Through the first seven weeks of the season, Penn State’s formula for defending the pass was simple and effective.

The Nittany Lions relied on a tenacious pass rush that averaged 3.42 sacks per game in their seven wins and an aggressive secondary, coming away with nine interceptions over the same span.

In Penn State’s two losses since, however, opponents have had great success attacking through the air, the result of putting less pressure on opposing quarterbacks, according to coach James Franklin.

“We’re not getting to the quarterback enough,” he said after Penn State’s loss to Michigan State last Saturday. “Can we cover better? Yes. But I’m going to tell you the best thing for coverage is pressuring and sacking the quarterback.”

Ohio State quarterback JT Barrett was 33-for-39 for 328 yards and four touchdowns in Penn State’s first loss of the season, and Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke followed suit, accumulating 400 yards passing.

As Franklin said, some of those difficulties shutting down the passing game stemmed from difficulty getting to the quarterback. Partially attributable to an injury suffered by defensive end Ryan Buchholz early in the game against the Buckeyes, Penn State tallied just four total sacks in its two recent losses.

Redshirt sophomore defensive end Shareef Miller said the Nittany Lions had ample opportunities to bring down Lewerke last Saturday, but had difficulty finishing the job.

“We pressured them, we just didn’t sack them,” Miller said. “That’s the thing. We pressured them and we flushed the quarterback, but we weren’t able to sack them... Stuff like that motivates us... we can be better this week.”

Penn State will look to find a way to bring down quarterback this Saturday against Rutgers, which allowed five sacks against Michigan two weeks ago, but has been otherwise solid in protecting the quarterback.

Scarlet Knight signal-caller Giovanni Rescigno was sacked just twice in three games against Maryland, Purdue and Illinois, which is the result of a recent shift in offensive philosophy on the part of Rutgers.

Said Franklin, “Early on they had some turnovers and some sacks, and they said, ‘That’s not how we’re going to play. We’re going to run the ball. We’re going to play-action pass. We’re going to play good defense and special teams and force people to beat us rather than beating themselves.’”

For all the discussion surrounding Penn State’s difficulties in the trenches and the trickledown effect that can have in the secondary, the Nittany Lions have acknowledged a shortcoming in that department as well.

Though the Nittany Lion secondary showed dramatic improvements on its 2016 season performance, the unit has fallen on hard times the last two weeks and senior safety Troy Apke said the defensive backs can’t blame the defensive line for their struggles.

“I think the biggest thing for us is just making plays,” Apke said. “I think we’re in position most of the time to make a play on the ball, but other teams have been making more plays than us.”

Looking to get back to their winning ways against Rutgers this weekend, the Nittany Lions are counting on doing exactly that.