Outback Bowl: Defensive keys to a Penn State win over Arkansas
With Penn State’s matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Nittany Lions defense will have a tough obstacle to overcome after losing many of their key players to opt-outs. However, they do still have the talent to keep this game close and even go back to State College with an Outback Bowl victory.
Here are the top three defensive keys to a Penn State win over Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on Saturday.
Big Secondary Stops
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The secondary will be without Jaquan Brisker for Saturday’s matchup. However, Penn State will have key players in Joey Porter Jr. and Ji’Ayir Brown, both of which announced their return to Happy Valley. This will be a great opportunity for guys like Porter Jr. to step up into a leadership role, as he could be one of the breakout defensive players for next season. His development has been impressive and his biggest trait that stands out is that he is physical, something that has helped Penn State’s secondary immensely this season.
Prevent the Deep Ball
Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks opting out is huge for the defense. However, the Razorbacks offense has been much more of a passing offense this season, which makes sense after having a first-round talent receiver on their team.
With Burks out, the players to keep an eye on for productive games are Tyson Morris and Warren Thompson. Morris is the second most productive receiver this season, but his stats weren’t very eye-opening. He finished the regular season with just 305 yards and two touchdowns after a monster season from Burks.
Burks not playing in this game is huge for the Penn State defense, but that doesn’t mean they should come in overconfident in preventing any sort of momentum in the passing game.
Stop the Run
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The last key component is stopping the run, which Penn State’s defense has the talent to do so. With Burks not playing, we could see more of the run game in this matchup. As mentioned, Arkansas can be good in the run game, but it isn’t really an area where they flourish. Razorbacks running back Trelon Smith finished the regular season with 592 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback KJ Jefferson was right behind him with 554 yards and five touchdowns
We could see a lot of production from the run game, and Penn State has the youth and talent to prevent any big plays.
Both sides of the ball for Penn State have the talent to win this game on Saturday. With the Nittany Lions dealing with opt-outs, this matchup is now in the favor of Arkansas. However, these three defensive components will be crucial for Penn State to win this game.
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