NoelarBear
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Know Your Opponent: Penn State Nittany Lions - GopherHole.com
Before every game, I ask a reporter who covers the Gophers upcoming opponent to give us a view from the opponent’s perspective. This week, I asked Thomas Frank Carr from Blue White Illustrated six questions about the Penn State Nittany Lions. Minnesota is looking to win their seventh game of the...
Before every game, I ask a reporter who covers the Gophers upcoming opponent to give us a view from the opponent’s perspective.
This week, I asked Thomas Frank Carr from Blue White Illustrated six questions about the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Minnesota is looking to win their seventh game of the season this Saturday as they host Penn State.
Huge thanks to Thomas Frank Carr for giving us his thoughts!
1. The Nittany Lions entered the 2024 season after winning 10 or more games in the last two years. Before this season, Vegas had them making it three years in a row, with most betting lines having Penn State winning at least 10 games this season. The third-best winning total in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Oregon. How high were the expectations for this team in Happy Valley? In your opinion, have they met those expectations?
Ten wins is cool, but Penn State are over that and they will let you know it. Yes, the program is expected to win the nine games they’ve won this year but the team is judged almost entirely on the one they didn’t. Losing to Ohio State took the sails out of the fanbase in a way that, given the College Football Playoff format, it shouldn’t have. Yet after a decade of being the same frustratingly close distance away from beating the Buckeyes, many fans are over it. Beyond that, Penn State has met my personal expectations for the most part. I thought the offense would be slightly more dynamic, but some personnel issues have kept that from happening. Yet the bottom line about how well, or poorly the team has played now rests on the next big game. Penn State is likely to make the playoff and may host a game. If they don’t win that game, many fans will consider the season a failure.
2. The Penn State offense is one of the best in the nation. They have the best running game in the Big Ten behind Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. QB Drew Allar is near the top of the conference in yards, touchdowns, and rating. Allar has one of the best tight ends in the country to throw to in Tyler Warren. Who is third in the conference with 808 receiving yards? Does this offense have any weakness? How have defenses found success against the Penn State offensive unit?
While it may seem like I’m down on Penn State in my answers, I’m not. I think the offense is quite good overall and I think Drew Allar is an excellent quarterback. He sees the field better than any signal caller in the James Franklin era. But again, we have to look at the situation through comparable talent. Against Ohio State, the Buckeyes shut down Penn State’s traditional running game by being stout along the defensive line. Overall, Penn State’s offensive line is good, but the interior, especially at center and right guard, struggles against quality competition. However, the biggest pain point for the offense is the lack of consistent and dynamic involvement from the wide receivers. Warren dominates the offense in touches, yards, targets, schemed plays and focus. Outside of receiver Trey Wallace, the team doesn’t have as much participation as they, or fans would like. If teams take away Warren, the offense can go stale without a consistent supporting cast.
3. The defense is allowing 13.6 points a game, which is second in the Big Ten conference. They rank in the top five in passing and rushing yards allowed. What is the strength of the Penn State defense? What weakness could the Gophers exploit and find success when they are on offense?
I don’t have much hope to offer you on this end. Penn State’s defense is excellent. The blueprint against the Nittany Lions’ defense is to get the ball out quickly and attack the man coverage heavy defense through rub routes and short passes. After the Ohio State game, teams have also used bunched formations to confuse and obscure receivers by running them through the offensive formation to try and get them away from defenders. But predictably, only one team has been able to make it work. The cornerbacks are deep and talented both outside and in the slot. The secondary, led by Jaylen Reed, is one of the stingiest in the country at allowing completion. When they are on their game, this is a suffocating defense. Likewise, the defensive line is dominant and defensive end Abdul Carter has turned a corner in the last month. This is his first year playing as an edge rusher full time and he’s now learning to play with his hands more, instead of relying purely on his speed and quickness. Inside, Zane Durant is a highly-underrated defensive tackle who has shocking power and strength for his 290-pound frame. He’s explosive and incredibly disruptive as a run defender. He may not have as many stats as his teammates, but he’s a central part of the team’s ability to completely shut down a running game. The main defensive issues are at linebacker Firstly, they have very little depth, so the starters, two of which have been playing through injury this year, have played almost all of he snaps. Sophomore Tony Rojas struggles with missed tackles and recently seems to be going through a crisis of confidence based on his recent plays. He’s supremely talented but struggles with consistency. However, Reed and middle linebacker Kobe King are always right around the corner to clean up any misses from the defensive line.
4. This Saturday will make it five straight weeks the Nittany Lions will play a football game. They are coming off a dominating 49-10 victory at Purdue last week. This far into the season, every team is banged up in some way. Are there any injury concerns for Penn State as they prepare to take on Minnesota?
Cornerback Elliot Washington came out of the game last week early and didn’t return. Allar was limping some during the game last week and suffered a knee injury against Wisconsin but his injury doesn’t seem to be notable, based on what we’ve seen. Penn State is actually getting healthy at the moment. Singleton suffered an injury against Illinois in September that lingered over the last several months but he’s begun to show more explosiveness and power over the last few weeks. The same is true of right tackle Anthony Donkoh, who was one of the team’s most dominant run blockers before a string of injuries sapped the higher-end plays from his game.
5. Could you give Minnesota fans a few Penn State players they should know about before heading into the game this Saturday? What players could make a difference for the Nittany Lions?
Most of the stars you know. Singleton, Allen, Allar, Carter and Warren are household names in college football. So let’s stray off the beaten path. The first name I’d bring up again is Durant. I cannot stress enough how much of a problem he will likely be for Minnesota. Reed is the team’s defensive heartbeat and will be critical. But the names you probably don’t know and should for this weekend is A.J. Harris and Jalen Kimber. Penn State added the redshirt freshman (Harris) from Georgia and the senior (Kimber) from Florida in the transfer portal this offseason. The duo completely upset the established order in the cornerback room and won starting roles at outside corner during the offseason. They have been integral in the team’s shutdown defense this year and will likely be so again this weekend.
6. This Saturday will be the 17th meeting between the two programs. Penn State leads the all-time series. 10-6. The teams have split the last four meetings, with the home team winning each time. The last game in Minnesota was a thriller, with No. 17 Minnesota upsetting No. 4 Penn State. Penn State enters the game this Saturday as 12-point favorites. What do the Nittany Lions need to do to win the game this Saturday? What is your prediction for the game?
This is a tricky question for me to answer because I study game film before making my prediction most weeks. I’m writing this pretty early in the process and I don’t have a great sense for Minnesota, outside of the defense, which I’m very impressed with. Most of my understanding of your team comes from the win over USC in which I was impressed with the passing game and how much Minnsota has evolved on offense since that game in 2019. However, on balance, Penn State needs to just do what they’ve done so far this year. The offense isn’t flashy, despite it’s many wrinkles and trick plays. They should be able to get it done thanks to Allar’s aversion to turnovers and the ground game’s creative mix of ball-carriers. Defensively, as long as they don’t miss too many tackles, I think it will be another dominant performance. I’ll throw a dart into the wind and say Penn State wins 28-13.
