Penn State Football: causes for concern for the Nittany Lions’ road trip to The Big House

After a much-needed bye week, Penn State Football turns their attention to the Michigan Wolverines in the first game of a season-defining three game stretch.

The Wolverines are currently favored by one possession at home, and these two teams are very equal in terms of talent across the board. That means something has to give.

If things go the way of the Nittany Lions, there’s no doubt they can win this one, but some mishaps in a few key areas could cost them.

These are three causes for concern for Penn State Football has they hit the road for their first divisional matchup of the season.

Cause for concern #1 – Michigan taking advantage of Manny Diaz’s approach

Overall, Manny Diaz and the Penn State defense has been outstanding so far this season; but they’re still far from perfect.

Led by JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum, and Ronnie Bell, this is by far the best and most balanced offense that the Nittany Lions have faced to this point.

Through five games, Diaz’s aggressive approach has paid off far more often than not, but with that reward comes a great deal of risk; and the more chances you take as a defensive coordinator, the more susceptible you are to allow explosive plays.

So far, no opposing offense has been good enough to truly take advantage of it, but with a solid gameplan, Michigan certainly can.

For The Blogy does an excellent job of breaking down the risk/reward factors of Manny Diaz’s defensive philosophy in their film breakdown of the Penn State defense against Central Michigan.

A fear of mine heading into this game is that Michigan is able to make Diaz pay for this approach, and that they’ll be able to get the ball out quickly and into the hands of their playmakers; and find different ways to counter his approach.

They’ll also likely look to use a lot a rub routes and crossing routes to allow their receivers to get open against Penn State’s man coverage. After all, that’s what won them the game last year as Kalen King got caught up in traffic in man coverage and as a result, Erick All got wide open on a crossing route to score the go-ahead touchdown.

I still think this defense is plenty talented enough to create some negative plays and turnovers against the Wolverines, but the concern is that they will give up one too many explosive plays that will end up being the difference on that side of the ball.