Is Penn State's Defense Getting Overlooked This Season?

"Our defense is our highest-rated unit, and no one’s talking about it," Nittany Lions coach James Franklin says.

Penn State defensive ends Dani Dennis-Sutton (33) and Abdul Carter (11) celebrate a sack during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

About a month from now, there’s a solid chance that Penn State coach James Franklin is gearing his team for its first College Football Playoff game in program history. There’s also a solid chance that the contest will be played at Beaver Stadium. Still, even though the Nittany Lions are No. 4 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, they have no playoff guarantees.

Just one loss could derail Penn State’s postseason hopes, and with a road game against Minnesota (6-4) presenting more challenges than Maryland (4-6) at home, Saturday’s Week 13 matchup is a real test on the Nittany Lions’ schedule. With the Golden Gophers on deck, Penn State’s players detailed the team’s recent successes, facing Minnesota’s talented secondary and how they’re blocking out the recent CFP noise.

Tom Allen’s defense is finding its groove

The lapses that Penn State’s defense had in Week 2 against Bowling Green seem like ancient history. As some coaches and players hinted at early in the campaign, defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s unit has become more dangerous week-by-week.

In the last two games, Penn State’s defense has racked up eight sacks, 18 tackles for loss and an interception. The Nittany Lions have allowed one offensive touchdown in their last six quarters, rank sixth nationally in scoring defense, fourth in total defense and third in ESPN’s SP+ defensive metric.  

With Dani Dennis-Sutton back at full health and Abdul Carter looking fully adjusted to defensive end as he terrorizes opposing offenses, Penn State’s pass rush remains an elite-level threat. With his team scoring 84 points over the last two weeks, Franklin has found his defense’s performances getting lost in the national perception and in the wake of Manny Diaz’s unit last season.

“Who you follow plays a role in how you’re perceived,” Franklin said Wednesday after practice in State College. “He follows Manny Diaz, and we have one of the top defenses in the country, so you come in here and … unless you’re No. 1, it doesn’t feel like you got a whole lot better. We’ve got one of the top defenses in the country. Our defense is our highest-rated unit, and no one’s talking about it.”

“I definitely agree with him,” Penn State defensive lineman Zane Durant said. “Tom is my guy. He knows how to bring all the players together and get them on the same page. We're playing fast and physical as a defense.”

Penn State’s pass rush is playing at an elite level. Carter may get most of the rightful credit — he leads the Big Ten with 17.5 tackles for loss — but players have been stepping up across the depth chart. From Dennis-Sutton and Durant on the defensive line to Kobe King at linebacker to Jaylen Reed at safety and the duo of A.J. Harris and Jalen Kimber at cornerback, the Nittany Lions are clicking on all defensive levels.

“Our whole defense is playing well, man,” Durant said. “A.J. Harris, Jalen Kimber, those two guys [are] locking down the outside. They do it consistently too. On a consistent game-to-game basis … those two guys (are) playing their tail off, and we don't talk about that [as] much in this facility, but those two guys are elite at what they do.”

RELATED: How offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki brought his Minnesota roots to Penn State

‘They do have some ball hawks’

While Penn State’s secondary is playing well, Minnesota’s pass defense represents a strategic point for the Nittany Lions’ offense. The Golden Gophers lead the Big Ten in interceptions (16) and rank third in passes defended (46) behind a zone-heavy scheme that already has forced USC’s Miller Moss, UCLA’s Ethan Garbers and Maryland’s Billy Edwards Jr. to throw multiple picks in a game. 

Penn State quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula certainly will have to pay extra attention to their targets Saturday.  

“They do have some ball hawks in their secondary, but they make plays when the plays come to them,” Allar said. “I can't just give them opportunities, because they'll capitalize on it. And you know, a decent amount of their picks have actually been forced by their D-line, whether it's like, a tipped pass that just falls into a linebacker or the quarterback getting hit and the ball … just finds a way to their hands.”

Penn State has made ball security a strength this season. Allar and Pribula have combined for six interceptions on 263 passing attempts (Allar threw three of those at USC), and Penn State hasn’t been intercepted since Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun picked off Allar in the end zone just before halftime. 

“We've always preached about ball security, no matter what, who we're going against, and it's definitely a talking point for us every week,” Allar said. “[Minnesota is] similar to us in the fact that they want to control the ball and they want to force turnovers. So we're just going to have to be disciplined and stick to our game plan, and not have any unforced errors that will put us in a bad situation on offense.”

Controlling the CFP talk

For years, Franklin has prioritized his players blocking outside noise. By now, that game-to-game mindset is a pillar of his program in Happy Valley. 

“I don't really look at whatever rankings we got,” Penn State offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh said. “Coach Franklin does a good job just having us focus on ourselves. But we've been, especially after [the Ohio State game], we've been really emphasizing just becoming the most improved team from that week, from that loss. At the end of the day, we just need to keep on improving and keep getting better week in and week out and just handle business on Saturdays as usual.”

Allar, who has shown a fiery side of his role as captain this season, reflected that sentiment. The quarterback said he doesn’t pay attention to outside opinions of his team.

“At the end of the day, if we're worrying about what other people say, that's taking away from the task at hand. And again, Minnesota is a really good team,” Allar said. “As far as rankings, like, it doesn't really matter until it matters. … We still have a lot of the ball to play in front of us.”

Penn State will play its final road game of the regular season on Saturday against Minnesota. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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Daniel Mader, a May 2024 graduate of Penn State, is an Editorial Intern with The Sporting News. As a student journalist with The Daily Collegian, he served as a sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He has also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Centre Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on X @DanielMader_    or Instagram @dmadersports.