Penn State Football: three stats that will define success in 2022
By Nick Kreiser
Sacks
Similar to the running game, we recently wrote about the lack of an effective pass rush being an overlooked aspect that held Penn State Football back in 2021. (That article can be found here).
In 2021, Penn State Football was ranked 74th in the country for total sacks.
Not only that, but they even struggled to, at the very least, get some pressure on opposing quarterbacks to force them to get the ball out quick and potentially make some bad decisions.
For example, against Ohio State last season, not only did they fail to record a single sack, but they only recorded one QB pressure. Against that good of an offense with a quarterback as talented at CJ Stroud, you can’t give him all the time in the world to make good decisions and set his feet to deliver accurate throws.
The defensive end unit specifically needs to step up and find a way to regularly get opposing quarterbacks on the ground.
Some pass rush help from the interior would be helpful too, as well as from the second level in blitz packages. Speaking of blitzing, Manny Diaz’s aggressive approach to calling a defense – including exotic blitzes – should help this team get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
If Penn State has a similar number of sacks as they did in 2021, this defense could struggle against the best teams on the Nittany Lions’ schedule, but if they can get that mark in the 40+ range, this defense could be dominant and one of the best in all of college football.