Penn State getting pressure on Kyle McCord is of 'paramount importance' vs. Ohio State

Penn State has been one of the best pass rushes in the country this season and will aim to make life difficult on Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord on Saturday. The Nittany Lions lead the country with 4.5 sacks per game for a total of 27 on the season, which could create some chaos for the first-year Buckeyes starter.

Fifteen different Penn State players have recorded sacks so far this season, led by senior defensive end Adisa Isaac. However, they’ll run into an Ohio State offensive line that is giving up just 1.7 sacks per game (44th in the country) and Sean Fitz of Blue White Illustrated believes that matchup will determine a lot of how this game plays out.

“Very important,” he told On3‘s Andy Staples. “First-time starter. I think that’s the No. 1 obvious thing. (McCord) has been battle-tested with that Notre Dame game, which is something you probably can’t say on the Penn State side in terms of comparing schedules. At the same time, this Penn State pass rush. You mentioned Chop Robinson, Abdul Carter somewhat. He has one sack this year. Adisa Isaac has been their top sack guy so far. Then that second wave of pressure. Cam Miller had a couple of sacks this weekend. Johnny Dixon‘s gotten to the quarterback.

“Manny Diaz is going to try to mess with the head of a first-time starter, which is what anybody would do. So I think bringing waves of pressure, bringing pressure off of different angles is going to be something that will have an effect on Kyle McCord this weekend. Just start with the four up front. I think Penn State, they can get pressure there.”

The Nittany Lions recorded 14 of their 27 sacks in the past two weeks against Massachusetts and Northwestern. However, that doesn’t necessarily have to be the end result as long as they are getting pressure on McCord and forcing him to make decisions quickly.

Ohio State has two of the best receivers in the country in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, so Penn State may want to count on its front four to apply that pressure. The Nittany Lions have so far ranked as the No. 1 passing defense in the country with just 121.2 yards allowed per game through the air.

That being the case, they’ll count on players like Isaac and Robinson to break through on the edge and put the secondary in position to force turnovers.

“It’s of paramount importance,” Fitz continued. “Any coach goes on the road, they get a little bit more conservative whether it’s offense or whether it’s defense. So does that mean pulling back another blitzer? Does that mean keeping a guy in the secondary that you wouldn’t normally do that? I don’t know what Manny Diaz is gonna do, but that’s where I would lean at this point.

“Getting home in four with those guys that we mentioned a little bit earlier. They’ve got five defensive ends that can really play. Whether it’s sacks, whether it’s hits, pressures, whatever, that can lead to good things on the defensive side of the ball. That is, to me, the matchup. I think this defensive line is matching up with Ohio State’s offensive line better than it has in quite some time.”

It’s not just the stars that Penn State will be counting on to do so, however. Fitz also mentioned that defensive tackle Zane Durant and reserve defensive end Amin Vanover will need to do their part as well.

The pair have combined for 3.5 sacks this season, and may not receive as much attention as some of the stars on the defensive line. Either way, Fitz again stressed how important it will be for that front to bring the pressure, getting McCord out of sorts and giving Penn State a chance at its first win against Ohio State since 2017.

“That’s gotta be the route that Penn State takes,” he said. “You hear ‘defense first and an offense that comes along.’ That’s very Penn State. That’s what Penn State has been for a very long time. So you would think Penn State fans would be in love with this team. You have guys at every level of this defense that can make that one play. It’s not even the stars. I mentioned Johnny Dixon before. KJ Winston is emerging as a very good safety who’s just a sophomore.

“Some of those defensive linemen, I mean (Amin) Vanover has played very well. Zane Durant I mentioned a little bit earlier. Those guys are the guys who are gonna have to step up and make plays. We expect some of the stars to be who they are, but when you’ve got that 185, you’ve got 15-35. That’s gonna determine everything. That’s gonna be what would put Penn State over the line in this one.”

Kickoff between Penn State and Ohio State is set for noon ET on Saturday in Columbus.