Penn State Football vs Auburn: Who has the better team?

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 18: Joey Porter Jr. #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts during the second half of the game against the Auburn Tigers at Beaver Stadium on September 18, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Secondary

Penn State has one of the best secondaries in the country, led by projected first round pick cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Joining Porter is two young talented corners in Kalen King and Johnny Dixon. Daequan Hardy handles the nickel position for this group and does it well.

The safeties are just as good, headlined by Ji’Ayir Brown, who was tied for the national lead in interceptions last season.

This group does not have an interception yet this year, but the defensive backs have 20 pass defends in two games. Safety Zakee Wheatley also had a key forced fumble against Purdue.

Purdue’s pass-happy offense did give this group some trouble, but that pass attack has given everyone trouble. In the end, they made big plays in the fourth quarter when they needed to. Ohio passes for just 164 yards and completed under 50% of its passes.

The Nittany Lions have allowed just one passing touchdown so far this year.

For Auburn, the group is rebuilding with three key losses from last year in corner Roger McCreary and safeties Smoke Monday and Bydarrius Knighten.

Safety Donovan Kaufman has emerged as a leader for the group in 2022 with nine tackles and two pass defends. Senior cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett has taken over as the lead corner for the Tigers with McCreary off to the NFL.

Auburn has allowed 236 passing yards per game through the first two weeks. That’s not a terrible number, but the competition was Mercer and San Jose State.

Sean Clifford had a lot of success against this secondary last year, and that version was better than this one.

Advantage: Penn State

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