Coming from a guy who hates Penn State and loves Ohio State more than most, I have spent a lot of time thinking, reading, looking at stats, and about anything you can look at that might help you predict what will happen Saturday night. It is foolish to think you are going to walk into that stadium in that atmosphere and not be challenged. Unless you have been there, you truly don't understand how loud it is and what it can do to a person mentally. The place shakes underneath your feet, the palm palms whipping in the air in unison, and the pure noise is enough to drive a person insane. Thankfully, I am 3-0 in their little house of horror.
With that being said, one thing sticks out to me and I think it is important. Penn State returns only 3 starters on defense. The only experience these new starters have are against App State (38 points), Pitt, Kent State, and Illinois (24 points in 2.5 quarters). Other than the App State game, this team has won handily but have played nothing to the magnitude in which they are about to face Saturday night. Their young defense will have so many weapons they have to defend such as Dobbins, Weber, Campbell, Hill......etc. I simply don't see them being able to handle the arm of Dwayne Haskins or the team speed on offense we possess. We will score our points, and enough to win the game for sure.
This entire game comes down to our defense making plays. I think even without Bosa, we have one of the best defensive lines in America and they will do their job. The big question is the linebackers. When you are defending a dual threat quarterback who has a pretty good running back standing next to him, you had better fill gaps and make tackles. If you look at the passing stats of McSorley, it isn't very impressive this year and rest assured, he is going to try to use his legs to win. It is very scary to think that against Tulane, we didn't have one starting linebacker make a tackle the entire time they were out there. With our defensive line as good as they are, our linebackers should be thriving right now. Lord knows the talent is there.
So, we will score our points, but do our linebackers make the tackles necessary to keep them from outscoring us? This will decide the game.
With that being said, one thing sticks out to me and I think it is important. Penn State returns only 3 starters on defense. The only experience these new starters have are against App State (38 points), Pitt, Kent State, and Illinois (24 points in 2.5 quarters). Other than the App State game, this team has won handily but have played nothing to the magnitude in which they are about to face Saturday night. Their young defense will have so many weapons they have to defend such as Dobbins, Weber, Campbell, Hill......etc. I simply don't see them being able to handle the arm of Dwayne Haskins or the team speed on offense we possess. We will score our points, and enough to win the game for sure.
This entire game comes down to our defense making plays. I think even without Bosa, we have one of the best defensive lines in America and they will do their job. The big question is the linebackers. When you are defending a dual threat quarterback who has a pretty good running back standing next to him, you had better fill gaps and make tackles. If you look at the passing stats of McSorley, it isn't very impressive this year and rest assured, he is going to try to use his legs to win. It is very scary to think that against Tulane, we didn't have one starting linebacker make a tackle the entire time they were out there. With our defensive line as good as they are, our linebackers should be thriving right now. Lord knows the talent is there.
So, we will score our points, but do our linebackers make the tackles necessary to keep them from outscoring us? This will decide the game.
