Penn State's defense looking for redemption

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Perhaps the most shocking moments of the 2014 Penn State football season came last week when the Nittany Lions' nationally prominent defense was unable to stop Illinois on its final drive that resulted in the game-winning field goal.

While the statistics - 280 total yards allowed, 14 for 16 in stopping third-down conversions - were favorable, the Lions did not respond after coach James Franklin decided to punt on fourth and 1 from his own territory with less than two minutes to play and put the game on the defense's shoulders.

The unit gets a chance to redeem itself Saturday on senior day at Beaver Stadium against No. 10 Michigan State, but it won't be an easy task. The Spartans (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) have a well-balanced attack, while rolling up nearly 515 yards of total offense per game, seventh in FBS, behind their big three of quarterback Connor Cook, running back Jeremy Langford, and wide receiver Tony Lippett.

It's not an impossible task if one considers what the Nittany Lions showed against Ohio State last month. They limited the high-powered Buckeyes (511 total yards per game) to a season-low 293 yards and took them into double overtime before losing, 31-24.

But for the Lions to have the same success - and a chance to win - they must win more battles on the defensive side of the football, something they didn't do last week, even though they finished the week still ranked in the top five in four important defensive categories.

"To me, there's a difference between playing well and playing winning football," defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said. "If we divide defense into winning situations - winning third downs, winning the red zone, winning the turnover margin, winning the clock situation - then the two things we didn't do last week were we didn't create turnovers and we didn't win the clock situation.

"Did we play well defensively? Yeah, I think so, the numbers are going to bear that out. But we didn't handle those other situations as well as we needed to. In the Big Ten, when you play high levels of competition, to me it's going to come down to a handful of plays."

Penn State has forced 20 turnovers this season but is still minus-2 in turnover margin. Meanwhile, the Spartans have committed only 12 turnovers and are plus-19, tops in the nation.

In allowing two field goals in the fourth quarter of their 16-14 loss at Illinois, the Nittany Lions raised the issue of fatigue, although no player or coach in the losing locker room used that as an excuse.

"We just didn't execute in those situations," said linebacker Mike Hull, one of six fifth-year players who will be among the 17 seniors honored Saturday. "We have to be better. The margin for error is small and we know that, so we have to be better. We have seen the problems on film and we know what we have to take care of, and we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that gets fixed."

When: Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Where: Beaver Stadium, State College, Pa.

Records: Michigan State (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten, ranked No. 10 nationally by AP); Penn State (6-5, 2-5).

TV/Radio: 6ABC; WNTP-AM (990), WNPV-AM (1440).

Coaches: Penn State, James Franklin (1st season, 6-5; 30-20 overall). Michigan State, Mark Dantonio (8th season, 73-31; 90-48 overall)

Series: The series resumes after a three-year absence now that the Nittany Lions and the Spartans are in the same division. Penn State holds a 14-13-1 lead (nine wins vacated by the NCAA), but Michigan State won the last meeting, 28-22, in 2010 at Beaver Stadium.

Three things to watch

Michigan State ranks 15th in FBS with 34 sacks, but its QBs have been sacked just nine times (tied for fourth nationally). Penn State has recorded 29 sacks, but Christian Hackenberg has taken 39 sacks; only five teams have allowed more.

The Nittany Lions' top-ranked rush defense will be put to the test by the Spartans' Jeremy Langford (1,242 rushing yards, 17 TDs).

Penn State's Akeel Lynch, who has set career highs for rushing with 130 and 137 yards in the last two weeks, probably will see the majority of playing time.

Three things you did not know

The Nittany Lions will honor 17 seniors before the game. They are S Arian Amos, WR DeShawn Baker (Penn Charter), DE Brad Bars, RB Bill Belton (Winslow Township), LB Drew Boyce, S Jesse Della Valle, G Miles Dieffenbach, PK Sam Ficken, LB Mike Hull, S Ryan Keiser, CB Jesse Merise, DE C.J. Olaniyan, CB Devin Pryor, LB T.J. Rhattigan, DT Tyrone Smith and RBs Deron Thompson and Zach Zwinak.

Michigan State senior WR Tony Lippett, who leads his team with 56 receptions, 1,071 receiving yards, and 10 touchdown catches, is expected to be the Spartans' first two-way starter since 1968. He will start defensively at cornerback.

Through 11 games, Penn State has scored 19 offensive touchdowns. The Spartans have 61.

- Joe Juliano

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