Penn State’s football team might be undefeated and ranked third in both major polls, but the Nittany Lions have started slowly in all six games.
They’ve been behind or tied after the first quarter against every team except Kent State, an opponent they wound up defeating 56-0.
“It’s definitely a focal point for us,” defensive coordinator Tom Allen said this week during a wide-ranging interview with Penn State beat reporters. “With the level we play at here, we can’t afford to start slow. We obviously have been strong in the second half, which is a good thing. But you don’t want to have a mindset where you’re slow-fast.”
Allen, the former Indiana head coach, is in his first season with the Lions. Their defense ranks in the top 10 nationally in yards allowed (eighth) and points allowed (tied for ninth). They’ve held opponents to just 27 second-half points.
In last week’s 33-30 overtime win over USC, they stopped the Trojans on their first series before allowing a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second series.
“We can’t have that happen,” Allen said. “We’re looking at all possible things, from calls to patterns, and trying to make sure we do things to help our guys out.
“I definitely want to see us improve in that area. I want to be able to start strong and finish even stronger.”
Penn State’s defense has been effective in most areas, except takeaways and sacks. The Lions are tied for 58th nationally in eight turnovers gained and tied for 36th with 14 sacks after finishing first last year and fifth two years ago.
“You’d like to have four or five sacks a game,” Allen said. “That’s awesome. Are we affecting the game in a positive way? Absolutely. We’re forcing teams to do a lot of things they don’t want to do, which is keeping receivers in (as extra blockers) and (quarterbacks) getting the ball out a lot quicker than they want to do.
“I’d say the pass rush has been effective. We want to continue to be more productive, but we’re definitely harassing the quarterback.”
Penn State ranks 22nd in third-down defense and held USC to 2-of-11 conversions last weekend.
“At the end of the day our goal is to play really, really good defense on third down,” Allen said. “USC is one of the best third-down offenses in the country. Mission accomplished.”
The Lions were especially stubborn after USC intercepted Drew Allar’s passes in the second and third quarter inside the Lions’ 30-yard line. Both times, they held the Trojans to 2 yards and forced them to settle for field goals.
Cornerback A.J. Harris, linebacker Kobe King and defensive ends Abdul Carter, Dani Dennis-Sutton and Smith Vilbert made massive stops.
Carter, who leads Penn State with four sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss, is playing at an All-American level.
“I think he’s doing a tremendous job,” Allen said. “You can just see his comfort level growing each week. We will continue to enhance ways of utilizing him. He’s been very impactful. He’s doing a great job of making offenses account for him in every way.”
Harris, who transferred from Georgia earlier this year, has played well against the pass and the run.
“I‘m really pleased with that group,” Allen said. “We have a bunch of guys who can cover. We have a bunch of guys who are tough. They’re aggressive. They can tackle. They can do different things schematically. It’s a neat group. It’s a good group.
“The group was a question mark when I first walked in the door here. A.J. is a big reason why we feel differently about that group.”
Penn State sustained a huge loss when premier safety KJ Winston suffered a “long-term” injury in the second game against Bowling Green. Jaylen Reed and Zakee Wheatley have filled the void quite nicely.
“I’m just so proud of both of those guys,” Allen said. “When KJ went down, they had to step up. We’ve seen that in practice. We’ve seen that in games. J-Reed’s become the whole voice of the back end. That’s awesome. He’s such a smart player. Now he can make other guys better.
“I think Zakee’s playing his best football since he’s been here. He’s playing with a ton of confidence.”
