Penn State Football Schedule: The Rest of the Way
By Editorial Staff
Derek Moye Injured
Moye injured his foot this week (broke his 5th metacarpal bone), slipping/falling down stairs in his apartment. Basically, Penn State has ruled him out for the Purdue and Northwestern game, but think he could be back for the Illinois game. Personally (like I tweeted), I have him coming back the Nebraska game. Depending upon exactly when this injury happened, that would give him 4 weeks to heal. Would love to have him back for the Illinois game (would be really nice to have him), but I just don’t see that happening…No, I’m not a Doctor.
Sucks, but this is football. Brown will see more targets and now Kersey, Moseby-Felder, or Allen Robinson will need to step up these next few weeks while Moye is out. I don’t think it’s a devastating loss, but you also don’t want to lose your #1 WR either. I got BMF being the guy that steps up. I don’t think Kersey is anything more than a deep threat, and although I like Allen Robinson, he’s still pretty raw. BMF has been in the program for 3 years, has good size at 6’2, good speed/athleticism, etc. We’ll see what happens.
Bill Belton could benefit from this as well. Moo-Moo will probably see more time on the outside, giving Belton more time in the slot.
D’Anton Lynn and Brandon Beachum Return
They’ve both been practicing this whole week and will be out there for the Purdue. Great for Lynn, especially after his scary injury.
Looking Ahead
Penn State is 5-1, and as fans, that means we start looking ahead. After a strong win against Iowa, things are starting to look up for Penn State. They finally seem to have some confidence, and the offense is slowly improving. Time to look at how the schedule shapes up.
October 15th – Purdue (3-2): This upcoming game really shouldn’t be a tough game. Purdue has losses against Rice (2-3) and Notre Dame, and barely escaped Middle Tennessee (1-4). Flat out, they really aren’t a great team. Although they did handle Minnesota handily last week so maybe they are also a team playing with confidences? Nothing is a gimme win, but this is definitely Penn State’s easiest game on the schedule.
Prediction: Penn State wins 23-6. Silas Redd has another 100+ performance.
October 22nd – @Northwestern (2-3): Regardless of Northwestern’s record, they are a pretty good football team. Persa has just gotten back from injury, and although he is 0-2, they are a better team with him. They were up big on Illinois, and gave up the lead. Then last week, they were up 24-14 against Michigan at the half, and ended up losing 42-24. So the team has shown that they can play with some pretty tough teams. Add in the fact this is a night game at Northwestern, and it could be tougher than most think.
October 29th – Illinois (6-0): Illinois is the surprise team of the year, for the Big Ten at least. They have a pretty strong defense, mixed with a good offense. They also are one of the more athletic teams Penn State will face. Just my personal opinion, but I think this will be Penn State’s 2nd toughest game (behind Wisconsin) this season. They have an athletic QB in Scheelhasse who is also competent throwing the ball (more on the incompetence of another QB later), and are just a really athletic team. Zooker’s coaching could drag them down, but Illinois did defeat Penn State last year so who knows. Will be a very tough game, but it is a home game which definitely helps Penn State.
November 12th – Nebraska (5-1): Oddly enough, I’m very confident about this game. Nebraska is a bad defensive team, and just lost Jared Crick for the whole season. They are 10th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game which is exactly what Penn State likes to hear. Meanwhile, their offense also plays to Penn State’s strengths. The base of their offense is running with Burkhead and Martinez, if Penn State can stop that (which I think they can), then they make Martinez throw the ball. Sure, he’ll have those short dinks and dunks to make, but remember…this is Taylor Martinez. He’s going to want to make the big play, he’ll try to force throws, he’ll get frustrated and flustered, etc. Add in that he isn’t known to be the kid with the best “moxie”, and I think Penn State can really screw up his game. We’ll see if I’m right or right here, but I really like us in this game.
November 19th – @Ohio State (3-2): The Good Ol’ Buckeyes. This is a program in total disarray, and I don’t see how they can turn it around even when they get some of the Tats back. Even though Penn State hasn’t had the greatest games at the Horseshoe, I think Penn State has a pretty good shot to pick up the win.
November 26th – @Wisconsin (5-0): Ugh. I’m more on the optimistic side of things, but I have Wisconsin kicking Penn State’s head in. Wisconsin is without a doubt, the best team in the Big Ten. Really, they are the only team I think Penn State has nos hot against.
On the toughness scale…
1. Wisconsin
2. Illinois
3. Ohio State
4. Nebraska
5. Northwestern
6. Purdue
Not going to predict these games just because I really could see us going 5-1 or even 1-5. Probably somewhere in the middle. All in all though, a pretty exciting stretch of games coming up where Penn State can really take advantage a weak Big Ten.