How Penn State's Defense Went so Wrong Against Northwestern

EVANSTON, Illinois | After Penn State’s 34-13 loss to Northwestern on Friday night, defensive tackle Siale Taupaki said the Nittany Lions need to work on “details, technique, fundamentals.” He used the phrase nine times in six minutes.

The D’Anton Lynn-led Penn State defense allowed 413 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 7.5 yards per carry, so it certainly needs to work on those three things. Overall, Penn State allowed 506 total yards and was dominated in time of possession by more than 12 minutes.

“I didn't get this team prepared to play the physical brand of football that we need to play,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said. “That's something that again showed up on both sides, especially on the line of scrimmage. I do think there were a lot of missed tackles on defense tonight. I think we had a lot of opportunities to make some plays and missed tackles.”

The Nittany Lions’ defense was steady through three weeks of non-conference play, allowing 7.33 points and 201 total yards per game. Penn State even ranked third nationally in scoring defense entering the Big Ten schedule.

Over the last five quarters, however, the defense has crumbled against Big Ten competition. Penn State has been outscored 48-13 since the beginning of the fourth quarter of its 24-20 loss to Wisconsin.

Obviously, the most jarring statistic is the 413 rushing yards Penn State allowed to Northwestern. The Wildcats became just the fifth team to rush for 400 yards against Penn State and produced the fourth-highest rushing total against the Nittany Lions since 1947, according to the program's record book.

Team	Rushing Yards	Year	Result
Michigan State	452	1997	Michigan St. 49-14
Notre Dame	425	1989	Notre Dame 34-23
Michigan	418	2022	Michigan 41-17
Northwestern	413	2026	Northwestern 34-13
Ohio State	408	2013	Ohio State 63-14

“The reality of tonight is, they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football,” Campbell said, “and when you do that, and it doesn't matter what league or what game it is, you really put yourself at a great advantage to dictate the pace of the game, and they did it from the start of the game to the finish of the game.”

Penn State looks for answers

“I wish I had the magic answer right now, to be quite honest with you,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said after the Nittany Lions’ 34-13 loss to Northwestern. pic.twitter.com/mILDo8JUhJ
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) October 3, 2026

How did the Nittany Lions get so dominated defensively, though? One interesting nugget is that Lynn was hired by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, now Northwestern's offensive coordinator, as the Bruins' defensive coordinator in 2023.

Kelly knows Lynn well, maybe good enough to predict what Penn State’s defensive coordinator would throw at him on Friday. And the sitruation got so out of control Friday that Lynn, who called plays in the first half from the coaches' booth, moved to the sideline in the second half.

"Coach Lynn came down in the second half to try to figure out where can we continue to add value and try to get the right fixes as we continued to navigate what was going on in the football game in the first half," Campbell said.

The defensive performance was lackluster in so many ways. Before Friday, Penn State’s third-down defense was a strength; it led the Big Ten, allowing a conversion rate of 18.5 percent.

But against Northwestern, the Nittany Lions couldn’t get to that down. Northwestern had just 12 third downs all game, primarily because it ran for 228 yards on 9.5 yards per carry on first down.

“I think just as a whole defense, obviously they ran a wing-T — we never really got used to that,” linebacker Tony Rojas said. “ We did it at practice. But obviously, they ran a lot of different stuff, misdirection, those types of things. So just eyeing our discipline, being disciplined with the eyes, I think was the biggest key. And like I said, missing tackles and those types of things is something we control.”

Penn State’s defense also gave up explosives at an alarming rate. Northwestern ran 48 percent of its plays from Nittany Lions territory, largely because of its 13 big plays (rushes of at least 10 yards and passes of at least 15). On those 13 snaps, the Wildcats gained 315 yards (24.3 yards per play).

In fact, Northwestern was so dominant on the ground that it ran 55 times and threw just 14. Campbell said the team didn’t show enough effort, attitude and toughness, lacking it in “every way, shape and form tonight.” Taupaki said the defense didn’t hold up to Penn State’s standard.

“The physical piece of it is, there were a lot of missed tackles tonight,” Campbell said. “However that happened and why that happened, we're going to have to evaluate and have a better answer as we come back next week. I think the thing from my end is, that part is frustrating because we tackled really well in the first four games. So our ability to get that fixed first and foremost, and then we got to figure out schematically where we were at fault.”

“There’s somehow, some way that I didn’t get this team prepared to play the physical brand of football that we need to play,” Penn State coach Matt Campbell said after his team’s 34-13 loss to Northwestern. pic.twitter.com/EArG6OwxVS
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) October 3, 2026

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