Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539550
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M TOP FIVE PLAYERS 1. Dani Dennis-Sutton | DE | Sr. Dennis-Sutton looked like a man possessed in Penn State's opener against Nevada. He finished the game with 2.5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, a sack and a pass breakup on just 25 snaps. Dennis-Sutton played 46 snaps the following week against Florida International and 28 versus Villanova in Week 3. His relatively light workload in the first three games, fol- lowed by a week off, should ensure that he's rested and ready for Penn State's White Out showcase versus Oregon. 2. Tony Rojas | LB | Jr. Much was made of Rojas' tackling difficulties last season; he finished the year with a 22.1 missed-tackle percentage, per Pro Football Focus. It later came out that he was playing with a shoulder injury for much of the year. Rojas has been healthy this season, and it's showed. Through three games, the junior linebacker has 18 stops to rank second on the defense. What's more, his missed-tackle rate is down to 11.1 percent. 3. Ryan Barker | PK | R-So. It's easy to take placekickers for granted, but Penn State fans would do well to remember what the team's kicking situation looked like at this time a year ago. Sander Sahaydak went 2 of 5 to open the season, and it was unclear whether the Lions had a viable alternative. Turns out, they did. Barker took over for Sahaydak and went on to hit 15 of 18 as a redshirt freshman. This year, he's picked up right where he left off, with 9 makes on 10 at- tempts through three games. 4. Amare Campbell | LB | Jr. The North Carolina transfer is the quarterback of a Penn State defense that is allowing just 5.7 points per game. He's the Nittany Lions' "green dot" player, charged with relaying calls from the coaches to the field, and he's also their leading tackler with 22 total stops, including 3 tackles for loss. 5. Kaytron Allen | RB | Sr. Allen had a productive, injury-free offseason, and the results speak for themselves. He's been the more effective member of Penn State's cel- ebrated senior backfield duo in the early going. Allen has outrushed fellow running back Nicholas Singleton, 273 yards to 179, despite receiving 7 fewer carries. KEY MOMENT The Nittany Lions were having a hard time pull- ing away from stubborn FIU. They led 13-0 late in the third quarter and were looking to create some separation when they attempted a deep shot on first-and-10 from the visitors' 42-yard line. Allar dropped back and with a clean pocket from which to throw, he heaved a pass at senior receiver Devonte Ross in the end zone. Ross had definitely not created any separation; FIU cor- nerback Ashton Levells was right there with the Nittany Lion wideout stride for stride, but Ross managed to turn around and catch the ball even though Levells was so close that he drew a flag for pass interference. The touchdown gave Penn State a three-score lead with less than 20 minutes to play, all but scuttling any hopes the Panthers might have been entertaining of pulling off the season's biggest upset. BEST HIGHLIGHT Freshman defensive end Chaz Cole- man displayed terrifying speed in getting around FIU tackle Jaleel Davis and swooping in to knock the ball out of the hand of quarterback Joe Pesansky just as he was cocking his arm to throw. Then Coleman displayed it again after picking up the loose ball. The 6-foot-4, 246-pound newcomer bolted toward the end zone. It took a wide receiver to catch up to him, with Panthers speedster Jojo Stone bringing him down from behind, but not before Coleman had dashed 39 yards to the 5-yard line. The strip sack set up Penn State's final touchdown of the afternoon, and it showed that the positive reviews Coleman had received during the off- season were well-deserved. BOLD PREDICTION If the Nittany Lions don't improve their third-down conversion rate, their Big Ten and national championship bids will end prematurely. Through three games, they are converting only 38.9 percent of their third downs, a rate that ranked 16th in the Big Ten as of mid-September. Only Maryland (32.6) and UCLA (22.9) were convert- ing third downs at a worse clip. That figure looks even more omi- nous when juxtaposed against the 63.6 percent rate that Penn State's next opponent, Oregon, posted through its first three games. The Ducks were ranked second in the Big Ten, with only Washington (70.4) faring better. Against Nevada, FIU and Villanova, the Lions had plenty of margin for error, thanks largely to a defense that gave up a total of 17 points. From here on out, though, PSU is going to need to put together sustained drives — not only to generate points, but to keep its defense off the field. Can the Lions do that? Heading into a rugged Big Ten campaign, it's an open question. — Matt Herb PENN STATE FOOTBALL SUPERLATIVES G A M E 1 – G A M E 3 Through three games, junior linebacker Tony Rojas is second on the team with 18 tackles. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS