Defense: 95.2 (2nd in the country, 2nd in the B1G)

Run Defense: 95.7 (1st in the country, 1st in the B1G)

Tackling: 90.9 (4th in the country, 3rd in the B1G)

Pass Rush: 88.9 (7th in the country, 3rd in the B1G)

Coverage: 90.3 (17th in the country, 5th in the B1G)

Penn State has the second-graded defense in the country and is first against the run.

That all starts up front with an extremely talented defensive line that features five guys with overall grades higher than 80.0. Leading the group, is junior Yetur Gross-Matos. He and fellow starting edge Shaka Toney are tied for the team lead with 7 sacks apiece. Both are top-ten in the B1G in pass rush productivity at 8.4 and 9.8. Along with being a top-ten pass rusher, Gross-Matos is top-ten graded against the run among defensive lineman in the conference.

Defensive Coordinator Brent Fry likes to rotate a lot of guys on the line because they have a lot of talent and depth. The seven players listed above have played a minimum of 120 snaps and missing is starter Antonio Shelton who will not be playing against the Gophers. Minnesota will have to be great in pass protection as Gross-Matos, Robert Windsor, and Adisa Isaac (89 snaps) are top-ten graded pass rushers in the conference.

This is by far the best, and deepest defensive line Minnesota has played to date against the pass and the rush, and could be all season.

Making up the rest of the Penn State front seven are a very talented group of linebackersm led by seniors Micah Parsons, Cam Brown, and Jan Johnson. The duo of Parsons and Brown are the first and second graded backers against the run in the conference at 93.0 and 92.5.

There are five linebackers with over 150 snaps, and they are a specialized group. The two seniors and Jan Johnson are elite against the run, all over an 84.0 grade but can struggle when they're forced to play in coverage. On passing downs, Johnson and Jesse Luketa are the guys they like to have out on the field.

Luketa struggles against the run when he's on the field. Ellis Brooks is fourth on the team in snaps, but has been the biggest liability at the position for the Nitanny Lions. The junior is below a 60.0 grade in every category and struggles against the run and when he's forced to make a tackle as well. He has 11 tackles on the season, but has missed five.

Passing on early downs is dangerous, but having putting the ball in the air when Parsons, Brown, and Ellis might be the recipe to success against this talented linebacker group.

The Penn State defense doesn't have a weakness, but where they aren't among the very top nationally is in coverage (17th). John Reid, Jaquan Brisker, and Tariq Castro-Fields all have two interceptions a piece on the year tied for the lead in the secondary.

Castro-Fields is the one that gets picked on the most, being targeted 41 times and is responsible for a team-worst 276 yards on the season. He's better in zone coverage than in man, so if Minnesota is able to get him on an island, look for the man he's on to be the hot read.

John Reid has been the teams top graded corner in coverage, and should be matched up on the top receiver outside. He's recovering from injury, but Coach Franklin said he's good to go for Saturday.

Typically responsible for slot receivers is safety Lamont Wade. He leads the team in coverage snaps in the slot (by a wide margin) with 134. He's been good, only allowing a 51.9 passer rating on such plays. He's been targeted 29 times in the slot and only allowed 13 receptions for 78 yards. He'll likely be heavily tested against the Gophers.