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KEY MATCHUPS P E N N S T A T E V S . N O R T H W E S T E R N | B Y P H I L G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 144.9 YPG, 4.1 YPC // NORTHWESTERN RUN DEFENSE145.5 YPG, 4.0 YPC THE LOWDOWNEven with freshman RB Saquon Barkley having quickly emerged as one of the top running backs in the Big Ten with an average of 102.3 yards per game and 6.6 per carry, Northwestern will present Penn State with a challenge this weekend. The Wildcats rank seventh in the Big Ten in rushing defense. They are led by sophomore MLB Anthony Walker with 67 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss. Walker is having what many consider to be an All- Big Ten season. Another Wildcat defender who is having an outstanding season is senior DE Dean Lowry. Lowry is tied with Walker for the team lead in tackles for loss and is sixth on the team with 36 stops. Sophomore FS Godwin Igwebuike is Northwestern's second-leading tackler with 46 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Junior OLB Jaylen Prater is the Wildcats' third-leading tackler with 46 stops including one tackle for loss. Senior SS Traveon Henry is also very effective against the run. He has 44 tackles including three tackles for loss. As a team, North- western has posted 52 TFL for minus-173 yards. // KEY MATCHUPPenn State LT Paris Palmer will be going up against Lowry, while guards Brian Gaia and Angelo Mangiro will tangle with Walker, provided that Mangiro re- mains at the position in place of guard-turned-tackle Brendan Mahon. // EDGEEven PENN STATE PASSING GAME 204.1 YPG, 14.0 YPC // NORTHWESTERN PASS DEFENSE 164.8 YPG, 9.4 YPC THE LOWDOWNEven though it ranks 10th in the Big Ten in passing yards per game and is completing only 54.1 per- cent of its attempts, Penn State should have a slight edge here because Christian Hackenberg appears to be at the top of his game. Hackenberg is coming off of a fine outing vs. Illinois in which he completed 21 of 29 passes for 266 yards, with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. In Penn State's past six games, Hackenberg's touchdown- interception ratio is 12-0. Penn State's leading receiver is Chris Godwin with 41 catches for 704 yards; his average of 17.2 yards per catch ranks third in the Big Ten. DaeSean Hamilton is the team's second-leading receiver with 28 catches for 370 yards and a team-leading four touchdown catches. Tight ends Mike Gesicki and Kyle Carter have combined for 21 receptions for 227 yards and one TD and are averaging 10.8 yards per catch. In addition, Barkley has become a receiving threat coming out of the backfield with four catches for 80 yards. Northwestern has a solid pass defense, ranking third in the Big Ten in yards allowed. Opponents are completing only 54.1 percent of their at- tempts, and the Wildcats have totaled seven interceptions, including three by junior CB Matthew Harris. Senior CB Nick VanHoose is a three-year starter with 23 total tackles and one interception that he returned 72 yards for a TD. Northwestern does have one weakness: It is 10th in the Big Ten with just 16 sacks. Senior DE Deonte Gibson leads the Wildcats with five sacks for 23 yards in losses. // KEY MATCHUP Palmer will battle Gibson, while Harris will try to prevent Godwin from making big plays downfield. // EDGEEven PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. N'WESTERN PASS DEFENSE NORTHWESTERN RUNNING GAME 186.1 YPG, 4.1 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE143.9 YPG, 3.7 YPC THE LOWDOWN This matchup will pit Northwestern's No. 1 strength on offense against Penn State's No. 1 strength on defense. The Wildcats have the third-ranked rushing offense in the Big Ten, having gained 1,489 yards on 364 carries. Their leading rusher is sophomore RB Justin Jackson with 731 yards and an average of 4.2 yards per carry through eight games. Redshirt freshman QB Clayton Thorson is Northwestern's second-leading rusher with 297 yards (4.6 ypc) and a team-best five rushing touchdowns. They'll be facing a Penn State defense that ranks sixth in the Big Ten against the run but leads the conference with 83 tackles for loss. Sophomore MLB Jason Cabinda is the Nittany Lions' leading tackler with 68 stops including three tackles for loss. DT Austin Johnson is having an All- Big Ten type of season with 54 tackles including 10 TFL. DE Carl Nassib leads the country with 18.5 tackles for loss and is Penn State's sixth-leading tackler overall with 42 stops. Senior SS Jordan Lucas is third on the team with 53 tackles, while sophomore FS Marcus Allen is fourth with 50 stops. // KEY MATCHUP Northwestern senior guards Geoff Mogus and Matt Frazier will face Johnson and fellow DT Anthony Zettel, while junior RT Eric Olson will try to keep Nassib from wreaking havoc in the backfield. // EDGEPenn State NORTHWEST- ERN RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE N'WESTERN PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N N O R T H W E S T E R N H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. N'WESTERN RUN DEFENSE N O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 NORTHWESTERN PASSING GAME 145.6 YPG, 10.4 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE157.9 YPG, 10.0 YPC THE LOWDOWNThe Wildcats don't have a consistently effective passing game. Thorson has completed just 52.7 per- cent of his attempts (107 of 203) for 1,119 yards, with six TD passes and five interceptions. He doesn't rank among the Big Ten's top 10 QBs in per-game passing yardage, and as a team, Northwestern is last in the Big Ten. Senior H-

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