Pinstripe Bowl: Two of the nation's best defenses square off at Yankee Stadium

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Boston College (7-5) vs. Penn State (6-6)

New York City

Dec. 27, 2014

Two of the better defenses in all of college football will square off when Penn State and Boston College meet in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

The Eagles, ranked No. 12 nationally in total defense, gave up an average of 313.5 yards and 20.5 points per game en route to a 7-5 record on the season. Linebackers Justin Simmons and Josh Keyes have been all over the field for BC and will look to make life difficult for Penn State sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Simmons led the Eagles with 70 tackles while also adding two tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions. Keyes led the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and four sacks on the season while tallying 63 total tackles.

Offensively, the Eagles live and die by their running game with 251.8 yards per game on the ground. The Eagles ran the ball 589 times this year compared to 223 passing attempts. Dual-threat quarterback Tyler Murphy, a Florida transfer, led the way with 1,079 yards and 10 touchdowns on 170 carries. Freshman running back Jon Hilliman gained 712 yards and scored 12 times this season, but he averaged just 3.8 yards per carry.

When forced to go to the air, Murphy hasn’t been the most efficient passer. He completed 120-of-211 attempts (56.9 percent) for 1,526 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His top target – senior Josh Bordner – had only 26 catches on the year.

Murphy faces a tough task against the 6-6 Nittany Lions, who will make their return to postseason play for the first time since 2011. Penn State boasts the nation’s best rush defense, allowing just 84.8 yards per game and 2.56 yards per rush. Overall, the Nittany Lions are second nationally in total defense at 259.6 yards allowed per game.

Senior Mike Hull, the Big Ten linebacker of the year, led the unit with 134 total tackles (seventh-best in the nation), 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception. Junior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel also had a huge year for Penn State with 39 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three interceptions.

While its defense had a great year, Penn State’s offense (ranked No. 114 nationally) struggled mightily for most of the season. The Nittany Lions started the year at 4-0, but limped to a 6-6 finish. Playing behind an inexperienced offensive line that allowed 42 sacks, Hackenberg, the 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, took a step back as a sophomore, throwing for 2,606 yards with 15 interceptions and only eight touchdown passes.

Redshirt freshman DaeSean Hamilton (75 catches, 848 yards) emerged as Hackenberg’s top target while sophomore Akeel Lynch (603 yards, 4 TDs) and senior Bill Belton (518 yards, 6 TDs) were the Nittany Lions’ best backfield options.

Despite winning only six games in James Franklin’s first season with the program, the Nittany Lions are just happy to be back in postseason play two years after being issued a four-year postseason ban by the NCAA amid the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The NCAA reduced those sanctions, which included severely reducing the number of scholarship players on the roster, in September, and Franklin hopes a bowl win can help the propel the program forward.

ODDS

Boston College (-2.5)

FUN FACT

Excluding freshmen who are redshirting, Franklin said that Penn State will play in the Pinstripe Bowl with just 41 scholarship players.

“We ended the season playing with 41 scholarship players,” Franklin said Monday on the Jim Rome Show. “We started the season with 65, and then you take the redshirt guys out and the guys who got injured, it was some real challenges."

PREDICTIONS

Graham: It's exciting to see Penn State back in a bowl game after its ban, but I’m not sure this team has the horses to pull out a win against an underrated Boston College team. Dual-threat quarterback Tyler Murphy leads the Eagles to a late win in this one. Boston College 24, Penn State 17.

Nick: This could be a long hard slog. Penn State has the best defense, in terms of yards per play, in the country. Can they keep Boston College in check? Boston College 17, Penn State 13.

Sam: This should be an ugly one. If Boston College can’t do some damage through the air, it won’t do much damage at all. Penn State’s seniors have been through a lot of rough times over the past few years. They’ll be inspired and come out with a win on a Sam Ficken field goal. Penn State 16, Boston College 13.

For more Boston College news, visit EagleAction.com.

For more Penn State news, visit BlueWhiteIllustrated.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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