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

By Dylan Burd

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 05: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 05: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 05: Jack Plummer #13 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts a pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 05: Jack Plummer #13 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts a pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second half at Beaver Stadium on October 5, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

A+. . . . THE DEFENSIVE LINE

The picture above of Purdue quarterback Jack Plummer was probably one of the only pictures taken off him actually being able to get off a pass. Why? It’s because the Penn State defense had 10 sacks on the day, one short of the school record. Eight of them came by the defensive line, who played the best game of any positional unit this year.

In addition to the sacks, the Penn State defense allowed a total of -19 rushing yards on the day. The -19 comes from Jack Plummer having -65 rushing yards on 14 caries from all the sack yards, but even if you take that out, Penn State only allowed 46 yards on 14 carries.

Defensive end Shaka Toney had the best game of his career, as he had a team-high three sacks. Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos had two sacks and two QB hurries.

In addition, defensive tackle Fred Hansard and defensive end Jayson Oweh had a sack each. Defensive tackles Robert Windsor and Antonio Shelton had a half-sack each. Windsor also had two QB hurries. Defensive tackles P.J Mustipher also chipped into the effort with a tackle for loss.

After this ridiculous performance from the Penn State defense, the Nittany Lions rank fifth in the nation with 25 sacks on the season. This is by far the best defense Penn State has had in the James Franklin era.

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