What did Penn State players say about the Notre Dame defense on Saturday before the Orange Bowl?
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State coach James Franklin observed Saturday that Notre Dame, the Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff semifinal opponent, is built in a similar way to his own team. That is true in many ways. But, none more so than how each stacks up defensively. Both are among the national leaders in a bevy of team and individual categories. The Fighting Irish got to this point on the back of Lions’ letterman Al Golden and his staunch defense as much as anything else. Now, it’s up to Andy Kotelnicki and co., to solve it if they hope to win on Jan. 9 in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
“I think they do what they do and they do it really well,” All-American Penn State tight end Tyler Warren said. “They’re not going to try and really change what they do based on someone else. They’re going to do what they do best. And I think they got a lot of talent all over.
“I know they got some talented guys in their secondary, and they got some talented D-linemen. So I think it’s going to be a really good defense, and we’re about to have a great week of preparation. But yeah, we got a lot of respect for them, and they played some really good games.”
Penn State and Notre Dame could be a defensive battle
Warren should know a good defense when he sees one, considering he goes up against one in practice every day. The parallels between the two units are incredible, as the stat table below shows:
| Stat | Penn State | Notre Dame |
| Scoring D | #7 | #2 |
| Rushing D | #8 | #34 |
| Pass D | #27 | #5 |
| Total D | #5 | #8 |
| Turnovers Gained | #15 | #1 |
“Notre Dame’s a really good defense and a really good team,” Lions running back Nick Singleton said. “Really fast defense. They’re physical. They all run to the ball. I feel like they play as a team. When you play as a team, it makes a defense really scary. So they’re really good team.”
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Penn State quarterback Drew Allar took notice of the Fighting Irish’s length in the secondary. The stars of their cornerbacks room are all 6-foot or taller. And, they play aggressively. Then, there is All-American safety Xavier Watts on the back end.
If the Lions want to advance, they will have to solve the challenging, and multi-faceted, problems Notre Dame can create in the run and pass games.
“They’re a very sound unit that also plays very hard and very physical there,” Allar said. “They’re obviously very detailed and very well coached. And what they do, there’s not any [missed assignments] on film. They’re not just leaving guys and dropping guys downfield pass game.
“I think it kind of starts up front. I think their D-line is really good, but also their secondary is a really good secondary. We’re down to the final four teams, and there’s not going to be a weak link on any team. So, I think it’s just about executing the game plan that the coaches are going to have for us. But, a lot of respect to these guys. They’ve accomplished a lot this year. Statistically, the defense is really good, so it’s going to be really fun matchup.”
