Lions defense delivers second half statement
PITTSBURGH - Penn State head coach James Franklin offered no defense for his Nittany Lions’ defensive performance in the first half Saturday night.
Allowing 231 yards of offense to the host Pitt Panthers on 39 plays, 214 of which occurred on the ground, Penn State’s defense had few answers for running back Qadree Ollison. Except, of course, when it counted most.
“I didn't think we played great defensive football in the first half, but I think we played clutch defense in the first half,” said Franklin. “We gave up big runs, but we stepped up and made plays when it mattered most. So I thought that was really important for us.”
Surrendering a touchdown to Ollison on the Panthers’ second possession of the game, the Nittany Lions allowed return trips to their own 31, 17, and 7-yard lines on successive Pitt possessions. The results were far from the Panthers’ liking, though, the potential scoring drives ending with an Amani Oruwariye interception, a wide-right field goal attempt, and a key fourth down stop for a Pitt turnover on downs midway through the second quarter.
It’d be the last time the Panthers would find themselves in Penn State territory for the game.
Crediting the defensive line with making adjustments against a Pitt offense having repeated success running counter and power plays, Franklin witnessed the Nittany Lions playing more freely through the second half.
Most notably, he said, Kevin Givens returned from his one-game suspension in the Nittany Lions’ opener to pace a defensive line that produced four sacks and 10 tackles for a loss against the Panthers. One week after struggling against Appalachian State without Givens’ services, finishing with 2.0 sacks and 6.0 TFLs versus the Mountaineers, the Nittany Lions unlocked what Franklin considers to be the key to the defense’s success.
“That's where we're going to be able to win this season, short term and long term, is up front,” said Franklin. “I think we all realize Kevin Givens is a difference maker and the fact that you've got Kevin and (Robert) Windsor and Shareef (Miller) and Yetur (Gross-Matos) all on the field, we think that's a really good group, and now that allows us to get that next wave of guys a bunch of reps and be able to grow those guys because as this season continues to go on, we're going to need depth across the defensive line. We've got talented guys, but some of them lack some experience… Having Kevin back, I don't think there's any doubt that he had a major factor in the game.”
So too were turnovers and other clutch defensive moments to round out the rest of the game.
Giving up 226 yards and a touchdown on the Panthers’ first five possessions, the Nittany Lions grabbed two more fumble recoveries, forced a safety, and allowed only 64 yards of total offense the rest of the way.
Asked if his side of the ball was hoping to make a statement in the second half, junior linebacker Cam Brown answered in the affirmative.
“That's definitely one way to put it,” said Brown. “We came out knowing that we had to play better than we did in the first half because we were giving up 200 yards in rushing and we knew that that's not us. We can't let up the run.
“We knew that was their strength and pretty much their only way of playing football is running the ball, so we knew once we stopped that, the game was in our hands and that's what we had to come out and do in the second half.”