NFL
By: Courtney Walsh
Now the fun begins for our Penn State Nittany Lions football team. Non-conference play is over, and we enter Big Ten play. What better way to start than at home in a sea of white versus a hungry, highly ranked Oregon Ducks team? The atmosphere alone will be off the meter and people will start pregaming Friday into Saturday this writer included. With all the talk of a return to the College Football Playoffs for both of these teams, it doesn’t get bigger than this in the regular season. So how do we avoid a letdown and walk off the field with the win? Narrowed down to 3 keys and of course a prediction. Can James Franklin FINALLY shake off the whole “Can’t win the big one” label?
Pound The Rock
With two of the most talented running backs in the country in the backfield, THIS is the game to feed both Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. Having them soften up the Ducks’ defensive line will do two magical things open up the play action pass game for Drew Allar, and not make him feel the need to force things and “make plays”. Setting the tone early and sending that physical message will be super important. With such a low ranking in yards per play busting a long run or two would help as well. Of course, it will be a key to the Ducks to slow down this run game so the big guys up front need to win their battles and open up holes.
Win The Turnover Battle and Explosive Plays
If you go back to the Big 10 Title game loss we lost the turnover battle. Jim Knownles needs to dig in his bag and let the dogs hunt which should result in a turnover or two. This is a PSU defense that currently ranks in the top 12 vs the pass and will look to make life hell for Ducks QB Dante Moore explosive plays can happen on both sides of the ball. Drew Allar should watch last year’s game and see the points and big plays left on the field use it as a fuel to go for it this Saturday. His accuracy will need to be much improved as well. This is the game to showcase a new WR group and allow them to shine.
Feed Off The Fans
To me, the number 2 or 3 thing that makes college football awesome is the atmosphere and passion of the fan bases. Everyone thinks their school has the best fans and school traditions, well it’s a fact that the white out is one of the best. Use that energy and make it VERY uncomfortable for the Ducks who have a young quarterback who hasn’t been in these types of games before. Everything from false starts to a sure-handed running back getting case of the Derrick Henrys can happen.
Closing
- Penn State is 4-20 against top 10 opponents under James Franklin.
- Penn State hasn’t beaten a Power 4 top-10 opponent in 996 days (Jan. 2, 2023, Utah).
- Penn State has gone 3,217 days since its last win vs a top 10 Big Ten team (Dec. 3, 2016 vs Wisconsin).
All, the preseason talk doesn’t matter if this is ANOTHER Penn State letdown. Coach James Franklin has to be sick of the talk about his record against top 25 teams. Drew Allar can go a long way in locking down his top 3 spot in next year’s NFL Draft while shaking off the labels on his career. I see this as a game that comes down to who makes that critical mistake I predict a 27-21 PSU victory. #WeAre
