Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
4 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 T he Penn State defense played an eye- watering 160 plays in back-to-back losses to Oregon and UCLA. Against the Ducks, PSU played only a few reserve players, and only when necessary. The game plan was focused on limiting big plays for the explosive Or- egon attack. The Nittany Lions held them to 3 points in the game's first 41 minutes before finally buckling in the latter stages of a 30-24 double-overtime defeat. A week later versus the Bruins, Penn State allowed the hosts to score on their first five possessions and never caught up in a 42-37 loss. The stunning result in Los Angeles, where an interim staff was in place fol- lowing the dismissal of head coach DeShaun Foster in mid-September, caught college football fans everywhere off-guard. What happened at UCLA in the week leading up to the game was unprecedented. Tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel was installed as the interim play-caller on Tuesday and only had two days to practice the new game plan before executing it on Saturday. What he crafted was a simple and bru- tally effective plan that made great use of his best player, quarterback Nico Iamale- ava. The Bruins focused on quick-game passing to get the ball out of the quar- terback's hands and attack Penn State's zone coverage. UCLA doesn't have a wide roster of skill players, but it has enough speed and precision to attack this way. If we remove scrambles from the equa- tion, Iamaleava's average time to throw drops from 2.73 seconds to a lightning- fast 2.33 and 2.30 on run-pass option throws. Thanks to Iamaleava's powerful, accurate throws, Penn State was forced to change tactics. The antidote to quick-game and RPO passing is to play tight man coverage. The danger of playing man coverage against a player like Iamaleava is that if he escapes the pocket, he can devastate a defense as a scrambler. After reviewing the film, it's clear the problems went far beyond redshirt senior linebacker Dominic DeLuca filling in for injured junior Tony Rojas. The biggest issue for the team was tackling. UCLA's runners forced 11 missed tackles on the day, resulting in 178 yards after contact. So, what's the problem? The reality is that there are many right now. Let's start with the key issue at de- fensive tackle. Penn State's undersized players are not large enough to withstand double teams in Jim Knowles' scheme. Instead of focusing on movement and organized chaos like previous PSU defen- sive coordinator Manny Diaz, Knowles prefers control. However, players like redshirt sophomore Ty Blanding, red- shirt freshman Owen Wafle and even senior Zane Durant occasionally struggle to keep guards off the linebackers at the second level. Without Rojas to defeat blocks and make up for the lack of con- sistent run fronts, Penn State has trouble getting stops. As the UCLA game progressed, Penn State adjusted its defensive approach, opting for a tilted nose player to help the undersized players withstand the double teams. This move led to changes else- where in the defense, resulting in explo- sive runs. At a certain point, the human body lacks sufficient energy to perform at its peak, regardless of how disciplined or conditioned a player may be. By the fourth quarter, Penn State's key defend- ers, such as junior linebacker Amare Campbell, were exhausted and began to make mental mistakes that led to physical errors. Gap discipline was bad most of the game, but it crumbled in the second half. Penn State's ability to play Knowles' preferred defensive style, in which he primarily asks his defensive line to play the A and B gaps, was tenuous before Rojas' injury. The approach kept Oregon within reach, but with Rojas out indefinitely, there's a good chance Penn State will struggle against the run in the weeks ahead. Furthermore, there's now a firm blueprint on how to attack the Knowles architecture. The goal of the PSU defense is to take everything away, starting with deep and intermediate passes. By keeping three safeties 9 or more yards off the ball, the defense can disguise coverages and throw bodies at the run game from depth. To counter that scheme, opponents are throwing short passes and forcing Knowles to play man coverage. From there, they can take deep shots or get an athletic quarterback out in space to make plays. Penn State's pass rush hasn't been as bad as it seems, but it lacks an elite closer to make teams pay for dropping back and throwing the football. In the Oregon and UCLA games, the defense failed to bring down quarterbacks once the defensive line flushed them from the pocket. The good news for Penn State is that some of its upcoming opponents are less well-equipped to take advantage of that deficiency than the Ducks and Bruins were. The bad news is that it's hard to count on anything given how the season's first half unfolded. ■ U P O N F U R T H E R R E V I E W THOMAS FRANK CARR T F R A N K .C A R R @ O N 3 .C O M Athletic QBs Will Challenge A Shorthanded Defense Zane Durant (28) and his fellow defensive linemen battled a size disadvantage against UCLA. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS Upon Further Review