Can Penn State revive its pass rush in 2021? Over-under 40 sacks for the Lions?
After a nice little summer break, its time to get back to some Penn State 2020 over-unders. Weve covered a variety of topics on both sides of the ball. Jahan Dotsons receiving yards. Sean Cliffords passing yards. Keyvone Lees rushing yards. Brandon Smiths tackles for loss. Adisa Isaacs sacks. Speaking of sacks, lets take a look at what the Penn State pass rush has done since James Franklin arrived in 2014. The Lions generated just 31 sacks during Franklins first year. But PSUs rush, led by some talented edge men, became much more formidable from 2015 through 2019, producing 46, 40, 42, 47 and 45 sacks. However, 2020 wasnt a good year. Penn State played only nine games and produced 21 sacks. Not typical PSU stuff. And despite that low number, the Lions field a pair of first-team All-Big Ten ends in Odafe Oweh and Shaka Toney. Replacing Toney and Oweh will not be easy but there is plenty of intriguing talent on the 2021 roster. Isaac and Temple transfer Arnold Ebiketie should be disruptive off the edge and athletic PJ Mustipher returns to start inside at tackle. The Lions could also receive a pass-rushing boost from athletic outside linebacker Brandon Smith. The expectation is that Penn State will play 13 games (at least?) in the fall so its not going to be another 21-sack season. They can come close but the best guess from this corner is UNDER 40 sacks.