On paper, a game between Northwestern and Penn State should be a fairly straightforward affair. But as they say, the game isn’t played on paper. So even as the Nittany Lions look to improve to 5-0 on the year and 2-0 on the road in Big Ten play this season, Penn State will still have to take care of plenty of keys to make sure that actually happens. Here are five storylines to follow as Penn State heads to Evanston.
Bring The Juice: People made their usual fuss over James Franklin saying that Penn State didn’t practice with music this week because Northwestern’s atmosphere is not the same as other places in the Big Ten. It might be funny, but it is true, and this will be the first time all year that Penn State will head into a stadium and not be up against some truly noteworthy road atmosphere. Pair that with another pre-lunch start (Northwestern is in central time after all) and you’ve got a recipe for a slow start. Penn State can probably overcome that sort of thing, but good teams come out and get the job done right away. The sooner Penn State gets off the field and back on the plane, the better off everyone’s day will be. That starts with creating your own energy.
Bad Team Momentum: Northwestern had a comeback victory over Minnesota last week, which is either the sort of emotional victory that restarts a season or gives the Wildcats an emotional hangover. One imagines that hosting a top 10 team is the sort of thing Northwestern would be up for. That being said, the Wildcats aren’t going to suddenly turn into a good team over night. If Penn State can avoid giving Northwestern fuel for the new found belief it might have, that’ll go a long way toward getting this game over and done with. The last thing the Nittany Lions need is to give a bad team a good reason to believe. This is somewhat related to the first point.
Don’t Beat Yourself: Penn State still has yet to cough the ball up this year and that will probably happen at some point, but it doesn’t need to be Saturday. Penn State is No. 24 in total penalties, which is way better than it might seem but is another area where this group has extended opponent drives or killed its own — usually without reason. Penalties happen. They’re part of the game, but a lot of Penn State’s have felt completely avoidable. Easier said than done at times, but Saturday is a good exercise in taking care of the little things. Ball security and discipline are both easy areas to take care of; not doing that turns this into more of a game than it should be.
Ratioed: Northwestern is very bad at running the ball and less bad at throwing it. Penn State, meanwhile, leads the nation in turnover margin. If the Nittany Lions can ballhawk some early interceptions — or even just one — that could go a long way toward an early haymaker in this game. Interestingly enough, for all the talk of Penn State’s interceptions (five of them) the Nittany Lions have actually recovered more fumbles (six). However the ball comes to Penn State, continuing the trend of finding the ball when it’s up for grabs is another key to a quick afternoon. Turnovers, penalties and field position. The game is simple, but always easier said than done.
Third Down: The Wildcats are actually a decent third-down team (29th in the nation) and better than Penn State (52nd), and if Northwestern is going to pull off an upset it somewhat obviously begins with moving the ball on offense. Penn State’s defense, like most, thrives in longer yardage situations so keeping Northwestern off schedule is an obvious must here. Not exactly rocket science, but beating a lesser team shouldn’t be that complicated. That said, upsets all start somewhere, and usually they start with more and more first downs. Penn State’s defense should continue to be fresh and Saturday is a good chance to make good on that fact.
