Penn State is off to Maryland for its fourth game of the year and the first road test of the season. The Terps are slated to play this game in front of a sold-out crowd, allegedly preparing to wear entirely black. Whatever your thoughts are on Friday night college football, it ought to be a fun evening in College Park and one of the better Friday night showings the Big Ten has had since starting the tradition last season.
So what to watch for, and what to keep an eye on.
It’s Your Ball:
Penn State only has two turnovers on the year so far this season while having been on the correct end of three turnovers. It’s too early in the year to make some sweeping judgement about Penn State’s ability to force turnovers or having/not having a turnover issue, but it’s safe to say big games can swing on coughing up the ball.
Sean Clifford has yet to throw an interception, but one has to imagine that day will come sooner rather than later. Other than Ricky Slade, the Nittany Lions have done a good job hanging on to the ball, and in fairness Slade gets a knock by virtue of being involved. Playing on the road in front of a sold-out crowd means turnovers and momentum are key to staying in front of making a comeback. For all we know this will be another blowout, but until that actually happens, Penn State doesn’t want to start off on the wrong foot, and certainly doesn’t want to let Maryland hang around due to a self-inflicted wound.
It’s an easy task to say, harder to do.
Now We’ll Really Know:
It’s fair to argue that Penn State has bigger games on its schedule relative to marquee opponents, but the Nittany Lions will not have a better early season test than this. Go on the road and win and Penn State might have something, go on the road and struggle, and it could be an up and down year. One game won’t define a season, but Friday night will be the best opportunity to answer to questions: Which of Penn State’s early season issues are real? Which of its strengths aren’t as good as advertised.
Games like this will tell you a lot about a team.
Step Up:
If KJ Hamler gets the ball he will make plays, that much is for certain. But what about everyone else? The big stage calls for big moments a players to step up in to that moment. Friday night is a chance to learn about individual players as it is a chance to learn about the team as a whole. If this is a rock-fight and a regional rivalry game, somebody will have to make game-changing plays. Equally true, can the Nittany Lions find consistency across the board, because sometimes winning is about big moments, but often times it’s about playing a solid 60 minutes.
Whichever team can do both will probably win.
Chunk Funk:
Penn State’s defense has managed to marry two very different things this year: Not giving up points, but giving up big plays. One would imagine that these things can’t be true for much longer. It’s hard to picture a Brent Pry defense not figuring out its weaknesses as the season goes along, but considering how many points Maryland has put up in two out of its three games, Friday might be a good time to start that improvement.
This one will be easy to see, and comes in conjunction with another Nittany Lion issue: getting to the quarterback. if you can do one, you often can stop the other.
Up And Good?:
James Franklin said last week that Jake Pinegar is responsible for kicks 49-yards and in, which means despite Jordan Stout’s cannon for a leg the sophomore kicker is going to get the vast majority of field goals opportunities in a game that could be decided by them. Aside from an up and down 2018 (but what Nittany Lion didn’t have an up and down year?) there isn’t any reason to think Pinegar isn’t up for the challenge. The question though, what happens if he misses? Chances are he’ll get another shot, but when one kicker is booting them from 55+ it’s hard to ignore that.
If you’re Franklin, you’re hoping everything is up and good, for more reason than one.
