tariq castro-fields

Previously: PSU Offense 

Yesterday we looked over the PSU offense, which has had trouble running the football. Today we look over the PSU defense, which has had troubles stopping the run, but the picture overall is rather muddled. They've pitched a shutout against a B1G opponent, yet let Illinois run it down their throat to death in a different week. What is the real Nittany Lions defense? Let's investigate. 

The Film: We're again sticking with the OSU game for this. I know that Ohio State has a vastly superior offense to Michigan (and to just about everyone in America), but our options were limited because of PJ Mustipher's injury, which occurred against Iowa. That leaves us with only the Illinois, Ohio State, and Maryland games as potential usable options, and even though OSU is a better offense than Michigan, I still think they're a better fit than Maryland (and their supremely weak OL) and Illinois, who refused to throw the football to a comical extent. So we're rolling with the Buckeyes, but are going to remain cognizant about the issues in comparability that pop up. 

Personnel: Seth's chart. 

Personnel: PSU's defensive ends are the strength of the defense, with Arnold Ebiketie on one side and Jesse Luketa on the other, both of whom are great players. Nick Taburton and Smith Vilbert (great name) are the reserve pass rushers who rotate in, but the big dogs get most of the attention. On the contrary, it's the interior defensive line that is the weakness of the defense since the injury of PJ Mustipher. The reason the Mustipher loss is so massive is because while Derrick Tangelo can hang in there as a nose tackle, Dvon Ellies and Coziah Izzard are both horrendous tackles and have emerged as a major weak spot. 

At the LB level, PSU runs out returning starters Ellis Brooks and Brandon Smith, pairing them with new starter Curtis Jacobs. Those three rarely rotate, with Charlie Katshir occasionally getting in, but otherwise it's the three LB starters getting almost all of the snaps. 

The secondary is similarly stable, with forever Nittany Lion Tariq Castro-Fields starting at one corner spot for the 17th straight year (not exact numbers), while Joey Porter Jr. starts at the other corner position. Daequan Hardy is the nickel and then Johnny Dixon is the fourth corner who rotates in occasionally when they need extra DB bodies. Jaquan Brisker is another star at the SS position, someone who is getting legitimate NFL Draft hype. Ji'Ayir Brown is the other starting safety, getting the start at the FS position. Jon Sutherland and Keaton Ellis are the third and fourth options on the depth chart, but Brisker and Brown get the most snaps by a considerable margin. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Good defense? Or bad defense?]

Previously on The Enemy, Ranked: Quarterback, Running Back, Receiver, OL, DL, Linebacker

We have made it to the last The Enemy piece, featuring the secondary. The secondary comprises cornerback and safety, but does not include hybrid space players, which we included in our preceding piece on linebackers. Some teams roll with five DB's, others with four, so the charts will vary based on which team I'm talking about. As a general trend for this piece that will be reiterated the farther we go down the list, the P5 teams who appear on Michigan's schedule this season have good secondaries. While I was generally unimpressed by the DL's and even some of the LB groups, the secondaries make up for that, with the number of just solid secondaries running 10 deep on Michigan's schedule. That's going to be a challenge. Let's get started with the kings at the top, Indiana: 

1. Indiana

It says a lot about how good Indiana's secondary was last season that they could lose Jahmar Johnson, a 1st team All-B1G safety, in the offseason, and still manage to stay #1 on this list. The strength of IU's secondary is the corners, a pair of studs in Jaylin Williams and Tiawan Mullen, both of whom were starred on last season's FFFF. Mullen is a legit superstar who should be a damn near lock to be 1st team All-B1G this season, while Williams was 2nd team last season and should be a favorite to be right there yet again. Reese Taylor is an experienced veteran who figures to be the nickel corner on this defense, which is a fine option to have. At safety there's going to be some drop off in losing Johnson, but Devon Matthews is still around, 3rd team All-B1G last season, even if the reality of his play may be a bit worse than that distinction. 

Raheem Layne returning from injury is the favorite to replace Johnson at the free safety position and given that safety is a position where you like to have some players who know the scheme and their way around the field, it's nice to have a pair of seniors lining up there. As a four or five man unit, Indiana's secondary is great, and no other team on Michigan's schedule comes close to having the lockdown corner tandem of IU, and that's before you get to the veteran safeties. The Hoosiers took #1 on our list by a healthy margin. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: A different surprising team checks in at #4 this time]

Previously: Offense, Last Year. Resources: My charting, PSU game notes, PSU roster, CFBstats

The Penn State defensive staff has been recruiting as well as any school in the country on defense. The blue-chip talent is evident everywhere, including and especially the spot that had a darkhorse Heisman candidate opt out of the season. That one's because Brent Pry didn't really change the defense's structure when Micah Parsons decided not to play. When the poor guy asked to take Parson's place isn't yelling "Oh COME ON!" at being asked to be on both sides of a blocker, the structure works pretty well. Nebraska has a clever offensive coach and managed to find the pressure points early in the game, but Penn State has a few clever defenders of their own. It would be a good defense if it wasn't put in such crummy situations by its offense. And if they didn't have the kind of record that makes blue chips' thoughts turn to the next thing in their lives. One sympathizes.

The film: Sticking with Scott Frost Day. Penn State gave up two TD drives of 75 and 65 yards, field goal drives of 63, 35, and 10 yards, two 3-and-outs, a 4-and-out, a 7-play drive that petered out after 28 yards, and a late interception, for a total of just 323 yards and 17 first downs on 62 offensive plays (the official 298 counts a bunch of special teams penalties). That's 5.21 YPP; not a bad mark but the Huskers were at 8 YPP while jumping to a 27-6 lead, and steadily fell off as they salted away the game.

Personnel: My diagram:

PDF Version, full-size version (or click on the image). McNamara at QB because I have eyes and was conscious last week. Calling Haskins RB1 doesn't mean the rotation's over.

[After THE JUMP: A cult.]