Penn State Football returns home at 1-0 for the Nittany Lions‘ home opener against Bowling Green on Saturday.
After a rain soaked, lightning delayed first game of the season, Saturday’s forecast looks to once again throw rain into the mix for the Nittany Lions.
While Penn State enters this game as 34.5-point favorites Saturday, there are still important matchups that the Nittany Lions can win to make the game go smoother for Penn State.
Here are the three key matchups Penn State Football must win against Bowling Green:
Penn State Defensive Line vs. Bowling Green Offensive Line
In a week one 41-17 win over Fordham, Bowling Green racked up an astonishing 305 rushing yards.
James Franklin took notice, commenting at his weekly press conference Monday that Bowling Green was “bigger, more physical” than Penn State had anticipated before turning on the film.
Penn State’s run defense played very well in week one against a dangerous West Virginia rushing attack. Penn State held the Mountaineers to 85 yards rushing (only 2.3 yards per rush).
If the Nittany Lions can replicate this performance against the run Saturday, it could be a long day for the Bowling Green offense.
Penn State Special Teams vs. Bowling Green Special Teams
In week one against Fordham, Bowling Green’s Justin Pegues put up the play of the week for the Falcons, returning a kick 100 yards for a touchdown.
Penn State will need to pay extra care in kickoff coverage to make sure that Pegues does not have an opportunity to score or give the Falcons good starting field position.
After week one’s win over West Virginia, Franklin noted that drive starting position was something that the Nittany Lions needed to clean up this week. Pegues could certainly hurt the Nittany Lions’ chances of correcting that Saturday if the Nittany Lions do not respect his talent on special teams.
Penn State also must be better in the punting and kicking game this week. After missing a field goal and letting a pooch punt roll into the endzone, Penn State’s special teams could use a bounce-back week against Bowling Green.
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Penn State Offensive Line vs. Bowling Green Front 7
With the weather looking wet again for Saturday’s contest, Penn State may lean on the ground game as the Nittany Lions did in the second half against West Virginia.
Penn State’s offensive line was excellent in week one, leading the Nittany Lions to 222 rushing yards and not allowing a sack. If the big guys up front can dominate the line of scrimmage, Penn State’s offense should have no issue moving the ball despite the potentially bad weather.
Penn State Football should cruise to a 2-0 start against the Falcons.
If Penn State is able to win these three key matchups, the Nittany Lions should have plenty of time to get younger players involved and build depth for later in the season. With a bye week coming up early in the season, Penn State has the opportunity to get plenty on tape for younger players to correct during the bye week and build confidence for younger players later in the season.
MORE: Picks, Predictions for Penn State vs. Bowling Green
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