Penn State defense puts together flawless performance against Indiana

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State’s defense was in a bind early Saturday night. The unit had dominated Indiana through the first 11 minutes of game action, giving up only 46 yards, 35 of which came on one passing play, but now it was backed up in the red zone through no fault of its own.

One play earlier, redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford threw a pass into coverage and Indiana’s Raheem Layne hauled it in and returned it to the Penn State 13-yard line.

With its backs against the wall with only a seven-point lead, Penn State’s defense did what it has done all year long — it suffocated the Indiana offense and got the ball back for its offense without giving up a single point.

“The fact that we had that stop was big for us,” said Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., a North Allegheny graduate “(Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry) speaks heavily on that. … That shows what our defense is really made of. If we can stop an offense on sudden change that just takes all the momentum away.”

Those are the types of plays the Penn State defense has made in big moments all season as it continues to prove it’s one of the best defenses in the country in every facet of the game.

The Nittany Lions — who shut out the Hoosiers in a 24-0 win Saturday night — are required to excel against the run and pass at all three levels of defense. The groups must be in harmony in order for the unit to find success as a whole.

When defensive coordinator Brent Pry dials up a blitz, each group must protect the others. The front seven has to find its home at the quarterback because the secondary has added stress knowing the group will have to get tighter coverage to allow the pressure to land.

The secondary must hold up as long as it can, knowing the quarterback will try to get rid of the ball quickly to avoid the oncoming pass rushers.

Porter — who hauled in his first career interception Saturday night — said there’s a concerted effort to get closer coverage, knowing the ball is on its way soon.

“We just know if we blitz the ball is coming out fast,” Porter said. “So we just know we gotta lock in and lock our guys up. That’s really it. If we’re blitzing that means they count on us to make the stop when he puts the ball in the air.”

There are times where the opposite is true. Pry will drop eight players into coverage, expecting his linebackers and defensive backs to close every passing lane — either forcing the quarterback to throw into tight coverage or covering for so long that one of the three pass rushers gets to the quarterback.

While that cohesion also exists in those situations, the team also has the type of game-breaking talents that can nullify the need to be rowing in the same direction.

For instance, defensive end Arnold Ebiketie may as well have have reached out to the local bureaucracy in charge of zoning so he could get a permit to build property in the Indiana backfield that he was living in all night. Ebiketie made play after play to disrupt the Indiana passing game and allowed the team to rush only four and get pressure.

On one occasion, the Nittany Lions rushed only three players with the Hoosiers, keeping six players in to block.

It didn’t matter.

Ebiketie blew up every blocker in his way and leveled Indiana backup quarterback Jack Tuttle — who was in the game for his first play after an injury to starter Michael Penix Jr. — earning his lone sack of the night to go along with a field goal he blocked. The senior defensive end knows he’s going to see plenty of double teams, so he adjusts accordingly.

“Whenever you see that tight end lining up it and it’s third down, you know it’s a passing down, you expect him to chip you,” he said. “Sometimes I kind of line up wide to make sure I beat the tight end with speed. … The mindset changes a little bit, but at the end of the day it’s not really a big difference. You’ve just got to make sure you go out there and do your job.”

The way Ebiketie sees it, it doesn’t matter how many blockers are in his way — he plans on getting into the backfield.

His belief in the defensive line’s ability to get after the quarterback is so strong that he reminds Pry that he doesn’t need to blitz all that often to get into the backfield.

“Rushing three guys and rushing four guys, it really doesn’t matter,” Ebiketie said. “Sometimes we (tell) Coach Pry we believe we can rush three guys and still get the pressure we need. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter, you just have to rush.”

Then there’s the running game, where there aren’t many words that can describe just how dominant Penn State has been most of the season. Saturday night was no exception. Indiana was held to 69 rushing yards on 24 attempts, with Nittany Lions swarming every rush.

It did not matter if the Hoosiers ran up the middle or tried to bounce one outside and get the edge — defenders were waiting either way.

That type of defense is nearly impossible to attack because, well, there is no right answer. Even good offenses are at a disadvantage.

Penn State coach James Franklin made note of the lack of weaknesses when he spoke following the win over the Hoosiers.

“I just think we’re playing really good complimentary defensive football,” Franklin said. “I don’t know if we’re overwhelming in any area but I think the defense is doing their job, the linebackers are doing their job, the secondary is doing their job, and I think the coaches are doing a tremendous job. We’re just playing really good, complimentary defensive football.”

While Franklin may not think his defense is overwhelming, opponents still have yet to crack the code.

That forced a paltry rushing performance from the Hoosiers overall and a poor passing game from Penix when the game was still within reach.

Maybe overwhelming isn’t the right word to describe the defense as a whole.

Maybe there’s another more apt term for the performance by a group that doesn’t seem to get rattled, doesn’t struggle against the run and doesn’t get beaten by the pass.

Flawless.