Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
1 4 N O V E M B E R 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 Point – Counterpoint Penn State's Front Seven Must Rise To The Occasion GREG PICKEL: Picking every single Penn State position group is not an option, although I wish it were. As was all too evident after a 42-37 loss to UCLA that torpedoed their Col- lege Football Playoff hopes, the Nittany Lions have simply not been good enough at any spot on the field, save for maybe the secondary. And, frankly, the secondary has yet to really be tested because teams are rightly avoiding the strength of Jim Knowles' defense by picking on the front seven. That's the reason why I'm focusing here on Penn State's first two levels — the linebackers and defensive line. To the surprise of many, the Lions struggled to muster much of a pass rush during the first half of the season. Through six games, they were tied for 46th in the FBS with 14 sacks and were tied for 22nd with 41 tackles for loss. Led by a pair of talented seniors — edge rusher Dani Dennis- Sutton and tackle Zane Durant — the defensive line has not been as impactful as needed in the season's biggest moments, or simply when a stop is required to get off the field. And as for the linebackers, they took a major hit when junior Tony Rojas was lost to a long-term injury in early October. Fellow junior Amare Campbell is playing as well as any Nittany Lion defender, but he's also allowed 13 of 16 pass attempts to be completed against him. Without Rojas, linebackers coach Dan Connor has no one he can turn to aside from Campbell for consistent play. Yet improvement is going to be necessary going forward. If the front seven does not find a way to get stops on third down, Penn State will continue to struggle to win games. Most of- fenses these days are good enough to exploit a defense that is struggling at roughly 60 percent of the starting spots. And unfortunately for Penn State, that's the case right now. The Nittany Lions' Passing Game Has To Get In Sync RYAN SNYDER: Truthfully, I can make the case for every position on offense. It may sound like a broken record, but I have to lean toward the quarterback-wide receiver connection. Originally, I was going to pick the offensive line, but redshirt junior guard Olaivavega Ioane and senior tackle Drew Shelton both graded out higher — at least according to Pro Football Focus — than any receiver on Penn State's roster through the season's first six games. Running back Nicholas Singleton has struggled rushing the ball, but fellow senior Kaytron Allen hasn't. PSU's offensive line hasn't met the standard we ex- pected so far, but when I began looking at the numbers, they pointed me in a different direction than what I had expected. Super senior Trebor Peña didn't make much of an impact against UCLA (3 receptions, 15 yards), while senior Devonte Ross was targeted only once and finished with no receptions in Penn State's upset loss to the Bruins. Redshirt senior Ky- ron Hudson showed some resilience in an otherwise disap- pointing game, finishing with 4 receptions for 52 yards and 1 touchdown. But he had only caught 19 of 34 targets through six games and was averaging just 1.2 yards after the catch. Penn State signed its three starting receivers out of the transfer portal, hoping they would make a difference com- pared to last year. It's not good for assistant coach Marques Hagans that they haven't done that, but I can also make the case that senior quarterback Drew Allar was the common denominator. The Lions were ranked 77th in the FBS in yards per pass and 83rd in passing yards per game going into their matchup against Northwestern on Oct. 11. Last year, they fin- ished 18th and 59th in those two statistics. Allar suffered a season-ending injury against the Wildcats, forcing PSU to turn to redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer. Grunkemeyer's chemistry with the wideouts will go a long way toward determining how this team finishes out its season. Which Position Group Needs To Show The Most Growth In The Coming Weeks? Kyron Hudson was Penn State's second-leading receiver through six games with 218 yards on 19 catches. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS In his first season at PSU since transferring from North Carolina, linebacker Amare Campbell had a team-best 50 tackles through six games. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATES ATHLETICS