Penn State Football: Predicting the outcome against Northwestern

Can Penn State football keep its perfect record intact while visiting Northwestern Saturday?

A potential trap awaits Penn State this week in Evanston, a place that was unkind to the Nittany Lions on their last visit in 2015. Northwestern is always a tricky opponent, especially at home.

Penn State is 5-0 and will look to avoid the upset this week.

The Nittany Lions haven’t looked particularly good on offense over the past few weeks, but they have done enough to put points on the board. On defense, Penn State has only given up an average of less than 10 points.

It won’t be easy this week, but on paper, Penn State is clearly the better team. That being said, Big Ten road games are never easy. Can the Nittany Lions escape the trap at Northwestern and head into their huge game with Michigan still undefeated?

Barry Leonard, Co-Site Expert

Road games in the Big Ten are never easy, and Penn State has been known to struggle with an early start time away from Beaver Stadium. Those factors, and the fact that the Nittany Lions lost in Evanston in 2015, make an upset on Saturday seem likely.

Fortunately, this Penn State team has a ton of talent and can find multiple ways to win.

Northwestern isn’t one of the better defenses in the conference, so there should be plenty of opportunities for the Nittany Lions to put up some big points. Look for big days from Saquon Barkley and DaeSean Hamilton.

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On defense, the Nittany Lions will need to slow down the passing attack. The Wildcats rank third in the conference behind Penn State and Ohio State with an average of 278 passing yards per game. Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson has thrown for 1,016 with seven touchdowns, but with five interceptions he’s been susceptible to some turnovers.

Penn State could struggle a bit out of the gate and could even find itself losing early on. However, the big-play ability of the offense will quickly quiet the Ryan Field crowd. Penn State will prove to be too much for Northwestern and will mov to 6-0 heading into the by week .

Penn State 34
Northwestern 14

Collin Wieder, Co-Site Expert

Penn State football continues to win games and the team isn’t close to playing its best football yet. An opportunistic defense and a playmaking offense has buried opponents so far and will continue to do so against a .500 Northwestern squad.

In order for the same formula to continue to work, the defense needs to force dual threat QB Clayton Thorson into some bad decisions. It shouldn’t be too hard to do considering he’s tossed five picks in four games. Luckily for Penn State football, its defense is highly opportunistic picking off nine passes through five games.

Right now, the Nittany Lions allow just under 10 points per game. This defense won’t give much ground to the Wildcats providing plenty of extra possessions for the offense. Saquon Barkley’s presence alone caused problems for Indiana. They forced Trace McSorley to beat them and he did. This duo can’t stay down for long.

I expect this offense to pour it on and win by three possessions this week. Furthermore, this game will serve as a nice setup for Michigan and Ohio State.

Penn State 38
Northwestern 21

Marty Leap, Contributor

In his short time as a FBS head coach James Franklin has done many things, however, beating Northwestern is not one of those things. This weekend Franklin and the Nittany Lions travel to Evanston to play the Wildcats at Ryan Field, giving Franklin the opportunity to finally beat Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats.

Before the season a lot of people, myself included, picked Northwestern as a team that could compete with Wisconsin in the Big Ten West. However, after a loss to the Badgers and a 41-10 shellacking at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils the preseason hype seems like just that – hype. Quarterback Clayton Thorson and running back Justin Jackson are both All-Big Ten caliber players, but both have struggled this season.

Last week against Wisconsin, Northwestern allowed 11 tackles for a loss and 6 sacks. This does not bode well for the Wildcats as Penn State’s defense leads the FBS in tackles for a loss. Entering the season Northwestern’s biggest question mark was its offensive line and those fears have come to fruition this season, look for the Nittany Lion defensive line to have a big day on Saturday afternoon.

Look for Saquon Barkley and the Penn State rushing attack to have a bounce back performance on Saturday afternoon. Northwestern’s defense has a strong secondary, so Trace McSorley and passing attack may not have their usual performance. Barkley leads the way, though, with 150+ yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

11 am local time starts at Ryan Field have historically led to a slow start from the visiting team. Do not be surprised to see the Nittany Lions start slow on Saturday before they win it going away. However, in the end, they are too much for the Wildcats and the 4th ranked Nittany Lions will improve to 6-0 heading into their bye week. As a bonus, Grant Haley, who dropped a would have been game winning interception against the top-25 Wildcats when Penn State last visited Ryan Field in 2015, gets a pick-6 on Saturday.

Penn State 38
Northwestern 21

Joe Ciminera, Contributor

Northwestern had not been kind to Penn State recently. The last two times they have squared off, the Wildcats bested the Nittany Lions. Including a crushing 23-21 loss in 2015.

