Sunday Column: Maple Might be the Flavor Of The Week, But Penn State’s Defense Has Been a Menu Mainstay All Season

With all of the exuberance and, dare we say, catharsis surrounding Penn State’s maple-flavored second-half offensive explosion on Saturday, it was easy to forget that the Nittany Lions punted on eight of their first nine possessions against Rutgers.

A short-handed and virus-plagued unit wasn’t faring much better than the inconsistent, sniffle-free offense that had taken the field in Penn State’s first 10 games, and yet, even though Jordan Stout was getting far more first-half touches than Jahan Dotson, the Nittany Lions were in no danger of falling behind an inferior opponent because their defense was, once again, completely in charge.

Right now, a decent chunk of Penn State fans (and maybe, not-so-very deep down, some of the Nittany Lions themselves) are playing a tortuous “What if?” game, and swapping scrappy rookie QB Christian Veilleux in for an ineffective Ta’Quan Roberson and/or a not-at-100% Sean Clifford at a few key junctures over the last month, if only in their imaginations. Would the Nittany Lions have one more win? Two more? Three more? Fou…

…well, even fantasies have their limits.

While it’s fun to wonder what this disjointed offense would have looked like with a different quarterback, though, it’s more instructive and more relevant to the team’s future to ponder what this outstanding defense would have looked like with even a consistently capable offense this season.

Even with a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate at wide receiver, the Nittany Lions are ranked ninth of 14 Big Ten teams in both points per game (22.3) and total offense (351 yards per game) in conference play. Their respective defensive rankings in those categories are second (15.1) and sixth (341.9). That second defensive number is both a result of a bend-but-(rarely)-break defense and an offense that ranks 10th in the conference in time of possession (28:05 minutes per game); against good opponents, and even for the early part of Saturday, Penn State has not been able to sustain drives, which not only makes it difficult to score but puts your defense in bad spots.

But, maybe because it is used to being put in bad spots, the defense, which surrendered a mere 160 yards on 60 plays in its second shutout of the year Saturday, doesn’t seem to mind. While the offense has floundered and hiccuped each time it appeared to have turned a corner this season, the defense has improved, despite the loss of its best lineman and other depth issues up front. It even survived the flu better than the offense.

Before a less-than-capacity Senior Day crowd, the combination of some big-league throws by Veilleux, big days from Dotson and Parker Washington, a rushing attack that showed some signs of life (149 total yards), as it had against Michigan, and a Rutgers defense that is improving but also gave up 52 points to both Ohio State and Wisconsin, made Penn State look at least passable on offense. And a passable offense combined with this defense? The idea makes the mouth water.

There are few reasons why this defense couldn’t be just as good, or nearly as good, or maybe even a little better next season. Yes, the Nittany Lions will lose P.J. Mustipher (presumably), Arnold Ebiketie (presumably) and Derrick Tangelo (definitely), but they’ll get Adisa Isaac back, and D’von Ellies and Coziah Izzard have quietly come on late in the season. They’ll lose Jaquan Brisker and Tariq Castro-Fields, but their secondary is the deepest part of the team, and players like Kalen King and Jaylen Reed have flashed enough this season for there to be optimism there, too, even if the Nittany Lions continue to stack dropped interceptions like Joey Porter Jr. stacks PI calls.

It is harder, of course, to look at next year’s offense and feel confident, especially when Dotson won’t be a part of it. But — and this is no shot at Clifford, who has borne the brunt of his unit’s dysfunction all year long and has played through pain and, um, other things going through him this season — we saw Saturday how a change at quarterback can give a whole offense, if not a whole team, a different vibe, a new tempo. And whether it’s Veilleux or Drew Allar or Beau Pribula, the QB room and the entire offense will have a different look next fall, and the RB room and OL room will as well.

What those young QBs and Nick Singleton and a likely reshuffled line will need is a little time, and the defense should be built to give it to them. If the offense starts out a little bumpy but incrementally improves — the way the 2021 defense did and the way the 2021 offense couldn’t — the Nittany Lions should at least be able to give their defense some more rest, if not put a few more points on the board each week.

And if the 2022 defense can continue to build on what it’s doing right now, whatever points the offense can manage could go a long way.