The Numbers Behind Penn State Football's Dominant Defensive Start

The Nittany Lions have one of the nation's stingiest defenses entering Big Ten play.

Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Audavion Collins (2) celebrates a play with linebacker Caleb Bacon (10) during the game vs. the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State’s defense is off to a highly productive start under new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. While the Nittany Lions haven’t faced a power-conference team yet, they still rank among the nation’s best in several defensive categories.

Through a 3-0 start with wins over Marshall, Temple and Buffalo, Lynn’s unit has given up just 22 points, the third-fewest in FBS. The defense is composed of transfers and returning players, but the players credited Lynn’s scheme and ability to teach it for allowing them to succeed.

“I'm feeling very comfortable in this defense,” Iowa State transfer safety Marcus Neal Jr. said after Penn State’s victory over Buffalo. “Lynn does a great job of just coaching us up on everything, and even our position coaches, so I feel very comfortable in this defense, and we only have room to keep growing.”

Here’s a look at the numbers behind the Nittany Lions’ strong defensive start.

First-team defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Yvan Kemajou (19) tackles Buffalo Bulls running back Messiah Burch during the second quarter of the game at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State is allowing 7.3 points per game, which ranks third in the country in scoring defense. However, two garbage-time touchdowns inflate that number, and those scores weren’t even against the Nittany Lions’ first-team defense.

After shutting out Marshall 45-0 to open the season, Penn State held Temple to three points for much of their Week 2 game. The Owls put together a late drive against many Nittany Lions depth players, scoring a touchdown and missing a two-point conversion with 1:56 left.

A similar situation happened during Penn State’s 55-13 win over Buffalo, when the Bulls had the ball in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. After managing two field goals, Buffalo scored a touchdown with 5:01 left.

Which means that Penn State’s first-team defense is giving up just three points per game. For the record, Iowa (4.3 points per game) and Indiana (5.3) are the two teams better than Penn State in scoring defense. And neither has given up a garbage-time score this season.

Penn State’s pass defense proves stingy

Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Audavion Collins (2) attempts to intercept the ball intended for Buffalo Bulls tight end Clint Walker. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The pass defense was a main reason Buffalo failed to move the ball against the Nittany Lions. Quarterback Jason Wright completed 10 of 25 passes for 60 yards, and Penn State held Buffalo’s standout receiver Chance Morrow to just two catches for 31 yards on seven targets.

Morrow had 18 catches for 228 yards and five touchdowns in the two games prior to playing Penn State. By containing Morrow and Buffalo’s passing attack, the Nittany Lions are allowing just 90 passing yards per game, which ranks second in college football.

After the win over Buffalo, Penn State coach Matt Campbell attributed playing “great” pass defense to having a “great” run defense. The Nittany Lions allowed three yards per carry against the Bulls.

“That's probably one of the strengths,” Campbell said. “I thought we were better today on first down and second down. I didn't think we were great last week against Temple, and I thought we made great improvement there and got ourselves into some great passing situations.”

Penn State faces its first real passing threat from Wisconsin, whose quarterback Colton Joseph threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns in the Badgers' 54-10 win over Eastern Michigan. Joseph threw for a school-record 302 yards in the first half and ran for 46 yards and another score. Receiver Tyrell Henry caught a school-record 14 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown in the game.

The Nittany Lions are playing stout third-down defense

Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Kooper Ebel tackles Buffalo Bulls running back Messiah Burch in a game at Beaver Stadium. | Penn State Athletics

Penn State’s three opponents have converted just six third downs on 37 attempts. The Nittany Lions are tied with Oklahoma State for the best defensive third-down conversion rate (16.2 percent).

It took Buffalo until 12:31 left in the fourth quarter to convert a third down, and even that was against several Penn State depth players when the game was already out of reach. The Bulls went 1-for-15 on third down, completing just 1-of-11 passes on those plays. Penn State also held Marshall to one third-down conversion in the opener.

Asked why the Nittany Lions were able to get off the field so often on third down, Neal shouted out each of his teammates in the starting secondary: cornerbacks Audavion Collins, Zion Tracy and Daryus Dixson and safety Jeremiah Cooper. 

“We got a lot of guys [who are] able to cover,” said Neal, who made Pro Football Focus' national team of the week. “Our whole DB room, we put a lot of work in and we trust ourselves, so that's a big deal.”

No. 13 Penn State hosts Wisconsin at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The game will be streamed live on Peacock.

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