Penn State Sports Magazine
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3 8 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M L ooking back on Penn State's 45- 37 loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game, there were a number of reasons for the defeat. The Nittany Lions committed costly penal- ties and gave away field position. The offense turned the ball over twice. The defense got off to a horrendous start, giving up 31 points before halftime. All of those factors piled upon each other and led to the team's second loss of the season. However, the defense set the stage for the game with its first-quarter strug- gles. Those first 15 minutes of play set the tone for what followed and put Penn State in a hole from which it couldn't escape. Normally, PSU is the more athletic team on the field each week. But when it plays a team that can equal its athleti- cism, as Ohio State did earlier in the year, mental cracks start to show. Penn State has great athletes, but Oregon has elite athletes all over the field. The Ducks exploited that difference. They used a combination of odd forma- tions and tempo to stress Penn State physically and mentally out of the gate. The Lions didn't just bend, they broke in half on the first two drives. Defensive miscommunication, especially in the secondary, led to a pair of early touch- downs and 159 yards of offense. It's hard to say whether Penn State made more mental mistakes than in a typical game, but it was clear that every mistake was magnified because Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel unfailingly made the Nittany Lions pay. Oregon did an excellent job scout- ing the Penn State defensive line. One of PSU's biggest strengths is its ability to shoot gaps and play quickly upfield. Specifically, junior edge rusher Abdul Carter and junior defensive tackle Zane Durant get many of their run-game wins by stepping backside against run schemes. They're most dangerous when they go the "wrong" way. So, Oregon let them. The Ducks used an assortment of pin-and-pull tech- niques to trap Carter and Durant where they naturally go. With that one deci- sion, the run game captured the edge and sprung the Oregon running backs into space, allowing for chunk runs in the first half. Once Penn State's defense was keyed in on stopping the run, Oregon began phase two of its attack. Truthfully, PSU never wholly sold out to stop the run, knowing that it would give Oregon huge windows to throw into. But those win- dows opened up anyway because Ducks receiver Tez Johnson is so dynamic. At the end of the first quarter, Gabriel began pulling the ball on run-pass op- tions and tossing behind the lineback- ers. Regardless of the coverage he was facing, Johnson made big-time plays to get yards after the catch. When Penn State played zone, he feasted on free yards. Johnson finished the game with 181 yards on 11 receptions. PSU was more successful in the second half, holding Or- egon to 14 points over the game's final 30 minutes. What happened after the break? The short answer is that Penn State adjusted. Carter stopped diving in- side and fought harder to keep the edge of the run front. Oregon still gashed the defense on big runs, but the Lions also fought back and got enough stops to set up long-distance third downs. Oregon also has a bad habit of getting away from plays that are working. Ga- briel missed on screens and swing passes in the second half, and those miscues led to quick three-and-outs. Without giving up easy yards and limiting its mental mistakes, Penn State's defense redeemed itself somewhat, ultimately giving the offense the football with a chance to tie the score in the final minutes. Yet the damage done in the first half proved impossible to fully overcome. Junior quarterback Drew Allar played at a mental and physical pace that led to missed throws. Those mistakes are his own, but the conditions that re- quired him to press were created by the team's disastrous start on defense. Penn State trailed from the beginning of the game, which was exactly the scenario it needed to avoid. Fans were emotional after the loss and frustrated with how the defense played. It wasn't the first time sloppy defensive details led to a close call for Penn State this year. However, few opponents have the team speed, offensive line and trigger- man to put PSU on its heels the way Or- egon did. Given those factors, we should be careful about drawing too many con- clusions from this performance. But it certainly does make you ner- vous. ■ O P I N I O N THOMAS FRANK CARR T F R A N K .C A R R @ O N 3 .C O M Oregon Kept A Stout PSU Defense On Its Heels Linebacker Kobe King and his fellow Penn State defenders had trouble slow- ing down Oregon's offense in the first half. The Ducks scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL UPON FURTHER REVIEW