Penn State Football returns from the bye week with one final tuneup before opening Big Ten Conference play in earnest next week against Illinois, when the Kent State Golden Flashers arrive on Saturday afternoon inside Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions are 48.5-point favorites, and looking to put on a better display than Penn State‘s most recent outing, a 34-27 comeback win over Bowling Green.
Here are our picks and predictions for how Saturday plays out.
Penn State Football vs. Kent State Predictions
Robert Casturo – Senior Content Editor
Penn State starts quick after two weeks of reminders from the Penn State coaching staff about the underwhelming performance against Bowling Green in week 2. Penn State gets ahead by 30+ in the first half and pulls their starters for the entire second half. Kent State will score in the second half, but Penn State still cover. Look for three Nittany Lions to rush for at least 100 yards in the game.
The Pick: Penn State 59, Kent State 7
Joe Staszak – Senior Penn State Football Reporter
For the second game in a row Penn State is expected to win with some room to spare. The only thing is it didn’t happen against Bowling Green in week two. The 35-point underdog Falcons gave the Nittany Lions all they could handle as Penn State woke up just in time to get out of week two with a 34-27 victory.
Saturday’s game you would want to see Penn State flex their muscles against Kent State, a 49-point underdog, like Tennessee did last week, 71-0.
The goal is to win by a wide margin if they want to show the country that they do belong in the AP top 10, which they still are despite having dropped two notches in the polls this past week to No. 10.
The belief among the Nittany Lions’ defensive players is that their group is the nation’s best. Well, they certainly didn’t show that two weeks ago, but now have a chance to right the ship with a dominant performance. If the defense can get off the field quickly, that should allow for more opportunities for their explosive offense to ignite like they did in week one vs West Virginia.
It could be an opportunity for wide receiver Julian Fleming, the former five-star recruit who transferred from Ohio State this offseason to get on track. Through two games, Fleming has caught just one ball for three yards despite leading all but one receiver, Harrison Wallace, in snaps.
I wouldn’t lay half a hundred Saturday, but Penn State should still win handily.
The Pick: Penn State 56, Kent State 10.
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Brad Kulp – Penn State Fotball Reporter
The Nittany Lions get up big easily and early. Let Kent throw as much as possible. The secondary needs the practice & experience. James Franklin should have the chance to bench the starters on both sides of the ball. The coaching staff should play every depth position they can, for as long as they can, especially the secondary. For Penn State, nothing matters more on Saturday than coming away with everyone healthy and a win.
The Pick: Penn State 55, Kent State 0
Dustin Howard – Penn State Football Reporter
Penn State keeps firing and making chunk plays happen on the ground. That’ll drive a rebound performance that could also see the Lions’ backups manhandle the Golden Flashes as well.
The pick: Penn State 63, Kent State 3.
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
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