Ranking Penn State Football’s top five moments of 2021

1. “DEFENSE” “DEFENSE” “DEFENSE”

Gus Johnson said it best … DEFENSE.

In the season opener at Wisconsin, one of the marquee matchups in all of college football in week one, it was Penn State Football’s defense that took center stage.

After a Noah Cain touchdown put the Nittany Lions up 16-10, a missed extra point left them up only six points and the ball back in Wisconsin’s hands. Quarterback Graham Mertz had the Badgers driving, but a stingy red zone defense forced a fourth and eight with two minutes to go.

Mertz looked over the middle and safety Jaquan Brisker stepped in front of what would have been a wide-open tight end for a touchdown and intercepted the pass, once again holding the Badgers out of the endzone.

That all but ended the game, as they would get the ball back and again be intercepted, this time by safety Ji’Ayir Brown, but the play by Brisker is truly what saved the game for Penn State Football. Losing 17-16 after missing an extra point would have been a devastating start to the season for the Nittany Lions follwoing a 4-5 campaign in 2020 especially.

Even though the season did not go as planned at 7-5, that will forever be a “where were you” moment when Brisker stepped in front of that Graham Mertz pass for Penn State Football fans.