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Penn State Football: four things I want to see against Northwestern

By Nick Kreiser

Sep 24, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin gestures from the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Central Michigan 33-14. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin gestures from the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Central Michigan 33-14. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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With everything still to play for and as the calendar turns to October, Penn State Football will get back into conference play for the remainder of the regular season.

Next up, the Northwestern Wildcats.

After winning the Big Ten West in 2020, things have not gone well in Evanston since and Pat Fitzgerald’s squad is off to a rather unimpressive 1-3 start this season season. As a result, the 11th ranked Nittany Lions are heavy favorites for the third time this season.

Along with a dominant win of course, these are four things I want to see out of Penn State Football as they host Northwestern on Saturday.

Sixty minutes

STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 24: Quarterback Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions looks on after a play against the Central Michigan Chippewas during the first half at Beaver Stadium on September 24, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – SEPTEMBER 24: Quarterback Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions looks on after a play against the Central Michigan Chippewas during the first half at Beaver Stadium on September 24, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

When writing about six things I wanted to see from Penn State Football against Central Michigan, the very first thing I said was that I wanted to see them start fast. Well, they certainly started fast as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but then things sort of fell apart.

This week, I want to see the Nittany Lions not only get off to a good start, but then to also keep their foot on the gas and pull away much sooner than they did against CMU.

The optimist in me thinks it was a good thing for Central Michigan to rally and tie the game last week, as it could have acted as a wakeup call and brought the team back down to Earth after their dominant win at Auburn the week before. Hopefully that’s the case and they have more of a businesslike approach this week and don’t let the Wildcats hang around for a second.

This Penn State Football team has plenty of veterans, and half of this falls on them. They need to lead by example and not become complacent.

The other half of this falls on the shoulders of the coaching staff. Even if Penn State jumps out to a quick lead, they can’t make the same mistake they made last week. They need to stay aggressive and keep their foot on the gas–which leads me into my next topic.

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