Penn State’s three elite keys to defensive dominance could carry the Nittany Lions and James Franklin to a national championship
Three elite playmakers are making Penn State’s defense unstoppable
The Penn State Nittany Lions are already proving to be one of the most dominant defenses in the nation. 11 points allowed against Nevada in Week 1 (eight of them on a final junk time drive). Zero allowed against FIU on Saturday. Just about four yards per play allowed across both weeks despite playing more than a quarter of their snaps with the backups in on defense.
How has James Franklin’s Penn State squad been so unbelievably destructive on defense so far? There have been several incredible performances to note from both of the first two games of the year, but three players in particular are proving they could be what carries the Nittany Lions to a possible national championship.
Dani Dennis-Sutton, Amare Campbell, and Tony Rojas anchoring the Penn State defense as they dominate early in 2025 season
Dani Dennis-Sutton is becoming a household name now as he takes the Penn State star edge rusher throne in place of the departed Abdul Carter this season. Most Penn State and college football fans around the country understand that he is one of the best players in the country, and he’s looking like an early first round pick already.
Last week he forced two fumbles, made several tackles, grabbed one sack, and pressured the quarterback four times. This week against FIU he was at it again. DDS might not have forced fumbles or racked up sacks this week, but he tallied several more tackles, and even when he wasn’t getting home on the pass rush he was often the one creating havoc and pressure (as you can see on the play below).
Dani Dennis-Sutton is going to get his shine most every single week thanks to his pro-ready frame and athleticism. That much is a lock. However, the Penn State defense has been so much more than just DDS through two weeks of the 2025 college football season.
The rest of the Penn State defensive line has been playing well too, but the Nittany Lions linebacker duo has made the most significant difference outside of DDS in the first two games.
Tony Rojas and transfer star Amare Campbell have been racking up the stats, blowing up plays left and right through two weeks. They’re playing confidently, aggressively, and they seem to know just how special they’ve been already. So much so that Tony Rojas was found wearing a “Linebacker U” chain following the game in his time with the media. He says they might just make a “turnover chain” out of it.
Rojas and Campbell combined for nearly 20 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a couple passes defended on the game against FIU, completely shutting down any offensive hope for the Panthers on Saturday. The dynamic duo now has nearly 30 total tackles, a handful of tackles for loss, and have missed essentially zero tackles so far.
The entire Penn State defense has been lock down, shut down, dominant overall. The Nittany Lions will now likely rank top 20 in EPA per play allowed, yards per play, and success rate against among all power conference teams coming out of Week 2. The defensive secondary needs to patch a few things up, and other pass rushers need to step up (like Chaz Coleman did this weekend), but with elite playmakers like Dani Dennis-Sutton, Tony Rojas, and Amare Campbell destroying opponents’ offenses Penn State could go a long way in the College Football Playoff this season.
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