Penn State Football: Predicting the outcome of the Fiesta Bowl

Contributor Dylan Burd

The Nittany Lions’ football season will come to a close out west in Glendale, and it should be an intriguing one. The Washington Huskies have been one of the nation’s most sneaky-good teams all season, as they went from being in the College Football Playoff last year to maybe getting three seconds of media attention all year, despite winning 10 games.

Washington quarterback Jake Browning went from being talked about as a potential top pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to not being talked about at all as his production dropped by nearly 1,000 yards and 25 passing touchdowns from 2017. However, that doesn’t mean much. Penn State’s defense will still have to contain talents such as Huskies’ Running Back Myles Gaskin, as well as Huskies’ Wide Receiver Dante Pettis. In addition, Washington’s defensive line is one of the best in the nation featuring DT Vita Vea, and they should be a handful for Penn State’s struggling offensive line.

This game seems like it could be one that is won in the trenches. Could the Nittany Lions offensive line hold Washington’s defensive line? If they could, then I can’t see Washington keeping up with Penn State’s high scoring offense. If they can’t, then Penn State’s new offensive coordinator Ricky Raine will have to be creative in getting Saquon Barkley into space. Expect lots of short screen passes as Trace McSorely will see constant pressure.

I expect this to be a high scoring affair, but not as high scoring as the Rose Bowl. Overall, I’m going to give the slight edge to Penn State because of having a little bit more talent on the offensive side of the ball.

Penn State 34

Washington 27