What I think I know about Penn State after the Big Ten opener: Lions can play bully ball
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Hundreds of recruits lined the Beaver Stadium sideline before Penn State 's Big Ten opener on Saturday night. James Franklin worked his way down the line, shaking hands and joking with younger siblings.
What those recruits saw during Penn State's 21-7 win over Illinois is a Nittany Lions team that does not lack physicality.
Here's what I think I know about No. 7 Penn State after a 4-0 start to the season:
I can't help but think back to the media room in Ann Arbor, Mich., a couple of years ago when I asked Franklin about the play in the trenches and he lamented about the size of his defensive tackles. Penn State wasn't big enough and was not nearly physical enough in the trenches on either side of the ball. When Illinois deployed extra offensive linemen during that nine-overtime game a few years ago, it was another reminder that Penn State could be pushed around up front.
The Lions are not getting pushed around these days. In fact, they are the ones doing the pushing.
"We got challenged by Coach and we took that to heart," guard Vega Ioane said. "We went out there and played like it."
Whether it was Nick Singleton lowering his shoulder along the sideline on third-and-7, dishing out punishment and turning the reception into a 9-yard gain, tight end Tyler Warren going airborne for a 3-yard rushing touchdown or Ioane leveling defenders, this was as physical of a showing all around that I can remember. The defense was superb for three of four quarters. Defensive tackle Zane Durant continued to be impactful and even had a sack to show for it.
"I like running people over," running back Kaytron Allen said. "Anybody in front of me, I'm not gonna fall backwards. I'm gonna fall forwards, always. Plus-2 (yards) on contact. That's just who I am and who we are as a running back group and as a team."
Illinois is known for its physicality. This is a team that wants to run the ball and keep doing it until the other team shows it can stop it. Penn State not only stopped it but dished out its own punishment on the ground. Keep in mind that Illinois had not surrendered a touchdown on the ground through four games. Penn State punched in rushing touchdowns of 3, 4 and 5 yards.
"Both of them today, you could pick out a couple runs on film where they kind of made it a point to have that mentality," Warren said, referring to tailbacks Singleton and Allen. "Running angry and running physically."
Allen said this was the goal when the team went through grueling workouts over the summer. Penn State knew it needed to be more physical than other teams. Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider has been on Singleton to "release my strength more" as Singleton put it. Saturday night, they all did.
At halftime, quarterback Drew Allar told his offensive linemen to keep at it because he could see Illinois getting worn out.
"That gets us going as an O-line when our quarterback gives us a little love for the job we're doing up front," Ioane said.
A superb run game and defense helped put Michigan on the path to a national title last year. Penn State showed it can play that style, too. We've already seen this offense be explosive. Being able to play both ways is not easy.
Only four games into their junior seasons, Allen (2,058) and Singleton (2,221) are the second set of Penn State teammates to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing each in their careers. They're in elite company with Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell. Harris finished his career with 2,002 rushing yards while Mitchell had 2,934.
"We can catch, block, anything," Allen said. "I feel like we're the best one-two punch in the country for sure because anytime (Nick) gets on the field, he gets yards. I can go in and do the same thing. We're helping each other."
Penn State ranks ninth nationally with 251.0 rushing yards per game. Last year, the Lions ranked 29th (184.9 yards per game).
Carter had seven tackles (including four for loss and two sacks), one forced fumble and one pass breakup. This was by far his most productive game of the season and is exactly the kind of production that was expected.
Penn State made it a point to line him up all over the place, something Franklin said they'd do after Carter switched from linebacker to defensive end in the offseason. This was the most we've seen of Carter playing both roles. Perhaps the coaches were waiting until conference play, but his ability to create mismatches and rush the passer will pose problems for the opponent. They need to keep moving him around.
"Just got to keep growing, keep learning, just keep getting better," Carter said. "You haven't seen the best of me yet."
From 1:41 left in the first half, when Illinois had the ball at the Penn State 2-yard line and failed to score, until the game ended, the Illini managed 39 total yards.
Illinois opened the game with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The Illini later picked up 30 yards on third-and-21 on a drive that eventually stalled, and they also had a 34-yard run on their final drive of the half.
I rehash this because Illinois made some plays in the first half, which we should expect from a Top-25 team. When we've seen the defense struggle in small stretches this season, it's often been in the first quarter. Bowling Green scored 10 points in the opening 15 minutes. Illinois had a perfect start with its touchdown drive that briefly quieted a rowdy home crowd. The snap over Luke Altmyer 's head was ultimately where this game turned. If Illinois doesn't line up in the shotgun and instead powers its way into the end zone for a touchdown before the half, who knows what happens?
Penn State's ability to elevate its defensive play in the second half is a promising development. That performance was eerily similar to something Penn State would've done last season when it had one of the best defenses in the country. Perhaps some of the early lapses are a result of trying to figure out what this defense has, especially without safety KJ Winston? Add in the penalties, which played a role both on the touchdown drive and in getting Illinois down to the 2-yard line, and there's still room for growth.
What the defense did in the second half was on par with what I thought we'd see this season in terms of generating pressure and coming up with takeaways.
What range does Penn State feel comfortable with using kicker Sander Sahaydak ? He missed a pair of 40-yard field goal attempts and was replaced by Ryan Barker for the final extra point, so it's fair to wonder if we might see the staff be more aggressive on fourth down due to the kicking issues.
Leading 14-7 late in the third quarter, Penn State went for it on fourth-and-3 from the Illinois 17-yard line. The pass was complete to Julian Fleming but was 1 yard short of the sticks. That one came up short, but we might see more of this in the coming weeks.
Sahaydak is now 2-for-5 this season and 3-for-9 in his collegiate career. Transfer Chase Meyer converted 17 of 20 field goals last season at Tulsa.
Earlier this month, special teams coordinator Justin Lustig said the competition among the three kickers remained "very, very close" and said the accuracy difference in practice was "3 to 5 percentage points between the top guy and the bottom guy." Don't be surprised if multiple kickers are trotted out next week against UCLA .
There's something special about watching how the Penn State defense feeds off the home crowd, especially at night. After the opening kick, several special teamers ran off the field and headed toward the student section. They were raising their arms and imploring them to get even louder.
This was as loud as I've ever heard Beaver Stadium.
"It felt like the White Out to me," safety Jaylen Reed said. "It's crazy that we can make a crowd come out like that even if it's not a White Out. It was pretty cool to see that."
By Franklin's estimation, there were seven plays the home crowd impacted. The snap over Altmyer's head occurred with Illinois headed right toward the student section.
The White Out will likely be a noon kick when Ohio State comes to town on Nov. 9, and there's no doubt having the game at home helps level the playing field.
I can't imagine what Beaver Stadium would sound like if Penn State hosted a College Football Playoff game.
"Every time I look in the crowd I get chills, man," Allen said. "Whenever I see people cheering us on and helping us win, man, it's just great."
(Photo of Kaytron Allen: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via )
