"When you have that first test and you see something like it again on the final, you know the answer," Lucas said. "I think it's good that we saw this early."
For Penn State's defense, the test Saturday was a potent Central Florida offense that handed the Lions its first loss of the season. UCF (3-0) defeated Penn State (2-1), 34-31, and recorded more than 500 offensive yards in the process.
Perhaps the biggest test question Lucas faced was a near devastating pass interference call that came early in the fourth quarter when Penn State was down 31-24. The crowd, previously rowdy, was rattled.
On third-and-9, it appeared the defense was going to make a stop following a 1-yard rush and an incomplete pass from UCF quarterback Blake Bortles. Lucas was playing man coverage on his assignment downfield, and the receiver made a late break. Lucas put his hands on the receiver, turned around and saw the ball in the air.
Flag.
The setback ripped the momentum away from an already gassed defense and set up UCF to later score a field goal on the drive. The mistake that UCF grasped ahold of and capitalized on became a recurring anthem for the evening.
Much of the Knights' success can be attributed to its pro prospect signal caller who spent the night making explosive plays and exploiting a Penn State defense that got burned by receivers over and over again.
"Anytime you have a quarterback like that with a strong arm, who's big and can stand in the pocket, and he can run, it's a very difficult challenge," coach Bill O'Brien said after the game. "He played a great game tonight. Credit to him. I think he's a heck of a player."
Bortles. who went 20-for-27 on 288 yards, was efficient, but what was most remarkable about his performance was the junior's ability to make the big plays. The Knights drove downfield more than 85 yards for scored on three separate occasions, meanwhile logging more than 15 plays that picked up 10 yards or more.
Much of that can be credited to the Lions defensive line that showed little sign of a pass rush and had trouble responding to Bortles' quick release. On the day, Penn State posted a total of zero sacks and just two tackles for loss.
Penn State fans had some semblance of hope at the end of the fourth quarter. The Lions had rallied on an Allen Robinson touchdown with 2:51 remaining in the game.
Still up by a field goal, Bortles and the offense ran out the clock on several rushes from running back Storm Johnson and a pass completion resulting in a first down. With two seconds left on the clock, Bortles ran backwards and fell to the ground. Game over.
"They hadn't stopped us all night," Bortles said after the game. "The only way they stopped us, was us stopping ourselves. We knew we were fine."
Defensive coordinator John Butler chalked up the poor performance defensively to missed tackles, poor pass rushing and a lack of execution.
"Our lack of pass rush was a combination of we didn't fool them enough coverage-wise, we didn't cover long enough," Butler said, "and obviously we didn't get to the quarterback."
In the secondary, young cornerbacks Lucas and Trevor Williams showed their inexperience after missing several tackles apiece. They were joined by a number of defensive players who showed poor tackling abilities all night while UCF carved out the unit.
It's easy to attribute poor tackling to a lack of live tackling practice. Penn State is operating on a limited amount of scholarship players and don't take each other to the ground during practice in what's called "thud" tackling.
Butler said he understands the assumption that defensemen aren't tackling well in open space because of the lack of live tackling in practice, but said it's just "a decision we have to make."
"Because when you only have 62 scholarship players, you have to do your best to get what you have to the field," Butler said. "You don't want to take it to 57 because you're tackling in practice."
On the offensive side of the ball, Penn State's usual suspects in Robinson and Zach Zwinak provided some hope for the 92,000-plus fans in Beaver Stadium.
Robinson was arguably Penn State's only receiver to create separation between himself and a defender, showing it on a 46-yard reception from quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the third quarter.
The receiver gave Central Florida a taste of its own medicine when he burned one of the team's most talented defenseman Jacoby Glenn, setting up the Nittany Lions for two rushing plays to secure its second touchdown of the day. Robinson would go on to post 143 yards on nine receptions.
Zwinak had an up and down day, posting 128 yards on 21 carries, but a fourth quarter fumble on UCF's 28-yard line sealed the deal for the Knights.
Source: Psu
No comments:
Post a Comment