Penn State defenders go to the tape hoping to fix run D

Penn State’s defense found themselves out of position plenty on Saturday at Michigan, and the results often saw them end up chasing Wolverines ballcarriers to the tune of 418 yards on the ground. It was a performance to forget for the Nittany Lions, who will try to do just that over the next couple of days. 

“We’re gonna take this one in, we’re gonna learn from it, we’re gonna grow from it, and then we’re gonna throw it away,” defensive end Nick Tarburton said on Tuesday morning. “That’s the biggest point that we’ve been making these past couple of days. Pretty much since Sunday, just throw it out the window and focus on Minnesota.”

The Nittany Lions harped on a lack of execution defensively and on Tuesday morning Tarburton preached gap accountability at every level. The team’s lack of organization — the flip side of the chaos that new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz wanted to instill in his defense — was apparent to the team long before they reviewed the tape on Saturday. 

“I think it all starts with knowing your assignment. When you know your assignment, you can play fast you can read your keys and you can strike,” linebacker Jonathan Sutherland said after the game. “I don’t doubt the toughness of any of the players on our defense. So I think we just need to lock into our assignments know what we’re doing so we can play faster and anticipate things more.

“There’s a lot of plays where everyone’s just looking back and forth, like, what just happened?” Sutherland continued. “So we’re gonna get on the film and from there we’ll make the corrections.”

Penn State DC Manny Diaz took the blame for Saturday

Diaz, who had little criticism to deal with through the first five games of a season in which his defense gave up just 398 rushing yards to that point, will need to find answers quickly. He took responsibility for the performance shortly after the loss on Saturday.

“Coach took the blame on himself, he feels like he has to prepare us a little better, as any coach would,” said senior safety Ji’Ayir Brown. “I take the blame on me, too, as a captain of the defense. Guys not being ready to come out and execute today. So me and coach Manny, we both took that on ourselves and we’re looking for steps to get better next week.”

Penn State’s next opponent now has a blueprint

Penn State’s entire defense sat down and watched the film together on Sunday, a change from its typical day-after routine. Waiting on the other side is a Minnesota offense that likes to run the ball nearly as much as Michigan. Gophers’ lead running back Mohamed Ibrahim ranks second in the conference in rushing with 138.8 yards per contest. He’s scored nine touchdowns in five games this season. 

“I think there’s similarities [between Michigan and Minnesota] and I think we also know this is a copycat business right? So people are gonna watch the film and take some ideas,” James Franklin said on Tuesday. “Minnesota wants to run the ball, they want to constrict the life out of the game in terms of time and possession. 

“We’re gonna have to be ready to defend the run and the play-action passes that come off of it for them. And they’ve got a really, really productive back that they do a great job within their system. So that’ll be a challenge. There’s no doubt about it. We’re gonna need to be ready. The corrections that we made on Sunday from the previous game as well as getting prepared for what Minnesota is going to try to do is going to be a big storyline in this game.” 

The Nittany Lions and Gophers will kick off at 7:30 on Saturday evening at Beaver Stadium. The game will be carried live on ABC.