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James Franklin has praised Penn State's defensive unit most of the season, saying the Nittany Lions' have been playing "championship-level defense.''
A vastly-improved Sean Clifford, Jahan Dotson's greatness, fewer offensive turnovers and the overall defense have been the main contributing factors in Penn State's 4-0 start and rise to No. 4 in the Associated Press rankings heading into tonight's game with Indiana (7:30 p.m., ABC).
None is more important than the other. That's why it's called complementary football.
But the defensive success has been particularly intriguing. Against the Big Ten's toughest schedule so far, the Lions are allowing 15.0 points per game (sixth in the league).
Last year, at this point in the season, the Nits had been gashed for 30 points in all four games -- 35-plus in three of those -- and were lit for 41 against Iowa in Game 5.
"I was asking too much of the group that didn't have a spring practice,'' Altoona-born defensive coordinator Brent Pry told reporters Thursday.
Part of it was a loss of spring practice due to Covid and getting used to playing without star linebacker Micah Parsons, who opted out on short notice.
But even with Parsons, the Lions allowed 27 or more points in four of the last five games of 2019 and 30-plus twice -- 39 against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl with Parsons playing the game of his life.
Still in 2020, the Lions had NFL draftees at both ends, first-rounder Jayson (now Odafe) Oweh and sack specialist Shaka Toney, but this year's unit is playing much better collectively.
Pry said "at times we weren't accountable (last year). I saw it erode the first couple weeks.''
Losing can lead to individuality and "sometimes it just dominos and carries through,'' Pry said, adding that staying within the framework "has been a battle cry'' since last year.
Too often last year, players strayed from the plan.
"The word framework means during your job -- being where you're supposed to be,'' Pry said. "If you trust your keys, they're going to take you to the play. We're about accountability -- on and off the field. We've had a lot of emphasis on that. We felt at times last year we were trying to make a play and disregarding keys and guessing. And we thought at times, we just weren't accountable. It wasn't important enough.''
Pry said last year delivered "an important lesson,'' that benefited the coaches and players alike.
"I think that's been the foundation of this -- the experience we had through those four-five weeks last year,'' he said. "At the same time, it's out of good nature that guys think they need to guesstimate a play -- they're trying too hard -- and not just read keys and lock in.
"The leadership on defense has really embraced that and has completely aligned with us as coaches, and it's paying dividends.''
Pry also simplified the scheme, "reduced the menu,'' he called it and is striving to become less predictable, especially while defending the red zone, "saying we were ultra-aggressive for years.''
"Some defenses have a defeated attitude when they get in the red zone,'' he said. "We have a group that rises to the occasion in tough situations. They're making plays in big moments.''
As the calendar has now flipped to October against an IU offense that typically can score, along with trips to Iowa and Ohio State, the lessons Pry and the Nittany Lions' defense learned last year will be put to the test.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com. If you'd like to receive the Mirror's free emailed newsletter "Lion Online,'' about the game, you can sign up at bit.ly/2SAy1J4. It will arrive by noon Sunday (also check spam folder).