Penn State looks to snap two-game losing streak as it hosts Northwestern
Despite back-to-back weeks likely knocking Penn State far out of the College Football Playoff picture, it is still homecoming week in Happy Valley. Penn State looks to lick its wounds from the past two games that have set a preseason pick to be a national title and Big Ten favorite into the cellar of the Big Ten standings. This is not at all where Penn State expected to be going into its homecoming matchup with Northwestern. Alas, here we are.
Penn State’s defense was shredded last week against UCLA in a mind-boggling performance, resulting in one of the most stunning results of the season in college football. Will the Nittany Lions show some pride this week with a stronger showing on defense, and will the offense find a way to set the tone from the start against a Northwestern team that did manage to beat UCLA two weeks ago?
Here are our final score predictions for this weekend’s home game against Northwestern..
Sam: Penn State 34, Northwestern 17
Player of the Game: Kaytron Allen
After losing to UCLA, it’s hard to feel confident about Penn State against anybody in the Big Ten. However, I think the Nittany Lions are the better team and should be able to get a win, even if they get off to another slow start. I expect Northwestern’s running game, which had 246 yards against ULM last week, to cause problems early for Penn State’s defense, which sorely misses Tony Rojas. If the Nittany Lions can force turnovers from Preston Stone, who’s thrown six interceptions this season, then they should be able to establish a lead and force the Wildcats to play from behind. It won’t be a pretty one, but it should be a win for Penn State.
Christopher: Penn State 37, Northwestern 17
Offensive Player of the Game: Kaytron Allen
Defensive Player of the Game: Zakee Wheatley
By now, Penn State fans might have to get used to the fact that some games are gonna be closer than they should. In this situation, a spirited Northwestern side coming off two straight wins have a lot to offer against a Penn State side struggling with its identity. Nevertheless, turnovers will play a large part in this one, and Preston Stone has been susceptible to them. Northwestern offers enough offensively to stick around, but mistakes may be their downfall in this one.
Andrew: Penn State 28, Northwestern 10
- Offensive Player of the Game: Kaytron Allen
- Defensive Player of the Game: Amare Campbell
Penn State has proven it can’t fully dominate a game this season. The Nittany Lions have yet to cover a spread, and that’ll continue this week. Despite a closer score, the blue and white will be in control for most of the game. Kaytron Allen will finally get a majority of the carries and score two touchdowns en route to over 100 yards on the ground. Amare Campbell will continue to prove his dominance at linebacker despite the void of Tony Rojas.
Kevin: Penn State 27, Northwestern 10
- Offensive player of the game: Kaytron Allen
- Defensive player of the week: Dani Dennis-Sutton
My confidence in predicting Penn State’s outcome has already hit a season low, as you can likely understand. After what we witnessed last week, I do think this week will be telling on what this team is made of, and I don’t expect to be overwhelmed. I think the defense plays a far better game this week after an atrocious showing last week against UCLA. But I also expect a sluggish offensive showing that slowly strings together some scoring drives to win this game by double digits, but it will hardly be the kind of showing that will inspire much confidence.
See our Week 7 Big Ten picks for the rest of this weekend’s conference schedule.
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