One of the keys to victory for the Memphis Tigers this Saturday in the Cotton Bowl is to get pressure on Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford.
The Nittany Lions give up an average of 2.33 sacks per game. The Tigers average 2.46 sacks per game.
Penn State Qb Sean Clifford (Steve Manuel/BWI)
With the help of PFF, let's take a look at the Penn State offensive line to see where they give up the most pressure.
LEFT TACKLE- RASHEED WALKER
Walker, 6-foot-6 324 lbs., is a redshirt freshman that has allowed 4 sacks this year. His PFF pass blocking grade is 62.3 on the year. According to his PFF stats, his best games come against weaker defensive line units. He's allowed his man to pressure the quarterback 16 times and the quarterback was hit 10 of those times. He's graded below a 50 pass blocking in the past 2 games. He had a 44.8 against Ohio State and a 33.1 against Rutgers.
LEFT GUARD- STEVEN GONZALEZ
Gonzalez, 6-foot-4 341lbs., is a senior that has allowed just 1 sack all year and that was against Ohio State. Gonzalez is the Nittany Lions best pass blocker with a PFF grade of 74. He's only had 4 games where he graded below a 70. He's allowing less than 1 quarterback pressure per game.
CENTER- MICHAL MENET
Menet, 6-foot-4 313 lbs., is a junior that has allowed just 2 sacks this year. His PFF pass blocking grade is 68.8. Over 40% of all the quarterback pressures and hits he's allowed this year came against Ohio State. Take that game away and it's been hard to get past Menet.That said, he does have a tendency to slip up against lower competition. His PFF pass blocking grade against Buffalo was 45.1 and he had a 49.6 grade against Rutgers.
RIGHT GUARD- C.J. THORPE OR MIKE MIRANDA
Miranda, 6-foot-3 295 lbs., is a sophomore (8 starts) that has allowed just 1 sack this year. He's averaging just 1 quarterback pressure allowed per game and has a pass blocking grade of 60.4
Thorpe, 6-foot-3 322 lbs., is a sophomore (4 starts) that has allowed 2 sacks this year but has giving up 12 quarterback pressures and has 4 penalties this year. His pass blocking grade is just 46.5 for the season.
RIGHT TACKLE- WILL FRIES
Fries, 6-foot-6 313 lbs., is a junior that has given up 3 sacks this year and they were all against Ohio State. His allowed 21 quarterback pressures and 15 quarterback hurries. He's been penalized 4 times this year.
The Nittany Lions give up an average of 2.33 sacks per game. The Tigers average 2.46 sacks per game.
Penn State Qb Sean Clifford (Steve Manuel/BWI)
With the help of PFF, let's take a look at the Penn State offensive line to see where they give up the most pressure.
LEFT TACKLE- RASHEED WALKER
Walker, 6-foot-6 324 lbs., is a redshirt freshman that has allowed 4 sacks this year. His PFF pass blocking grade is 62.3 on the year. According to his PFF stats, his best games come against weaker defensive line units. He's allowed his man to pressure the quarterback 16 times and the quarterback was hit 10 of those times. He's graded below a 50 pass blocking in the past 2 games. He had a 44.8 against Ohio State and a 33.1 against Rutgers.
LEFT GUARD- STEVEN GONZALEZ
Gonzalez, 6-foot-4 341lbs., is a senior that has allowed just 1 sack all year and that was against Ohio State. Gonzalez is the Nittany Lions best pass blocker with a PFF grade of 74. He's only had 4 games where he graded below a 70. He's allowing less than 1 quarterback pressure per game.
CENTER- MICHAL MENET
Menet, 6-foot-4 313 lbs., is a junior that has allowed just 2 sacks this year. His PFF pass blocking grade is 68.8. Over 40% of all the quarterback pressures and hits he's allowed this year came against Ohio State. Take that game away and it's been hard to get past Menet.That said, he does have a tendency to slip up against lower competition. His PFF pass blocking grade against Buffalo was 45.1 and he had a 49.6 grade against Rutgers.
RIGHT GUARD- C.J. THORPE OR MIKE MIRANDA
Miranda, 6-foot-3 295 lbs., is a sophomore (8 starts) that has allowed just 1 sack this year. He's averaging just 1 quarterback pressure allowed per game and has a pass blocking grade of 60.4
Thorpe, 6-foot-3 322 lbs., is a sophomore (4 starts) that has allowed 2 sacks this year but has giving up 12 quarterback pressures and has 4 penalties this year. His pass blocking grade is just 46.5 for the season.
RIGHT TACKLE- WILL FRIES
Fries, 6-foot-6 313 lbs., is a junior that has given up 3 sacks this year and they were all against Ohio State. His allowed 21 quarterback pressures and 15 quarterback hurries. He's been penalized 4 times this year.
