Penn State Football: 5 overreactions from win over Pitt

4. Penn State’s defense can’t tackle

Don’t let the picture fool you, Penn State’s tackling in Week 2 was incredibly suspect.

After closing down the Panthers’ offense for much of the first quarter, Penn State’s front-seven lost its ability to contain in the second quarter. After a pair of interceptions and a few key drops ended the Panthers’ drives early on, the team found its footing on offense and defined its identity on the offense side of the ball by marching up and down the field seemingly at will.

And a lot of the Panthers’ success can be attributed to bad tackling by the Nittany Lions.

Even when the team’s defensive line met running back Qadree Ollison in the backfield, it seemed like the Lions were never able to fully stop him in his tracks, and his runs often resulting in a positive play and more often than not a new set of downs.

It seemed like no matter what play defensive coordinator Brent Pry called during the second half, be it an eight-man blitz or eight men in coverage, Ollison was able to turn his runs for positive yardage, and seemingly fell forward every time he met contact.

And it wasn’t just the defensive line that played sloppy.

Over the course of the afternoon, fans got to witness Penn State cornerbacks tripping on outside receiving plays and linebackers misreading their assignments on the inside.

Simply put, the defense just looked lost at times while facing off against an incredibly under-matched Pitt offense.

As Penn State prepares for conference play in the coming weeks, the team’s defenders will need to sure up their tackling abilities or else it’s going to be a long season.