Penn State Football: Brent Pry Talks Red Zone Success for Nittany Lion Defense

Heading into a Week 5 meeting with Indiana, Penn State has played just enough football that the Nittany Lions’ strengths and weaknesses are becoming more apparent with each passing quarter.

Of course still somewhat early in the year, this can change again in time. Penn State has only played one game so far this season against a Big Ten opponent and conference play is so often a showcase of a team’s true colors, both the good and the bad.

Nevertheless through 12 quarters of football at least one thing appears to be true so far this season: Penn State is a great defensive team in the red zone.

How good? The Nittany Lions have given up points just 61.45% of the time an opponent has made it into the red zone which is 10th-best in the nation. More specifically that is eight scores on 13 trips so far this season. Penn State’s opponents have scored five touchdowns in 13 trips, which is 18th-best in the nation so far through four games.

There has been some fortunate bounces along the way, Wisconsin fumbling the ball deep in Penn State’s red zone helped stave off at least one potential touchdown and a blocked field goal by defensive end Arnold Ebiketie on Penn State’s seven-yard line later in the game helped the cause. Jaquan Brisker’s interception in the end zone with 2:16 to go marked a third failed attempt by the Badgers deep in Penn State’s territory.

In total Wisconsin would run 19 plays inside Penn State’s 20 on drives that would come away with no points during the season opener.

“I think right now we got a group that rise to the occasion,” Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry said on Thursday. “And they embrace, you know, the red zone and tough situations.”

Wisconsin certainty helped pad Penn State’s stats a bit in the opening week of the season but it isn’t the only time the Nittany Lions have made stops deep in their own zone. Against Auburn the Tigers faced fourth-and-goal just six feet from the end zone and failed to score. Ball State would find itself facing a first-down just 11-yards from the end zone but would settle for a field goal and Villanova would make it to Penn State’ 21 before settling for a field goal.

So what has happened? A little self-scouting.

“We’ve studied it and tried to be a little more varied in what we’re doing down there,” Pry added. “For a lot of years, we were ultra aggressive, and in man-to-man pressures and we’ve tried to mix it up a little bit and just keep people more honest.”

At this point in the year the changes have paid dividends. While the 2020 season is a bit of an outlier for a handful of reasons, the Nittany Lions finished the campaign 104th in the nation in red zone defense giving up points almost 90% of the time opponents reached the red zone. Even in 2016 the Nittany Lions finished a whopping 106th in the nation and the program has only finished inside the Top 50 nationally once – in 2018 of all seasons – in red zone defense.

And while self-scouting helps the cause, so does variety.

“Each week it’s kind of a new plan and what we’re going to be down there who we’re going to be,” Pry added. “Mos offenses have a pretty set idea what they want to do. And they have to practice against what they’ve seen. And so our idea is to keep them as honest as we can about what they may get down there.”

And what they’re getting is a defense that is rarely giving away easy points.