It may have just been week two, but the theme for this season of Penn State football appears to be clear. The defense is going to put a shaky Penn State offense in position to win games until the offense can figure some things out.
On what would eventually prove to be a dismal day of football around the Big Ten, Penn State managed to shrug aside a rough game and a potential upset bid from visiting Akron in a 21-3 victory. The offense was far from having a brilliant day, although sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg again put up some respectable numbers. The running game was again nowhere to be found and Hackenberg showed signs of forcing some plays that just were not there in a fashion we may not expect to see. If nothing else, Week two served as another reminder that Hackenberg still has some room for growth, and that should continue to be a terrifying thought for opposing defenses.
Fortunately, while Hackenberg continues to develop more chemistry with his receivers and the running game attempts to improve, the Penn State defense will keep scoring opportunities at a minimum and limit the damage done on the scoreboard. The defensive line had an impressive showing in the home opener, holding the Zips to just 69 rushing yards and 277 yards of total offense. And they needed to do just that because Penn State only managed seven points in the first half on offense. The line put together four sacks on Akron quarterback Kyle Pohl.
“Our defensive line will come after you and fight off the ball,” said defensive tackle Anthony Zettel. “With an aggressive defense with play calling, I feel like we all benefit off it. I couldn’t be happier playing with all the guys on the defense and Coach Shoop making great calls and having confidence in him.”
It is typically unwise to use such a small sample size at this point in the season to draw any conclusions, but Penn State ends the second week of the season with the second best total defensive numbers in the Big Ten, just ahead of Wisconsin and trailing only Indiana. Penn State has allowed just 10 third down conversions out of 30 attempts, which is currently six percentage points better than the 2013 average. When opponents have reached the red zone, Penn State’s defense has performed well, allowing just 37.5 percent of red zone opportunities (eight opportunities for UCF and Akron) lead to touchdowns for the opponents. Other than Wisconsin and Iowa (no red zone touchdowns allowed in eight combined situations), that is the best rate in the Big Ten in the early going.
If there is one thing that can be improved on with the defense, it is picking up turnovers. Penn State has forced just one turnover in the first two games of the season. Only Indiana (one game) and Michigan have done worse with zero forced turnovers (Nebraska also only has forced one turnover). Looking on the offense, only one team in the Big Ten has lost more turnovers than Penn State (six turnovers on offense), and that is Maryland (seven total turnovers lost). Penn State and Michigan share the worst turnover margin in the Big Ten with a -5.
As good as the defense has been, there is always room for improvement. This week will present another challenge away from home, with Rutgers looking to take advantage of a packed house for the first Big Ten game in program history. Paul James has ripped off 216 yards and four touchdowns in the first two weeks of the year and offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen has coked up some confidence in quarterback Gary Nova. Penn State’s defensive line should be up to the task to limit the good looks Nova gets a chance to see, but slowing down James on the ground is a must for Penn State to avoid slipping up on the road in week three.
Milestones
Christian Hackenberg passed for 319 yards, which ties Matt McGloin for the most career 300-yard passing games at Penn State (six). Hackenberg became the first 400-yard passer in school history in Week 1, which also helped him set a new school record for passing yards in back-to-back games with 773 yards (Zack Mills had 686 yards in 2002; 339 vs. Iowa, 287 vs. Wisconsin).
Hackenberg also moved in to the top ten in school history for most career passing yards (3,728 yards).
Tight end Jesse James had a career high two touchdowns in the game.
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Parker Cothren had his first career sack in the first quarter.
What’s Next?
Penn State is back on the road in week three, but it will be a short business trip. Penn State faces off with regional rival and new Big Ten member Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are off to a 2-0 start, highlighted by a week one shootout win in Seattle against Washington State. This will be the first Big Ten game in Rutgers history, and the Rutgers fans have been itching for this game since joining the conference. Penn State owns a lopsided edge in the series history (22-2) but Penn State has shown some cracks that can potentially be exposed by Rutgers.
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