Blue White Illustrated

P HIL'S C ORNER Analyzing Penn State's defense as season's backstretch continues Penn State has given up a lot of points since it began Big Ten play Oct. 5 against Indiana. The Nittany Lions surrendered 44 points against the Hoosiers, then gave up 40 points two weeks later against Michigan and 63 last weekend at Ohio State. First-year defensive coordinator John Butler has taken some heat on message boards and radio call-in shows as Nittany Lion fans have vented their frustration over the team's struggles. Asked about the criticism, head coach Bill O'Brien vigorously defended Butler at his news conference Tuesday afternoon. "John Butler is a hell of a football coach," O'Brien said. "[He] works his tail off, and the kids respect him. He's doing a hell of a job. I don't care what the scoreboard says or what the yardage says. This guy is our defensive coordinator. He's my defensive coordinator. I'm proud to coach with him." The Ohio State game, O'Brien said, "was not a great team effort. We didn't do anything on offense to help the defense. We scored 14 points, got down 21‑0, and we couldn't even score a touchdown. So it's a team effort. If anybody should take heat, it's Bill O'Brien, not John Butler. I don't know where that's coming from, but hopefully that will get squelched. That's a bunch of crap that he's taking heat." Many of the Lions' problems are related to the NCAA sanctions, which have depleted depth at key areas and changed the team's personnel situation in ways that can't be readily fixed. The coaching staff has been playing bad hands ever since it arrived at Penn State and has proven to be pretty adept at it, but the Lions' personnel issues are more O C T O B E R acute this year than they were in 2012. Still, whatever heat the defensive coaches are facing will die down if the Nittany Lions are able to make progress in their final five games. In the Nov. 22 edition of Blue White Illustrated, I examined the offense at midseason and addressed the improvements that will need to occur if the Lions are to equal last season's 8-4 record. The team has played a game since that column was published and lost that game decisively. In order to finish with eight victories, Penn State will need to go 4-1 the rest of the way. That looks to be a rather daunting challenge given the remaining schedule, but I believe the Lions are capable of rising to meet it. However, in addition to the offensive improvements I outlined in the most recent print edition of BWI, they will need to make some significant strides on defense. Here's a look at what needs to happen if Penn State is to bounce back from its poor showing at Ohio State. DEFENSIVE LINE Some might say the Nittany Lions' performance across the defensive line has been a Jekyll-and-Hyde scenario. In losses to UCF, Indiana and Ohio State, the Nittany Lions' defensive front played well below its potential. The Ohio State game remains fresh in the mind nearly a week later, but the Lions' earlier losses foreshadowed the problems Penn State experienced in Columbus. UCF was able to rush for 219 yards on 38 attempts, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, and its passing game was equally effective (20 completions in 27 attempts for 288 yards). The real knock against the defensive line in the UCF game was 3 0 , 2 0 1 3 11 the fact that the Nittany Lions didn't record one sack and quite possibly not even one quarterback hurry. This had to be a major disappointment to O'Brien and Butler. The defensive line's production in the game against Indiana was almost as disappointing. The Hoosiers passed for 336 yards and amassed 486 yards of total offense. Penn State managed just one sack, and that was the result of a blitz by linebacker Mike Hull and cornerback Jordan Lucas. Just the opposite has taken place during the Nittany Lions' wins over Syracuse, Eastern Michigan, Kent State and Michigan. In those four games, the defensive line averaged 20 tackles. The entire defense averaged eight tackles for loss in those games, and opponents averaged 84.25 yards per game. Penn State's front four totally dominated the line of scrimmage, even against Michigan. The Wolverines' tailbacks totaled just 28 yards rushing on 30 attempts, and those figures include the four overtime periods. The two most impressive performances by defensive linemen so far have been DaQuan Jones' nine-tackle, twosack effort against Eastern Michigan and C.J. Olaniyan's six-tackle, 2.5-sack showing against Michigan. For Penn State to equal last season's 8-4 record with a 4-1 finish this year, all of the defensive linemen will need to step up their game and turn in performances like the ones cited above. The defensive ends will have to be far more consistent and dominating at the point of attack. Redshirt sophomore Deion Barnes has had a quiet season so far, ranking 13th on the team with 15 tackles and only half a sack. His performance has been a disappointment coming on the heels of a breakthrough showing last season in which he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Olaniyan and fellow end Anthony Zettel, who started in place of Barnes against Michigan, have performed well. In addition, the Lions have gotten a boost from redshirt sophomore runon Carl Nassib. Nassib's presence gives SEE DEFENSE PAGE 12 BL UEW H I T E ON L I N E.COM

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