Penn State will look to improve red zone defense in Week 2 vs Ohio
Penn State’s offense was on fire inside the red zone last week at Purdue. The Nittany Lions entered the red zone three times and left with a touchdown each time. Penn State was one of three Big Ten teams to have a 100% red zone touchdown percentage through Week 1; Ohio State and Maryland were each two-for-two with touchdown drives inside the red zone. It was only one game, so the sample size is as small as it will get, but that was an encouraging sign after Penn State struggled to finish drives last season. Penn State ranked 11th in the Big Ten in red zone touchdown percentage in 2021 with just 20 touchdowns on 42 red zone trips.
Conversely, Penn State’s red zone defense was the best the Big Ten had to offer. Penn State led the Big Ten in red zone defense last season by limiting opponents to 32 scores on 48 red zone trips. Just 18 of those red zone trips resulted in touchdowns, for a Big Ten-leading 37.5% opponent red zone touchdown percentage. That number was inflated by the end of the season that saw Michigan State score four touchdowns on five red zone trips in the regular season finale and Arkansas adding three more on six red zone trips in the Outback Bowl.
Last week against Purdue continued that trend of opponents thriving inside the red zone, however. Purdue had four trips to the red zone against Penn State in Week 1, and three of those drives ending in the end zone. Purdue added a field goal on the other trip, giving Purdue 24 red zone points on four trips. Clearly, this will be an area of focus for defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.
In his final season as head coach at Miami, Diaz oversaw the ACC’s worst red-zone defense with the Hurricanes allowing 37 scores on 39 red zone trips by opponents, with 23 resulting in touchdowns. But when Diaz was the defensive coordinator for Miami from 2016 through 2018, Miami had one of the best red zone defenses in the ACC.
In Diaz’s one season as defensive coordinator at Mississippi State in 2015, the Bulldogs ranked third in the SEC in red zone defense. But in three seasons at Texas as defensive coordinator, the Longhorns struggled on defense in the red zone regularly.
So what will Diaz do with Penn State’s defense? We may get a better sense o that in the next two weeks.
Credit should be given to Purdue’s offense, as it is one of the more difficult ones to slow down in the Big Ten. Purdue had the third-best red zone offense in the Big Ten in 2021, behind only Ohio State and Michigan. So let’s not jump the gun on this one-week sample size with the red zone defense just yet. But if Ohio has similar results, then there should be a bit of concern heading into the Week 3 road game at Auburn.
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