Column: Is Penn State's Defense in Trouble? Fair Question

The Nittany Lions' defense delivered a first-half clunker vs. Bowling Green. They've done it before and turned out OK.

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Zane Durant (28) tackles Bowling Green Falcons tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (0) during the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The overarching question Penn State football faces after its squeaker of a win over Bowling Green is whether the defensive performance — a tale of two halves — was cause for concern or simply a bump in the road.

It’s a fair question to ask, and a fair curiosity to ponder. Penn State football has spent the better part of forever fielding high-end to elite defenses that have been the backbone of the program’s success. James Franklin certainly has benefited in more than a few games from an elite defense, but the same could be said for Bill O’Brien and certainly Joe Paterno.

In many respects, it is kind of remarkable. Penn State’s defenses haven’t always been unquestionably elite, but they’ve usually been very good, even in the face of change. Since 2011 Penn State has had more than a half-dozen defensive coordinators, a number that seems surprisingly high considering how long Brent Pry in particular held the job (six years). There were issues that transcended any single unit from 2011 until something approximating 2015-16, but even then the Nittany Lions weren’t outright bad defensively.

All this retrospective history aside, the question remains: Is this Penn State defense in trouble?

RELATED: What Penn State's defense learned about itself in a 34-27 win over Bowling Green

In truth, it’s hard to say until it plays more games. However, we can offer some looks at the past when a new defensive coordinator, or at least one facing high expectations, had some bad early season performances. Time will tell how this season pans out, but one slightly-too-casual afternoon giving up 27 points to a talented quarterback and confident play caller does not automatically spell disaster.

Consider these games:

Penn State vs. Central Michigan, 2022: This was just the fourth game of Manny Diaz’s tenure, and instead of coming off a big win at West Virginia, Penn State was coming off a big win at Auburn. The result? The Nittany Lions gave up 363 yards of offense (275 passing) and won 33-14. Only Ohio State and Utah would put up more yards on Penn State that season and only the Buckeyes and Purdue would pass for more yards on the Nittany Lions that year. Much like this past Saturday, Penn State didn't give up any second-half points to Central Michigan, but a 21-14 halftime lead felt precarious.

Penn State vs. Temple, 2016: Under Brent Pry, Penn State gave up 27 points in a Week 3 clash with Temple the week following its late loss to Pitt. That team was on the cusp of figuring things out, but nothing says, “don’t worry too much about early season games,” quite like Penn State sleepwalking through the Owls and eventually winning the Big Ten title. The stats in this game weren't overwhelming — Temple accounted for 286 of its 324 yards through the air — but it goes to show that bouncing back from emotional games is always a challenge no matter who's in charge.

In the long run, there’s no question that defensive coordinator Tom Allen has his work cut out for him this year as Penn State prepares to face a handful of talented offenses. It’s also true that, through no fault of his own, Allen is taking charge of a defense that has a lot more room to get worse than to get better compared to last season. Penn State could field a high-end defense and still could feel like it was taking a step backward by comparison.

So what does it all mean? It’s sort of in the eye of the beholder. Sports are a constant test whether the glass is half empty or half full. The nice thing is that they play the games, and that removes a lot of the guesswork.

All we can know for sure is that the Nittany Lions need to get better to get where they want to go. We can also know that Penn State has had great defenses in the past, and even they weren’t immune to some early season hiccups.

"Obviously, we were much more productive against West Virginia on the defensive side of the ball,
flying around the field, being disruptive, making plays,” Franklin said last Saturday after the Bowling Green game. "And again, I'm not one of those coaches where I'm not going to give credit to Bowling Green. That's Bowling Green, give them credit for their plan and their players. And then it's also us making sure we're doing a good job with our plan and our players and going out and executing.

"It's literally both. It’s no different than last week. I think our defense created some of those problems and issues and caused stress. It's weird to have a bye week after your second game, but I think it's going to be important for us, and we're going to need to maximize this time and then obviously, we're going to focus on our next opponent.”

Next up: A Kent State team Penn State has faced six times. The number to watch? The Nittany Lions have never given up more than 13 points to the Golden Flashes in any of those meetings. And those 13 points? Kent State scored them in 2016, the same season Penn State had that clunker against Temple and then went on to win the Big Ten.

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Ben Jones has been covering Penn State athletics for 13 years, having been to countless home and road games for Nittany Lion sporting events spanning from the Rose Bowl to the NCAA Tournament. He's also the author of the book Happy Valley Hockey. You can read his work at benjonesonpennstate.substack.com and follow him on X (Twitter) at Ben_Jones88