Penn State walks into Friday night with its first loss already on the books, and the Nittany Lions won’t get much comfort from the setting. Their trip to Northwestern doubles as the Wildcats’ grand opening at Ryan Field, a nearly $900 million stadium with a student section built to resemble a European soccer venue - no sitting, plenty of banging on the back wall, and an atmosphere that should be loud from the start.
That backdrop has the staff split on what comes next for Penn State. Three of the four predictions lean toward the Nittany Lions escaping with a win, while one sees Northwestern protecting its new home in a tight finish.
Andrew Deal expects Penn State to steady itself and leave with a 24-20 victory. He points to how close Northwestern stayed with Indiana and to the injury situations on both sides, noting that the Wildcats had multiple players on their availability report Tuesday, including wide receiver Hayden Eligon II and defensive backs Damon Walters and Braden Turner, all listed as questionable.
Penn State cornerback Daryus Dixson is also questionable, but Deal sees the Wildcats’ injury list as the more significant issue. For Penn State to get it done, he believes the run game has to show up against a defense that has struggled there.
If the Nittany Lions can come anywhere close to the 304 rushing yards they put up against Buffalo, he likes their chances. Even with Aidan Chiles bringing dual-threat danger, Deal expects Penn State to contain him enough to win in Northwestern’s first game at the new stadium.
Andrew Mercer sees the opposite outcome, taking Northwestern 17-14. He says Rocco Becht’s comment that he expects a “different team” against the Wildcats is fair, but also thinks it’s hard to overhaul an offense in one short week.
Penn State had Sunday and Monday off, which left only three days to clean things up before kickoff. Mercer also believes the Wisconsin loss showed Penn State cracked when pressure hit, and he says the offense needs explosive plays it hasn’t shown lately.
He mentions the absence of Koby Howard and worries that if Becht can’t find rhythm with Brett Eskildsen or Chase Sowell, the skid could keep growing.
Lexie Linderman is on Penn State’s side, predicting a 21-14 win. She says the offensive letdown against Wisconsin wasn’t what anyone wanted to see, but Friday should reveal what this team is really made of.
Linderman doesn’t expect Taylor Mouser’s offense to suddenly take over, yet she thinks he and Becht have enough pride to respond. She sees the run game as the clearest path, especially with Northwestern giving up 272 rushing yards in its loss to Indiana.
That opens the door, in her view, for James Peoples to make a case as Penn State’s No. 1 back. On the other side, she says Penn State’s secondary has enough depth to cover for Dixson if needed, and she notes Northwestern’s passing game runs through just two players.
That, she believes, gives the Nittany Lions an edge in a game their defense can close out.
Noah Aberegg also has Penn State winning, 23-17, but he doesn’t expect a clean night. He says the problems from the Wisconsin game - an offense that never found a groove and a defense that allowed too many big plays - could show up again.
Still, he thinks Penn State will do enough. Aberegg points to the red zone as a major concern and says that with Koby Howard still sidelined and the run game still searching, those issues may linger.
That puts more pressure on Ryan Barker, whom he expects to have one of the best games of his career by making all three field goal attempts. He also thinks Matt Campbell may lean more aggressively on fourth downs after last week.
Defensively, Aberegg expects Penn State’s pass rush to improve after managing only one sack against Wisconsin, even if it won’t match the four-sack outing Aidan Chiles endured last week. In the end, he sees turnovers deciding it, with Penn State forcing at least one takeaway that leads to points and helps seal the win.
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The move also adds another layer to an already familiar pipeline between two of the leagues most recognizable front offices, since it is the third transaction in the past two years between Steelers general manager Omar Khan and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. For Penn State fans, it is a notable twist for one of the programs most visible recent pros, and one that now sends his next chapter to a new contender with plenty of attention still attached. [Read more 🡒]