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they're predicting a Nittany Lion win by more than three touchdowns – English is in for O'Brien's coup de grace. In game-planning for the Nittany Lions, English has focused on O'Brien's surplus of pass-catchers. He specifically highlighted wide receiver Allen Robinson as a big-play threat that Eastern Michigan will have to neutralize if it hopes to keep this game close, but he also emphasized the importance of slowing Penn State's tight ends and other receivers. "When you play great players like that, you just want to contain them and make them earn it," English said. "You don't want to have them make plays, and you don't want to give them leverage." English is also looking for his defense to improve against the rush. Penn State struggled to run the ball consistently vs. Syracuse. Zach Zwinak and Bill Belton averaged 2.8 yards per carry, and their longest run went for only 11 yards, but they are poised for a better day on the ground vs. the Eagles. Eastern Michigan fielded the worst rush defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision last season, and only three starters return from that unit. Seeking an upgrade, English has taken reins as defensive coordinator this year. (He and O'Brien are two of only eight FBS head coaches who also double as play-calling coordinators.) In week one, however, EMU's new-look defense didn't appear to be much improved. Playing Howard, which finished second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference last season, Eastern Michigan surrendered more than 200 rushing yards, including bursts of 75 and 65 yards. The Eagles trailed in the fourth quarter, 24-20, before rallying for a 34-24 victory. Penn State has an opportunity to establish a strong rushing attack against a defense that was gouged by an opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision. But as O'Brien admitted, all teams have an opportunity for significant improvement between week one and week two, including Eastern Michigan. So he's preparing the Lions to be ready for a stout defensive attack, despite the Eagles' poor showing in week one. "Defensively they pose problems, schemewise," O'Brien said. "They line up in different fronts and coverages, and they're going to pressure you. They play tough. They have some kids who can really run, and you better be on your P's and Q's, because they're going to come after you." The player who best fits the "come after you" profile is Sean Kurtz, a senior linebacker who tallied a career-high 13 tackles vs. Howard and also nabbed an interception to set up the go-ahead touchdown. Eastern Michigan also gets defensive production from nose tackle Cy Maughmer, who registered 1.5 sacks last week. Otherwise, most of the team's star power resides on the offensive side of the ball. The Eagles are led by junior quarterback Tyler Benz, a former two-star recruit as rated by Rivals.com. Benz threw to seven receivers in passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns on 19 completions in week one, with a 73.1 completion percentage, but he also threw an interception. He rushed a couple times, too, including one scamper of 14 yards. English called his performance "really efficient, and he's hoping for an even better " outing in Beaver Stadium But he said in order to maximize the passing game's potential, his offensive line has to get a better push at the line of scrimmage. Although the Eagles averaged 4.0 yards per carry against Howard, English wants to see wider holes for his backs to run through. Their attack is led by junior Bronson Hill, who rushed for 905 yards in 2012. Hill tallied a teamhigh 101 yards against Howard, while sophomore running back Darius Jackson added 64 yards with an average of 9.1 yards per carry. Said English, "I think Bronson did well sticking his foot in the ground and gaining the 4- to 5-yard tough runs [against Howard]. In the beginning I thought that he was dancing around a little bit, but in reality he wasn't. He was just struggling to find a place to run the football. There weren't a lot of highlight-type runs. " Against Syracuse, the Nittany Lions allowed just one run of more than 20 yards. Otherwise, there weren't many highlights for the Orange. Penn State will try to continue that trend against Eastern Michigan. And only time will tell if English will be as impressed with O'Brien's coaching after the game as he is going into it. S E P T E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 3 2 BWI'S FORECAST NATE BAUER 2013 RECORD 1-0 For as many kinks as Penn State needs to work out after it's season-opening win, Eastern Michigan has a boatload more. Defensively, the Eagles are ripe for plucking, so to see Penn State eclipse 35 points this weekend won't come as much of a surprise. PENN STATE 38, EASTERN MICHIGAN 10 PHIL GROSZ 2013 RECORD 1-0 This should be a breakout game for Penn State's offense, both running the ball and in the passing game. Expect the Nittany Lion offense to post close to 500 total yards. PENN STATE 49, EASTERN MICHIGAN 7 MATT HERB 2013 RECORD 1-0 This is one of the few games on the Nittany Lions' 2013 schedule that looks to be a comfortable win. If Eastern Michigan had trouble slowing down Howard's offense, how is it going to stop Zach Zwinak, Allen Robinson, Jesse James, Brandon Felder, Christian Hackenberg, etc.? The likely answer: It won't. PENN STATE 34, EASTERN MICHIGAN 13 TIM OWEN 2013 RECORD 1-0 The Nittany Lion offense should be able to score at will vs. this Eastern Michigan defense – whether on the ground or through the air. And if Penn State's defense performs anywhere close to what it did against Syracuse, the Lions should absolutely stifle the Eagles' offensive attack. PENN STATE 38, EASTERN MICHIGAN 10 RYAN SNYDER 2013 RECORD 1-0 Eastern Michigan's rushing defense clearly hasn't improved much since last season. Look for Penn State to dominate on the ground, which could keep the score closer than many people might expect. Still, the Nittany Lions dominate. PENN STATE 38, EASTERN MICHIGAN 14 B L UE WHI T E ON L I N E .COM

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