Penn State Football: 5 Takeaways from 2018 season

3. The defense was much better than anticipated

Entering the season, Penn State’s offense was expected to be very impressive with Trace McSorley returning for his senior season and many young players stepping into bigger roles like Miles Sanders and Juwan Johnson. On the other hand, the defense was going to be the big question in 2018 after losing seven of their eight top tacklers from 2017.

The offense started the season strong by averaging over 55 points per game over the first four games. Then, it faded as they averaged only 24 points per game over the final nine games.

The defense was the most impressive part of this team by limiting all their opponents to less than 30 points other than Appalachian State and Michigan. College football games can easily be won when opponents are consistently limited to less than 30 points.

Despite the defense keeping Penn State in many games, there were numerous times Penn State’s offense could not make the plays to win crucial games. Against Ohio State, Penn State limited Dwayne Haskins and a talented offense to just 27 points, but the offense did not score any points on the final two drives of the game. The final drive ended with the infamous run by Miles Sanders on fourth down that was a loss of two yards.

The defense limited Michigan State to 21 points, but Penn State blew a 14-7 lead at a half and only scored one field goal in the second half before losing 21-17. Against Kentucky, Penn State was unable to get anything going offensively until the fourth quarter, which was too little too late and resulted in a three-point loss.

Of course, the defense gave up some big plays that would have never forced the offense to score in these situations, but the defense was a better unit than the offense this season. Fortunately, most of their defensive starters return in 2019, and they will all continue to improve.