Penn State Football vs Iowa: Nittany Lions’ reasons for optimism, to worry

Penn State Football Reason to Worry – Iowa’s Pass Rush

While Penn State Football’s offensive line has not been bad so far this year in pass protection, one thing they do struggle with, is when the defense runs a stunt. Well…Iowa loves to run stunts, especially on third and long.

For those who don’t know, here is a thorough description of what a ‘stunt’ is;

"A ‘stunt’, sometimes called a ‘twist’, is when two defensive players (typically defensive lineman) switch assignments or gaps, with one player crossing behind or in front of their nearby teammate. You can think of it as two football players running a pick and roll on an offensive lineman. One DL ‘sets the screen’ so to speak, the other curves behind it. Video of this action is presented later in this article. – theonlycolors.com"

The Hawkeyes have 13 total sacks as a team, led by defensive tackle Lukas Van Ness with four. Typically it is harder to get pressure on the quarterback from an interior defensive lineman like Van Ness, but because the Hawkeyes run so many stunts, he has been able to get home four times.

Sean Clifford has not been sacked much this year, but when he has been, at least half of them have come when the defense ran a stunt. Plus, a lot of times when he is pressured but is able to get the ball out and/or scramble out of harm’s way, it has also been against a stunt.

The Nittany Lions’ offensive line struggles to communicate and decipher who should be blocking who when defenses are switching gap assignments with a stunt.

Not only are taking sacks for negative plays not going to help Penn State Football win this game, but forcing Clifford to make mistakes and rush throws as a result of pressure, could lead to interceptions against a Hawkeye defense that is great at forcing turnovers and taking advantage of mistakes.