Translating the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Last Year’s Ohio State Game: Defense Edition

Last season, a star-studded, No. 2-ranked Ohio State team rolled into Happy Valley for a matchup with No. 13 Penn State and left with a 44-31 victory on the last Saturday of October.

Led by 2023 NFL Draft first-round picks C.J. Stroud and Paris Johnson Jr., the Buckeyes’ offense displayed explosiveness while missing another first-round pick, Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

357 days later and 350 miles west, the programs meet again, both undefeated and competing for the Big Ten East title and at a shot at the College Football Playoff.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of Penn State’s defense during last year’s contest and what it might mean for the 2023 installment.

The Good: Bent but Didn’t Break

The goal of a defense is to keep points off the scoreboard, and while the final total may have been 44, for most of the game, the Nittany Lion defense minimized Ohio State’s scoring ability.

Stroud and his unit full of playmakers drove the ball into the red zone on five occasions over the four-quarter affair. Of those five trips down within the 20-yard line, the Buckeyes scored on four but only found the endzone on two red zone trips.

Noah Ruggles was forced into four field goal attempts, all from at least 37 yards away, of which he hit three. The graduate kicker missed a 53-yard second-quarter kick, which kept the score at 3-0 in favor of the visiting team.

After the miss, the blue and white was set up with a short field, but the offense put the defense in a tough situation as Sean Clifford threw one of his three interceptions on the ensuing drive. Those situations were common for the Nittany Lions’ defense, as three turnovers resulted in the defense, coming right back onto the field with little rest.

Though that time of possession evened itself out as the game progressed, that defense was on the field for 10:01 in the opening quarter, which resulted in three Ohio State drives and a portion of a fourth. Despite the odds mounted against them, the Nittany Lions kept the game tight given the circumstances, as they trailed only 10-0 after the first 15 minutes.

What it Means for This Year

Penn State’s opponents have entered the red zone seven times through six games thus far. The Nittany Lion defense, which boasts two shutouts and the nation’s second-best scoring defense, allowing just 8.00 points per game, has kept three opponents out of the red zone against Delaware, No. 24 Iowa and UMass.

Although the number of trips inside the Nittany Lions’ 20-yard line has been minimal, opponents are a perfect seven-for-seven in scoring on their red zone opportunities. Of those seven scores, five have gone for six, giving opponents a touchdown conversion rate of 71.4% after being held to a rate of 47.6%, 20-of-42, a season ago.

Not allowing opponents to have long drives that result in red zone opportunities has kept the time of possession in favor of the blue and white. On average, the Nittany Lions possess the ball for over 34 minutes per game.

Mike Yurcich’s offense has given the defense time to catch its breath on the sideline, only not controlling the majority of the time against West Virginia and UMass. Twice this season, Yurcich’s unit has dominated possession for over 40 minutes, 42:22 against the Blue Hens and 45:27 versus the Hawkeyes, leaving his counterpart, Manny Diaz’s unit with little to do.

The Bad: The Battle in the Trenches

Three of the five starting five offensive linemen for the Buckeyes last season found themselves drafted to NFL teams in late April. The aforementioned Johnson Jr., who was drafted sixth overall, and Dawand Jones, who was drafted in the fourth round, bookended the offensive line, while Luke Wypler, a sixth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, centered it.

Those three along with Donovan Jackson and Matthew Jones, who both return to their guard positions this season, controlled the line of scrimmage time and time again in October of 2022.

The Nittany Lion defensive unit had a combined two sacks and seven tackles for loss, but only two defensive linemen, Dvon Ellies and Dani Dennis-Sutton, helped plays go backward. Ellies recorded a full tackle for loss, while Dennis-Sutton registered half of a tackle for loss.

Cornerback Johnny Dixon and linebacker Abdul Carter were the two that brought Stroud down to the ground on blitzes, while Kalen King, Kobe King, Jaylen Reed and Keaton Ellis all found ways to stop plays behind the line of scrimmage themselves.

Adisa Isaac and Chop Robinson, two of the biggest names on the Penn State defense, both of whom are likely to find themselves drafted during the 2024 NFL Draft, each only had one tackle in the contest. While P.J. Mustipher, who is now on the Denver Broncos Practice Squad, only stuffed three plays up the middle.

