Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions’ performance vs. Buffalo

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 07: Matt Myers #10 of the Buffalo Bulls attempts a pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first half at Beaver Stadium on September 07, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

. . DEFENSIVE LINE . C+.

I gave the defensive line an A+ vs. Idaho, as they only allowed four rushing yards the entire game. The story was a bit different vs. Buffalo, as they did allow 184 yards rushing.

However, Buffalo did run the ball 58 times, so they only averaged 3.2 yards per carry. Allowing 3.2 yards per carry isn’t bad at all.

Where I thought the defensive line went wrong in this game was getting pressure on the quarterback. Penn State only had one sack in this game, which isn’t ideal against an opponent like Buffalo. Buffalo shouldn’t have two more sacks than Penn State, which they did.

Junior defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos was the one to come up with the sack. He also had three total tackles in the game and a QB hurry.

Redshirt senior defensive tackle Robert Windsor led all defensive linemen in tackles with five. Sophomore defensive tackle P.J Mustipher had four tackles, including a tackle for loss. Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Fred Hansard also had a solid game with three tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.

Moreover, redshirt freshman defensive end Jayson Oweh had three tackles and a QB hurry, and defensive tackle Daniel Joseph had a half a tackle for loss. Redshirt junior defensive end Shane Simmons had a tackle for loss, and Redshirt junior defensive end Shaka Toney had a half a tackle for loss.

Next week, the defensive line needs to put more pressure on the quarterback. Only one sack is a huge reason why Buffalo was able to put so many long drives together.

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