Penn State heads into this weekend looking for win No. 9 on the year and a bounce-back victory after falling short against Michigan last Saturday. Rutgers will pose a surprisingly similar challenge in some areas, boasting a solid defense and a tenacious offensive attack. The Nittany Lions should still come out on top but don’t expect it to come as easy as it has in the past abasing the Scarlet Knights. Here are five storylines to keep an eye on.
Anything New?: Penn State isn’t going to – and doesn’t need to – reinvent the wheel the next two weeks of the regular season but it will be interesting to see if anything changes about the Nittany Lions’ approach on offense with Mike Yurcich out of the equation. Teams don’t come up with a ton of new plays in just a few day’s time, but that doesn’t mean playing call balance, style of approach won’t have a different look. This will actually be a good test for all parties on Saturday with Rutgers boasting a surprisingly robust defense this year. Never say never, but don’t expect this game to be the usual blowout. At least not in terms of how it unfold. Anyway, back to the question at hand, how does the offense look?
Don’t Fall Asleep: Penn State’s defense could be excused for taking the occasional nap against this Rutgers offense but nap time cost the Nittany Lions at least seven points against Indiana. It might be hard to get fully behind things after a big game loss just a week earlier, but Penn State’s defense can make everything easier on the Nittany Lions in the long run if they bring their A-game. Rutgers has a good defense but the Scarlet Knights don’t offer up much on the offensive front. Don’t make things easy for a bad unit. That’s how you end up losing by mistake.
In The Right Direction: This is less of a visual thing as it is feel, but can Penn State gets fan feeling like things are headed in the right direction again? The Nittany Lions don’t need to go out and win by 30 and look like world beaters, but a solid performance on both side of the ball in a winning effort could go a long way. Penn State fans might be losing their taste for wins in games like this but the key to the future Big Ten will be avoiding bumps in the road against teams you ought to beat. It might not be sexy this season, but getting the train back on the tracks is important. Can Penn State send fans home happy?
Get Them Off The Field: Rutgers’ offense is ranked No. 93 in the nation on third down conversion rate. Can Penn State get the Scarlet Knights off the field and avoid prolonged Rutgers’ drives? Despite what it might feel like at times, Penn State is only allowing opponents to convert on third down just over 30% of the time, 16th-best in the nation. Rutgers is only averaging 24 points a game and has yet to score a touchdown at Beaver Stadium as a Big Ten member.
The Opening Drive: Rutgers has one of the best scoring defenses and total defenses in the nation this year which means Penn State fans could be in for another slog of an afternoon. Can the Nittany Lions make something out of that first drive and remind everyone there is a gap between these two programs no matter how the season might be going?