Things are a bit different now, and while Penn State has to go on the road to Evanston, I think they will win this game. I also think it will provide a challenge.

Penn State was exceptional in the first and fourth quarters last week versus Indiana, but they had some offensive struggles during the middle of that game. The defense was stellar once again.

Strong defensive play will be key to beat Northwestern and their potent offensive attack. The Wildcats follow the lead of running back Justin Jackson. Penn State will need to pay plenty of attention to him.

Trace McSorley will have a good game against the Big Tens 11th ranked defense. Saquon Barkley will be Saquon Barkley. This will be a hard fought game, but I like the Nittany Lions.

Penn State 31
Northwestern 20

Shane Lunnen, Contributor

The Nittany Lions take their undefeated record on the road again, this time to Evanston to face Northwestern. The Wildcats were predicted by some to contend in the Big Ten West this season, but they sit at 2-2 and are coming off a loss to West favorite Wisconsin.

For the Northwestern offense, they have the dynamic duo of quarterback Clayton Thorson and running back Justin Jackson. So far these two have not panned out to expectations. In the Wildcat wins against Group of 5 teams, Nevada and Bowling Green, they were good. Against Power 5 teams, Duke and Wisconsin, they have not been good. However, the Lions cannot look past these two playmakers. Thorson has scrambling ability and while the Lions defense has been good so far, it will be interesting to see how much success they have in containing a running quarterback.

Let’s cut to the chase in regards to the Penn State offense. It is good, but the offensive line is not as good as we all thought it would be. Last week, Indiana shut down Saquon Barkley on the rushing attack and Trace McSorley was sacked five times. They may be able to get away with that kind of performance again this week, but it won’t be so easy after this week. After the bye, they face Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State in consecutive weeks. Fix the problems now or those teams will make the Lions pay the price later.

The slow starts have not been a thing this season as the Lions are the only team in FBS to have held all their opponents scoreless in the first quarter, while scoring 73 points of their own in the first 15 minutes of games. We’ll see what an 11AM local time kickoff will do, but I think they should still win this one handily. Northwestern will keep up for the first half, but in the end Penn State will be too much.

Get to 6-0, get a week off, and get ready for the two games that will define the season.

Penn State 35
Northwestern 17

Corey Hunter, Contributor

Penn State heads out to Chicago for their second road game of the season. It’s another gut-check game due to an early kick (11 AM local time), and for Northwestern’s penchant for giving the Nittany Lions Fitz…literally!

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald has owned James Franklin. He is 3-0 against him lifetime, including two straight wins with Franklin at the helm of Penn State. In fact, Northwestern is one of the few team Franklin has never beaten with the Nittany Lions.

Penn State looks to correct things this weekend. The Lions roll into town with a spotless 5-0 record and the No. 4 ranking in the country. To win, Penn State must find a way to control the ball with their run game and take advantage of big plays the Wildcats are prone to giving up.

On defense, Penn State must pressure quarterback Clayton Thorson. If given time, he can pick apart the Lions. Also, the Lions need to keep all-Big Ten running back Justin Jackson in check. He was a difference-maker in the game two years ago, running for nearly 200 yards.

With field conditions expected to deteriorate as the game wears on due to forecasted rain, it would behoove Penn State to jump out early on Northwestern and make them as one-dimensional as possible.

And one final note, Penn State is 8-5 in road contests in which I have attended, including 2-0 in bowl games. Guess what? I’m gonna be in attendance Saturday. How does that make me feel? Nervous! More importantly, how does that make all of you feel? Anyways, I’ll be optimistic and say the Nittany Lions escape with a tough win.

Penn State – 23
Northwestern -17

Kyle Zartman, Contributor

The Penn State Nittany Lions head into Evanston this weekend for a showdown against the Northwestern Wildcats. On paper this looks like it shouldn’t be a huge task for the Nittany Lions. However, as many know, Northwestern always gives Penn State trouble.

For as much success as Penn State has had recently, the Nittany Lions haven’t played great against Northwestern, especially in Evanston. Penn State hasn’t beaten Northwestern since 2012, and they haven’t won in Evanston since 2011.

Obviously this Penn State team is different from those of years past. Hopefully this Penn State team won’t face the same problems in Evanston as the ones who have come before them.

The Wildcats are 2-2 on the season having just dropped a close game to Wisconsin. They would love nothing better than to hand the Nittany Lions their first loss of the season and chalk up a win versus the #4 team in the country.

Next: Penn State at Northwestern Preview

Head Coach James Franklin better have Penn State ready to play and have a game plan to jump on Northwestern early. I believe Penn State may come out to a slow start but ultimately pull away in the second half. Penn State will continue winning and build their record to 6-0.

Penn State – 31
Northwestern – 13

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