Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/408409
N O V E M B E R 1 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 14 N A T E B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State's outstanding defense did it again. Holding Maryland to just 33 yards on the ground, the Nittany Lions somehow improved on their already gaudy rushing defense numbers. Limiting the Terrapins to only 161 yards through the air, Penn State's defense allowed just 194 total yards for the game, besting the unit's No. 7-ranked total defense average of 284.7 yards per game. Sacks, same deal. The Nittany Lions racked up another six against the Terra- pins, not to mention another three forced fumbles, terrorizing their guests throughout the a=ernoon at Beaver Sta- dium. "Our confidence is built up right now," said junior defensive end Deion Barnes, who had a pair of sacks and a forced fum- ble. "Everybody is basically hunting right now, and our confidence is high." The problem, of course, is with the re- sult. The Lions surrendered a crucial 17 yards of offense with the clock winding down in the fourth quarter, and the dif- ference between a made Brad Craddock field goal and a miss remained in the unit's mind shortly a=er the 20-19 loss. Regardless of the effort or output, the re- sult le= the group feeling dissatisfied. "It's very frustrating," Barnes said. "We obviously have to do better. They had 20 points, so we have to limit them to no points and do way better." For as demonstrably dominant as the Nittany Lions have been on the defensive side of the ball this season, for the fourth time in four games, the unit leaves the locker room on the losing end of the ledger. Trying to balance the feeling of per- forming at such an elite level with the discouragement that comes as a side ef- fect of losing has been a challenge for the group. Saturday especially, the Nittany Lions again attempted to come to terms with an a=ernoon in which they held the Terps to just 1.2 yards per carry on the ground and finished with nine tackles for loss. "It's frustrating, yeah, because we all want to win," defensive tackle Austin Johnson said. "It doesn't matter at the end of the day unless you win, so yeah, it's frustrating, but things happen." HOLDING PATTERN Defense enjoys another stellar outing but can't stave off defeat Steve Manuel THAT'S A WRAP Barnes prepares to lower the boom on Mary- land quarter- back C.J. Brown. Photo by Steve Manuel