Penn State Football: Grades Nittany Lions in win vs. Rutgers
By Dylan Burd
Defensive Line
It wasn’t the best of games for the defensive line, as Rutgers ran the ball all over Penn State. Rutgers had 44 carries for 184 yards, which is 4.2 yards per carry. For context, Ohio State ran for 3.8 yards per carry in last week’s game.
To add to not being able to stop the run, the defensive line got minimal pressure on Rutgers QB Johnny Langan. As a result, Langan threw for 164 yards, the second-most he’s ever had in a single game.
Penn State had three sacks and six tackles for loss in the game. Of those, the defensive line had one sack and three tackles for loss.
Robert Windsor and P.J Mustipher led all defensive linemen with five tackles, a half tackle for loss, and a QB hurry each. Shaka Toney had four tackles, a half tackle for loss, and a QB hurry as well.
Antonio Shelton and Jayson Oweh had three tackles each, and Shane Simons and Adisa Isaac had two tackles, including a half a tackle for loss. Daniel Joseph and Judge Culpepper each had half a sack.
Additionally, Jayson Oweh had a costly roughing the passer penalty on a third and nine that kept a Rutgers field goal drive going in the third quarter. The call was questionable, but it was still a penalty that hurt the team.
No matter who Penn State’s opponent is in the bowl game, it’s going to have a much more explosive and dynamic rushing attack than Rutgers, so it’s crucial that the Nittany Lions fix their defensive line problems that they’ve been having in the past few games.