Back to the Washington Huskies Newsfeed

Opponent Defensive Preview: Penn State Nittany Lions

Related Topics: Tom Allen, Cris Carter

I’m not going to sugar coat it, this might be our toughest match up for our offense so far this season.

The Scheme & Personnel

Penn State v USC

Schematically, Penn State doesn’t run anything that we haven’t seen before. The real trick will be figuring out a way of stopping it with all their talent. Defensive Coordinator Tom Allen, formerly the HC at Indiana, runs a classic 4-2-5 defense that has a lot of the same “prevent explosives” principles as Iowa. 2-high coverage shells, zone coverages, and a focus on generating pressure via angles and simulations rather than pure numbers.