Penn State Football Opponent Preview: Northwestern Could Spell Trouble For Nittany Lions

Penn State football will start training camp in a few short weeks and after that the season will quickly arrive. So as July slowly turns into August it is time to look ahead to the opponents the Nittany Lions will face this season. And so here are a few things to know about Northwestern.

Offense: 

After having a few solid years of quarterback play, Northwestern is facing a three man quarterback race to start things off. Northwestern usually uses more than one signal caller but someone is going to get the majority of the snaps under center. Clayton Thorson will make an impact even if he doesn’t win the starting job. Until that position is figured out for good, Justin Jackson at running back should be a big staple of the offense. He finished fourth among freshman in Power 5 conference in all-purpose yards with a 98.9 per game average. A small but important detail, Northwestern will replace center Brandon Vitiable who was a two-time captain and starter in all 50 games he played.

Defense: 

Northwestern returns a whopping 10 starters on the defensive side of the ball and that will go a long way towards getting back to the bowl game picture this season. From the defensive line to defensive backs the Wildcats have experienced players on the field. The secondary is perhaps the units strongest but there is nothing bad about returning an entire defense.

Biggest Game:

Opening the season against Stanford is an exciting game on paper but the biggest games for Northwestern’s season will be the ones against the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. The first of those games, an October 3rd meeting with Minnesota. After that it’s October 17th against Iowa. Win both of those game at home, finish off with a win against Illinois and Pat Fitzgerald and company could be bowling.

Biggest Storyline:

Pat Fitzgerald has nine years under the belt at Northwestern and a 60-53 record to show for it. To his credit the reputation of the program has grown under his watch but Northwestern has rarely done much more than “get better.” It’s hard to say what his job security status is like at a place he is so well loved, but sooner or later the program has to get back to improving instead of simply stagnating in the middle of the conference.

Prediction:

Penn State will be an improved team this year but the Nittany Lions won’t be able to avoid that inexplicable loss. For whatever reason Northwestern has given Penn State issues over the years and sooner or later the Nittany Lions are going to get tripped up. This early November trip to Chicago is probably that moment.