This is clearly a mismatch on paper and it should play out that way on the field when Penn State faces UMass on Saturday.
Still, there’s always things to work and opportunities to improve as an overall unit.
Like the article highlighting the offensive keys, this one will also look at what the Penn State defense can build on to secure victories going forward.
The first key is to continue dominating.
Even though it’s against a lesser opponent, keeping the same dominating mindset that the Nittany Lions have shown all season long is important. Coming off a bye and moving into this game, it would be easy for the defense to let up. It’s much easier to keep the flip switched on before the Ohio State game next weekend if they come into Saturday with the goal of shutting down their opponent.
The second key is to stay healthy.
Picking up injuries during this time of season would be devastating. Of course, there’s always a risk of injury every time a game is played, but Penn State has done a good job of rotating players to limit the exposure that their top guys get in live action. Expect to see a lot of the younger guys in action on Saturday, which is good for the future of the program.
The third is to not show too much.
Don’t put a lot of exotic things on tape this week. Penn State can beat UMass playing a vanilla defense and not expose too much of what they want to do against Ohio State and Michigan. This is certainly forward thinking, but it’s important to manage these games in a manner that best puts the team in a position to succeed.