Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
2019 RECORD 13-1, 9-0 Big Ten COACH Ryan Day (16-1 in two seasons at Ohio State; career record: same) OFFENSE The Buckeyes have Justin Fields, which means they ought to have a very good o?ense. Fields was spectacu- lar in his >rst season a@er transferring from Georgia, completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,273 yards, with an in- credible touchdown-interception ratio of 41-3. He enters his junior season with a ton of Heisman Trophy hype. He also enters it with a supporting cast that in- cludes three All-Big Ten starters on the o?ensive line. The Buckeyes do have some holes to >ll in the back>eld and the receiver corps, however. Of particular concern is an Achilles injury that Master Teague su?ered early in the spring, rais- ing questions about whether he'll be healthy enough to step in for J.K. Dob- bins at running back. But when was the last time this program didn't have a stockpile of elite skill players to draw from? DEFENSE Chase Young, last year's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was a huge loss, and he wasn't the only defen- sive standout to depart. But don't worry about the Buckeyes. They should be >ne. And even if they're not >ne, they've probably got enough o?ense to perse- vere through a defensive downturn. New coordinator Kerry Coombs will be look- ing for ends Zach Harrison and Tyreke Smith to step up now that Young has ex- ited. A year ago, they combined to make 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Veteran linebackers Pete Werner and Tuf Bor- land return a@er >nishing as the team's E A S T D I V I S I O N P R E V I E W B Y M A T T H E R B 1. OHIO STATE most likely be played before acres of empty seats. While the potential seating configurations that Nebraska was studying earlier this summer included one that called for a full stadium, other scenarios put attendance at 33 percent or 50 percent of capacity, and even those might be unrealistic. The Nittany Lions' other road games – at Indiana on Sept. 12, Rutgers on Oct. 3 and Illinois on Nov. 21 – are set to take place at venues that have posed fewer difficulties over the years. PSU has gone a combined 30-5 in road games against the Hoosiers, Scarlet Knights and Fight- ing Illini, with all but one of those losses coming against the Illini in Champaign. In the end, the Big Ten team that may suffer the most from the absence of fans could be… Penn State. The Nittany Lions play in the world's fifth-largest stadium and are renown for the thun- derous atmosphere of their White Out games. Unlike Michigan Stadium, which is a spacious bowl that seems to direct noise up and out – former Nittany Lion Stephon Morris tweeted recently that it's "one of the quietest stadiums in the Big Ten. Very overrated" – Beaver Sta- dium has massive upper decks above ei- ther end zone and is configured in a way that reflects noise back onto the field. When Michigan visited Penn State last year, it was flagged for delay of game on its very first play because it couldn't call its signals. That isn't going to happen this year. There isn't going to be a tradi- tional White Out game, no matter what the conditions are when Ohio State vis- its University Park on Nov. 7. The alternatives to playing a fall season with fewer fans (or no fans) are to try again in the spring, or to not play a sea- son at all. The first of those scenarios has a multitude of drawbacks, and the second is a truly dismal prospect that no one wants to contemplate. "At the end of the day, what all of us want to do is play football," Levis said. "If that means no fans, I think that would still be something we would love to do. … Having a crowd is a huge part of the environment of college football, but I think that decisions need to be made to keep the players and the staffs and everyone as healthy as possible. I don't have enough knowledge on the issue to make decisions and have solid opinions on the topic. But I trust that the people in charge are going to make the right de- cisions for us, and if that means no fans, so be it. We all just want to play football, and that's at the core of it all." ■ >> JUSTIN FIELDS Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog TOP RETURNEES PASSING Justin Fields 238 of 354 | 3,273 yds. | 41 TD | 3 int. RUSHING Master Teague 135 att. | 789 yds. | 4 TD RECEIVING Chris Olave 49 rec. | 849 yds. | 12 TD TACKLING Pete Werner 39 solo | 25 asst. | 64 total SACKS Baron Browning 5 sacks | 25 yds. P E N N STAT E O P P O N E N T N OV. 7 @ B E AV E R STA D I U M