Penn State defense looks to be aggressive from ‘the get-go’ vs. Iowa after slow starts
Through Penn State’s 0-4 start to this season, a lot of the blame has been placed on the Nittany Lions’ struggling offense. Poor quarterback play, an undeveloped running game, offensive line issues — the list goes on and on.
But Penn State’s defense is just as responsible for the situation the team finds itself in now. The Nittany Lions have been outscored 93-26 in their four first halves this season. And though they’ve flipped the switch in every second half this year — not giving up any offensive touchdowns in the second halves of their last two games versus Maryland and Nebraska — it’s been too little, too late.
“It’s a four-quarter game,” junior linebacker Jesse Luketa said Tuesday. “And at times, as a leader of the defense, I’ve gotta remind the guys, ‘Hey, they’re gonna throw some punches. We’ve gotta throw some blows back.’ It’s all about how you respond.”
To their credit, the Nittany Lions’ defense has certainly responded when in holes. Penn State has outscored — and outgained in total yards — each of its four opponents in the second half so far this season. But it’s still come up short all four times.
Against Nebraska last Saturday, the difference in the team’s first- and second-half defensive performance was the most glaring its been all season. Penn State outscored Nebraska 17-3 in the final two quarters of the contest after being down 27-6 at halftime, while holding the Cornhuskers to just 95 yards of total offense in the second half.
Junior defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher said the Nittany Lions came out with “a plan” in the second half — one that they need to start following from the opening kick.
“We came out in the second half with much better energy than we started the game with,” Mustipher said Wednesday. “That’s how we’ve gotta start games. It can’t be a question of, ‘What changed in the second half? What’d you guys do better in the second half?’ It has to be from the get-go.”
The unit has brought its best effort when it’s had it’s back to the wall. Even with halftime deficits of 21 points against Nebraska and Maryland, 15 points against Ohio State and 10 points against Indiana, the Nittany Lions’ defense hasn’t given up.
Redshirt junior linebacker Ellis Brooks said that it’s a change in attitude after halftime that’s causing the Penn State defense to be more relentless in second halves. He wants him and his teammates to bring the same mindset they did in the second half versus Nebraska from the start of every game.
“That mentality that we played that second half with — that ‘enough is enough’ mentality — it’s not something you can (just) come out on Saturdays with,” Brooks said Wednesday. “It’s something that’s gotta be trained — that we’ve been training every single day of the week. … And it needs to translate on the field this week.”
Despite the defense’s first-half struggles, Luketa said the unit hasn’t lost any confidence in what it can do.
Now, it’s just about accomplishing for a full 60 minutes what it’s shown it’s capable of in flashes all season.
“Our point of emphasis and our focus is getting to that point early,” Luketa said. “When we get our cleats sunk in the grass and we start playing hungry and flocking to the ball — all 11 of us — it’s very hard for offenses to play against us.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 5:58 PM.
