Blue White Illustrated

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Beaver Ave s State College, PA 16801 www.The-Phyrst.com 814.234.4406 137 Elmwood St. s State College, PA 16801 www.HappyValleyBeer.com Wood-fire Grill 12 Beers on Tap 200 Year Old Barn 821 Cricklewood Dr. s Toftrees, State College www.AmericanAleHouse.net 814.237.9701 s Piano Bar s Sommelier 814.238.1406 814.234.7700 s 1611 Atherton St. s State College 814.941.7788 s Plank Rd. Exit s Altoona www.ChampsSportsGrill.net s Best Game Bar s Large Groups Welcome c lc e W We s p u o r G e g r a L s a e B m a st G e B s S n S h 1 A 1 6 1 0 0 7 7 4. 3 2 4. 1 8 me co r a l l C S r G s rt o p S s p m a h C . www s t i x . E d k R n a l P s 8 8 7 7 1. 4 9 . 4 1 8 S s . t n S o t r e h t 1 A 1 6 1 s 0 0 7 7 4. 3 2 4. 1 8 t e n . l l i r na o o t l A e g e l l o C e at t S "We try to recruit that and we try to de- velop that." But, one dimension of his defense stands above the rest. "The greatest testament is we've got some great competition at multiple po- sitions," he said. Therein lies an explanation for why Penn State's has played better from a sta- tistical standpoint than other defenses that have been on the field a lot less. Nationally, the median number of plays that an offense runs is about 72 per game. Heading into the Michigan game, Penn State had faced more than that on four occasions: against Pittsburgh (86 total plays), Georgia State (81), Indiana (79) and Northwestern (73). On three of those four occasions, PSU held those teams below its average of 4.0 yards per play. A couple of arguments can be made as to why Penn State's opponents have been holding the ball longer than other teams, and they revolve around third downs and time of possession. On offense, the Nittany Lions were converting 37.8 percent of their third- down attempts through six games, which was an improvement from a sea- son ago but still ranked in the bottom half of college football. The Lions typi- cally have possession for less than half of a 60-minute game. If PSU's offense doesn't have the ball, then it's up to the defense to get it back. And while Penn State's was arguably the best defense in the Big Ten through the first half of the season, it ranked among the bottom half in third-down stops, thwarting only 34 percent of opponents' attempts. When an offense converts, the drive stays alive and keeps the defense on the field. That's what presumably wears a unit down, but against Penn State's D, that hasn't been happening, and that's the paradox of this unit. The key lies within the rungs of the depth chart. There have been games in which the defense has used more than 30 players, half of whom are regular contributors. There is heated competition at prac- tice, with players nudging each other for more snaps at almost every position. Pry credits that force as a major factor in the defense's elite play. With backups push- ing starters, the coaching staff is less hesitant now than it was in its first three seasons to insert second- and third- stringers into a game while the outcome is still undecided. A steady rotation and a cast of contrib- utors who have yet to work their way into the starting lineup are what keep the de- fense thriving when it is on the field for longer than what is considered normal. "We believe in rolling guys and playing guys, and we've had some games with maybe more snaps than we anticipate, but we're playing a lot of guys and get- ting experience that way and it's also keeping us as fresh as we can be in the fourth quarter to close the game," Pry said. "It's been a [request] of Coach [James] Franklin's, and we stick to that. Sometimes it's hard to sub in tight games, in the second or third quarter, but we're going to do that to make sure our top guys are ready to go in the fourth. As a season wears on, those [backup] guys are gaining valuable snaps. Those guys who are subbing in – and we have a lot of them who we're excited about – we want to see them get out there in the heat of the battle [so they can continue] pushing those starters. It's been a good deal." It's those numbers that he's more con- cerned about, and rightfully so. Even the stats suggest as much. "Statistically, again, each week is a new challenge," Pry added. "Every of- fense is a little different, and one of the keys to success is identifying what you really need to stop, where you need to be good to win the game on your side of the ball. Sometimes that means something different. We try not to look [at the stats during game weeks]. We'll take a look at [them during] the open date and do some self-scouting and take a hard look at some things to make sure there's not something glaring, but statistically we want to keep them to a low enough number to win the football game." Through six games – six wins – allow- ing just 9.0 points per game, the defense was doing just that. Numbers have helped. ■

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