Penn State against Kent State: Prediction Roundtable

Dylan Burd, Contributor

Penn State played a flawless second half last week against Pitt on their way to a 51-6 rout at Heinz Field. However, there’s still a few things that need to be straightened out in this last game before conference play.

The first is that the passing game needs to improve. Trace McSorley said that in his press conference this week, and he’s right. The Nittany Lion passing game has been underwhelming, as there have been several drops by wide receivers, and more inaccurate throws than normal by McSorley.

Furthermore, the defense has looked extremely shaky at times between the first two games. In the first game of the year vs. App State, it was the pass defense, and in the first half of the Pitt game, it was the run defense. Look for passing game to improve and for the defense to play a complete game this week against Penn State’s worst opponent yet, Kent State.

The Kent State Golden Flashes are 1-1 coming into this game at Beaver Stadium, losing by a touchdown to Illinois (arguably the worst team in the Big Ten) and beating Howard by 40 points.

With the Nittany Lions favored by 35, I expect this to be a massive win for Penn State from the second the clock starts. I expect this to be similar to last year’s Georgia State game, with rarely any lapses, and signs of the Nittany Lions getting closer to where they need to be as a team come the White Out vs. Ohio State in two weeks.

I think Trace McSorley will have his best game yet, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for one, while Miles Sanders will score a touchdown as well on the ground. Expect the wide receivers to play much better Saturday than in the rainy conditions of Heinz Field. KJ Hamler will score another touchdown this week, and I think we may even see a bit of Justin Shorter in this game. The Nittany Lions will easily cover the spread, on their way to a 3-0 start to the 2018 season.

Penn State: 56
Kent State: 7