Penn State Football: reasons for optimism against Ohio State

Penn State Football looks for a season-defining win this weekend as Ohio State comes to town, but the Nittany Lions will have to play a near perfect game to come out on top.

There’s plenty of causes for concern in this one, some of which we discussed in our causes for concern vs Ohio State article, but there’s a reason they play the games every Saturday–because you just never know.

These are three reasons for fans to be optimistic that Penn State Football can shake up the college football world with an upset this weekend.

Reason for optimism #1 – pass rush/secondary combination

Ohio State’s bread and butter is their passing game, but Penn State features one of the better pass defenses in the country. While their yards per game allowed is nothing to write home about, their yards per attempt allowed is.

The Nittany Lions are 79th in the country in passing yards allowed per game at 232.9, but 11th in the country in yards per attempt allowed at 5.99.

The Buckeyes feature what is likely the best receiving corps in the country, and no secondary in the country can completely shut them down. However, if there is a secondary that can limit their impact, it’s Penn State’s.

Combine that with a good Penn State pass rush, and the Nittany Lions have a chance in this one.

Chop Robinson has been nothing short of excellent this season, and Dani Dennis-Sutton has played more and more in recent weeks and is progressing nicely. The two of them–along with some other members of the front seven that have a knack for getting after the quarterback–can be difference makers in this one.

Last season in this matchup, CJ Stroud was not sacked once and quite honestly was not pressured much at all throughout the game. As a result, he had plenty of time to stand in the pocket and find open receivers downfield. Had the Nittany Lions been able to get home for a few sacks and force him to speed up his decision-making process a little more, the game could’ve been much closer.

This year’s pass rush is certainly improved from 2021, which is great news heading into this matchup.

Stroud being uncomfortable in the pocket and having to rush some throws into tight windows against a great defensive backfield could lead to a lot of turnovers, negative plays, and incompletions for the Buckeye offense.

If Penn State Football does in fact find a way to pull off the upset this week, the pass rush and coverage on the back end playing really well will be a big reason why.