What did Boise State OC Dirk Koetter say about Penn State before the Fiesta Bowl?

Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has watched a lot of tape over a coaching career that has spanned college and the NFL and dates back to the 1980s. The first-year Broncos play caller who was the program’s head coach from 1998-2000 has had plenty of time to review Penn State film as the Mountain West Conference champions earned a first-round College Football Playoff bye and thus were idle last week while the Nittany Lions beat SMU in a first round matchup at Beaver Stadium. And, unsurprisingly, he’s impressed by what defensive coordinator Tom Allen is bringing to the Fiesta Bowl and nodded in the affirmative when asked if the Lions have a NFL-level defense.

“They should have NFL talent: It’s Penn State,” Koetter said. “I mean, they recruit at the highest level. And, you know, they play in one of the top conferences. They recruit guys that think they have a future in the NFL. And, it shows up. They got them.

“They’re not letting you score. I mean, they’re sixth in the nation in scoring. So, top 10 in scoring [defense], fifth in fewest TDs, fourth in yards allowed, fifth in tackles for loss, third in rush TDs allowed, 12th in first downs a game, and third in red zone touchdown percentage. I mean, they’re good, they got good numbers, and they aren’t fake. That’s all on tape.”

Read on to see everything else Koetter said about Penn State.

On Penn State All-American defensive end Abdul Carter

“He’s really talented,” Koetter said. “I think most people got him as a top five pick, and that certainly wouldn’t be surprising. You can really see that his his linebacker training, where he already played off the ball a year ago, and now he’s playing on the ball, although they move him around, the guy can really cover ground. He’s got a real nice spin move. He closes on the quarterback, he can he can turn the corner. And he’s not their only good rusher. They have more than one.”

What gave the Nittany Lions trouble in their two losses so far this season?

“They played really good teams,” Koetter said. “We all saw Oregon firsthand. And that was a close game. That went right down to the wire. I think Dillon Gabriel is probably the best quarterback in the country. I think he’s perfect for what Oregon does on offense. Oregon ran a lot of tempo against them. Ran a lot of unbalanced sets where they had everybody on one side. I’m not necessarily saying that is what gave them trouble. I’m just saying that’s what Oregon did, and Oregon does that to everybody. Oregon is one of the teams that can match Penn State speed, and Penn State has excellent speed. Oregon, as we know, has excellent speed.

“In the Ohio State game, Ohio State just played a real solid game, and I think Ohio State matches up with them good physically. I’m talking to the part I watch, Ohio State’s offense versus Penn State’s defense. That was more of a power game, a little bit less of a speed game. Ohio State didn’t make mistakes.Ohio State did a decent job running the ball. They did it when they needed to, and the situations where they needed to run it. Four minute offense, for example, they did a good job running it. But, yeah, they’re the two teams that beat them. They were close games, and they were good teams that beat them.”

On the Nittany Lions’ defensive line

“Yeah, I’d say this is the best d-line,” Koetter said. “They’re right there with Oregon. And it’s just been a long time since I’ve studied Oregon. But they’re right there. First off, I think they have four defensive ends. Penn State has four defensive ends who I think could start for almost every team, 11 [Abdul Carter, 33 [Dani Dennis-Sutton], 92 [Smith Vilbert], and 15 [Amin Vanover, and they play them a lot. They play all four of those guys. They like to play three at a time on pass downs.

“But 28 [Zane Durant], inside, man, I would like to be that guy’s agent. Converted high school running back. He plays defensive tackle for them. He’s got a crazy combination of quickness and power, and I think that guy is very disruptive on the inside. So, yeah, we know we have our hands full with that front and they’ve wrecked havoc on plenty of teams. It’s going to be a big key to the game if we can neutralize that front.”