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Urban Meyer impressed with Penn State football’s start

By Justin Grasso

STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes shakes hands with head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions before the game on September 29, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes shakes hands with head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions before the game on September 29, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer likes what he sees from Penn State football through eight games this season.

Back in the springtime, it was quite hard to imagine that Penn State football would be as good as they are at this moment. With the almighty Trace McSorley out of the picture and in the NFL, the program was looking to turn to another offensive general in Sean Clifford.

While the team was confident in Clifford’s ability to step in and impress, growing pains were to be expected for the redshirt sophomore. There were slow moments, but for the most part, Clifford has been much better than anticipated through the first eight weeks.

With a proven elite defense already, many expected the Nittany Lions’ offense to be the weak spot of the team. However, both sides of the ball have mostly matched each other’s intensity. That led to a highly successful and unexpected undefeated start more than halfway through the year.

The fans are impressed, and so are Penn State’s coaches and personnel. How do other notable coaches see the team, though? Well, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has had his eyes on his old enemies, and he seems to be quite impressed with the Lions as of late.

Encouraging words from Urban Meyer

"“Every year they’ve been really good on defense, but offensively I thought they’d take a step back,” Meyer said during Monday night’s appearance on Big Ten Network. “They’re the ultimate right now, along with Ohio State, as far as speed in space. You heard that from coach (Josh) Gattis, the offensive coordinator at the Team Up North, and they’re getting their athletes in space.”"

If the former Buckeyes leader is that impressed, then clearly the Nittany Lions are doing something right on Saturday’s. The 8-0 record tells a lot of the story, but many argue that Penn State really hasn’t played anybody besides Iowa and an underwhelming Michigan team.

Next. Grading Nittany Lions vs. MSU. dark

Right now, Penn State’s stiffest competition within the Big Ten happens to be Meyer’s former team. Considering he knows the Buckeyes’ program better than anybody outside of it, his words hold a lot of weight in this conversation when comparing both programs. So far, what Meyer has to say regarding Penn State is quite promising.

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