Penn State D bends, doesn't break, in win over Central Michigan

Curtis Jacobs understood the stat line of his Penn State defensive performance Saturday afternoon. His side allowed 20 first downs to visiting Central Michigan, and the Chippewas also notched 363 yards of total offense. 

But, in emerging with a 33-14 win, the Nittany Lion linebacker was clear with his message. Having buckled down to force four turnovers, while allowing just two touchdowns, Penn State’s defense executed its big-picture objective.

“It’s just the bend-don’t-break. I feel like it started last year, us having a really good red zone defense,” Jacobs said. “So it’s just us knowing that we can give up a good play here and there, but we cannot let them get in the end zone. That is the main goal.”

Penn State’s defensive hiccups

It’s not the only goal for Penn State’s defense, though.

Head coach James Franklin pointed to an area of necessary improvement without hesitation in the post-game. Allowing too many successful third-and-long plays, be it in converting to first downs or setting up fourth-and-manageable attempts, the Nittany Lions must get better there, he said.

Coming out of a first quarter in which Penn State allowed just 33 yards to its guests, P.J. Mustipher offered another critique. Letting up to allow 14 points and 133 yards of offense to the Chippewas in the second quarter, the defensive tackle said the Nittany Lions didn’t maintain their fast start.

“There’s a certain standard in this program. And I told the guys after the game that we got to come out hot, we got to come out better,” Mustipher said. “We got the job done. That’s all that matters. But, we got to be better, no matter what time we’re playing, who we are playing, or whatever it may be, we got to start fast and continue it out through the game.”

Echoing the sentiment, Jacobs also admitted Penn State’s side “got a little lackluster” in the second quarter. But, he added two points to note in his assessment of the defense’s performance on the afternoon.

First, he said, the Chippewas kept coming and didn’t let up offensively. Featuring a productive, hard-running back in Lew Nichols (13 carries, 67 yards) and a physical presence up front, Central Michigan impressed him.

“They definitely surprised us a little bit with how they came out and played. Shout out to them because they’re a really good team,” Jacobs said. 

Building blocks

Even so, Penn State still limited its explosive plays allowed to 10 in the game. No pass completions went for more than 25 yards, No rushes exceeded 18 yards. And, maybe most importantly, none of the Chippewas’ explosives went for touchdowns.

“Credit to them, they’re a really good offense. They have really good players,” Jacobs said. “They drove on us a little bit, but we decided to grit our teeth, just batten down the hatches and keep them out of the end zone.”

Determined to use the experience as an opportunity to get better, both Jacobs and Mustipher pointed to the benefit the game can provide the defense moving forward. Whether young or old, experienced or not, Mustipher said the reminder of a game’s “ebbs and flows,” and how to handle them, would be valuable.

But with another win in the books for Penn State, improving to 4-0 on the season with a date against Northwestern set for next Saturday (3:30 p.m., BTN), it’s a step the Nittany Lions are confident they can build upon for the future.

“I think we’re in a good place. We won today. That’s the goal every week to be 1-0,” Jacobs said. “But we’re just going to go back in tomorrow and improve on the stuff we didn’t do right. There are a couple of things we didn’t do right, we just got to be able to execute. 

“We gotta go back and look at the firm and see the minor tweaks of it, but that’s the most important part and that’s what we do every Sunday.”