to regroup ahead of its playoff opener G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M SMU has the potential to do it, too. The Mustangs do not have a passer as threat- ening as Gabriel nor a receiver as elite as Johnson, but the ACC runners-up will bring the nation's No. 6 scoring offense to State College. Quarterback Kevin Jennings is tied with Penn State junior Drew Sophomore cornerback A.J. Harris and his fellow Penn State defensive backs weren't able to contain Tez Johnson. The Oregon wideout finished with 181 receiving yards in the Big Ten title game. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS 3 4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5