Without a strong upfront presence, TreVeyon Henderson ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, while Stroud had more than enough time to get comfortable in the pocket en route to a 26-of-33, 354 yards and a touchdown pass.

What it Means for This Year

Outside of Mustipher, the Nittany Lions returned most of their key cogs on the defensive line, including both Robinson and Isaac and while the line may be coached by a new face in Deion Barnes, it has produced at another high clip.

Led by Isaac, who has five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss, and Robinson, who has three and five in those respective categories, the Nittany Lions lead the country with 4.5 sacks per game while ranking fifth with an average of 8.5 tackles for loss.

Since only sacking Stroud a couple of times a season ago, Penn State has recorded three or more sacks in eleven straight games. That streak, which includes the final five games of last season, has been continued this season in part due to the depth of the defensive line. Zuriah Fisher, Zane Durant, Coziah Izzard, Amin Vanover and Dennis-Sutton each have at least 1.5 sacks from their defensive line positions.

With Josh Simmon, Josh Fryar and Carson Hinzman sliding into the spots along Ohio State’s offense that were left vacant by their three NFL Draft selections, the unit has taken a step back, especially as of late. After allowing just four sacks through its first four games, Justin Frye’s unit has allowed six over the last two games against Purdue and Maryland.

Despite the shakiness at times so far in the passing game, the Buckeyes still rank 15th nationally with 308 passing yards per game, up just around 10 yards from their average of 298.31 last year. That 10-yard increase doesn’t make up for the nearly 60-yard drop-off in rushing yards per game.

Although there have been some injuries in the running back room of Ohio State, the offensive line isn’t opening the same holes it was a season ago, dropping the Buckeyes to 52nd in the nation with 135 yards on the ground per game. That 52nd overall rushing attack will be facing the 2nd best running defense in the nation, as the Nittany Lions are holding opponents to 72.5 rushing yards on average.

The Ugly: Chunk Plays

James Franklin makes it a point each week to mention whether his team won or lost the explosive play battle. Last season, Ryan Day’s team won that battle of which team could produce more plays of at least 12 yards.

Day’s team took even one step further as they produced 13 plays of 15 or more yards, including eight of at least 20 yards. Two of the Buckeyes touchdowns came on plays over 20 yards, including a 41-yard run by Henderson and a 24-yard reception by Cade Stover.

In the absence of Smith-Njigba, the receiver room also found plenty of success. Marvin Harrison Jr. had a 37-yard catch as part of his 10-reception, 185-yard performance, Emeka Egbuka hauled in a 42-yard pass en route to 53 yards on six catches, and Julian Fleming added a 23-yard chunk play of his own.

The Penn State offense had seven plays of 15 yards or more, which all went for over 20 yards, on its way to a 31-point outing, but there was a lack of complimentary football. In addition to the Ohio State game, 31 points would have only not won the blue and white two of its other games: Michigan and Purdue.

What it Means for This Year

Play the way you’ve played all year.

Penn State hasn’t won the explosive play battle every week this season, but if you remove a 66-yard touchdown run by Marcus Yarns against Delaware, the Nittany Lions have had no problem removing big plays from opponents’ repertoires.

The blue and white are allowing just 3.4 yards per play against this season, which ranks best in the country, while allowing 193.7 yards per game, another category in which they are atop college football.

Outside of the aforementioned big run by Henderson, the majority of the big plays came through the air, which might bode well for first-year starter Kyle McCord as the Buckeyes return Harrison Jr., Egbuka, Fleming and Stover as passing weapons.

Egbuka didn’t travel to Purdue last week after leaving the week prior against Maryland with an apparent injury. The third-year wide receiver’s status remains uncertain after last seen with a boot over his left foot.

Regardless of whether Egbuka is available, Kalen King, Johnny Dixon and the rest of Terry M. Smith’s cornerback room and Anthony Poindexter’s safety room have their hands full. So far, those two units compose a stout secondary that has allowed the fewest passing yards per game at 121.2.

McCord, who is 109-of-170 passing for 1651 yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception, doesn’t have the same scrambling ability as Stroud, with a net of -21 rushing yards this season. If that secondary can blanket the receivers, the aforementioned defensive line could bring McCord down more times than it did Stroud a season ago.

Justin Ciavolella is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu or justinciavolella@gmail.com.