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Penn State Football: Predicting the outcome of the Fiesta Bowl

By Barry Leonard Jr.

COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 25: Tight end Mike Gesicki
COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 25: Tight end Mike Gesicki /
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IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 23: Quarterbacks Tommy Stevens #2 and Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes on September 23, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 23: Quarterbacks Tommy Stevens #2 and Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes on September 23, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Contributor Shane Lunnen

The Fiesta Bowl is finally here and it should be one of the best of the bowl season. Penn State and Washington appear to be two evenly matched teams. Both have great offenses and top 20 defenses.

The Nittany Lion offensive line will have its hands full of the Husky front seven. Defensive tackle Vita Vea, the Pac-12 defensive player of the year, is massive and will be difficult for the Lions to contain. He is listed at 340 pounds and will clog up the middle of the line. It will be tough sledding for Saquon Barkley to find much room between the tackles. New offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne will be smart to get Barkley in space and have him contribute more in the passing game.

One last note about the Huskies rush defense. The best running back they faced this year was Stanford’s Bryce Love and he gashed them for 166 yards. It is not a given they can contain Barkley, but it is likely.

Washington’s quarterback Jake Browning completed nearly 69 percent of his passes this year and has the ability to pick apart the Penn State secondary. To add to that, running back Myles Gaskin turned in a great season, with over 1,280 yards and 19 touchdowns.

This game is incredibly difficult to predict. The line right now is Penn State by 2 points, basically even. Both teams are good and it will be strength versus strength. I could see it going either way.

Bowl games usually come down to who is motivated more. While both should be motivated after 10 win seasons and bowl losses a year ago on big stages, I think Penn State will do just enough in the end.

With Barkley mostly kept in check on the ground, Trace McSorley will have a big day with three touchdowns through the air, two of them going to Barkley. Tommy Stevens will be an X-factor and I don’t think Washington will be able to contain him. Penn State pulls ahead on a late touchdown by the backup quarterback and the Nittany Lion defense holds in the end.

Penn State 31

Washington 24

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