Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/85914
early-season resume thanks in large part to its unpredictable offense. Kain Colter is the wild card. He's listed on the depth chart as the No. 1 quarter- back, but backup Trevor Siemian has 16 more pass attempts. In addition to quarterback, Colter plays every offen- sive position except on the line, and in last weekend's school-record 704- yard offensive performance against Indiana, Colter led the team with 161 rushing yards, 131 receiving, a school-record four rushing touch- downs and he completed a pass. He can do just about everything. "You have to understand on every single snap where he is," Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said. "They are doing a great job of putting him in po- sition to make plays. Obviously, he's a quarterback, but when they move him to wide receiver, with his skill set, he's quick. He's got good ball skills and is a very bright guy, obviously. In order to play quarterback and receiver in the same game, you have to be a very smart, instinctive football player. So he is a huge challenge for us on Saturday." Aside from Colter, who scored two touchdowns against the Nittany Lions last season, Northwestern has an emerging running back in Venric Mark. A 5-foot-8, 180-pound con- verted wide receiver, Mark finished with a career-high 139 yards on 29 carries against Indiana, his third 100- yard performance in four games. He was dangerous against Penn State a year ago as a return man, and in Northwestern's confusing read-option spread offense, Mark is hoping he and Colter can team up to once again make life difficult for the Nittany Lions. "Our offense is meant to require space, and Kain is just a great ath- lete," Mark said. "He runs great routes, and if you don't have the right scheme on defense to cover him, then you can't." Fitzgerald was mum when asked how he plans to use Colter against Penn State. Will he start at quarter- back? Will he be Siemian's go-to re- ceiver? Will he be the featured rusher? "Game plan will dictate how that gets adjusted throughout the week," Fitzgerald said, smiling. "I'm not contractually obligated to give you guys everything." Heading into the second week of the Big Ten season, the Wildcats lead the league in rushing offense and rush- ing defense, and they have the best record in the conference. That's not surprising. Since Fitzgerald took over as head coach in 2006, Northwestern has gone 22-9 in August and Sep- tember. But when the leaves start changing, so do the Wildcats' for- tunes. They've gone 10-15 in October during that same span, and Fitzgearld is bearing down on his players in hope of putting a stop to that trend. "I'm going to be really demanding on them this month," Fitzgerald said. "I'm not going to tolerate the past." To prevail on Saturday, Northwest- ern will have to be effective running the ball against a Penn State defense that is allowing nearly 130 yards per game. It also must step up on de- fense. Although the Wildcats have been strong against the run, their pass defense has been spotty. They rank at the bottom of the Big Ten, allow- ing 289 yards per game and have surrendered seven touchdown passes. Because Matt McGloin has found some success against Northwestern throughout the past two years – "I wouldn't say Matt has found some success. I would say Matt has had a ton of success against us," Fitzgerald said, laughing – Northwestern will need an improved performance from its secondary. McGloin combined for 417 yards through the air and six touchdowns in the previous two meetings. "We have standards here and a set of expectations," Fitzgerald said. "And when we don't live up to them as coaches or as a program or individu- ally as players, the guys are going to hear about it. "I think when you have accountabil- ity as the core of what you believe in, taking personal accountability and holding yourself to a higher standard, you've got a chance to have something special. We just haven't been doing it this month. I'm tired of it, and it's something as a leader that I need to fix." O C T O B E R 3 , 2 0 1 2 2 BWI'S FORECAST NATE BAUER RECORD 3-2 Can Penn State put up 31 or more points this week? It will have to if it wants to win against this explosive Northwestern of- fense. Before last week's waxing of Illinois, I would have said no. But now, at home, I'll give the Lions the benefit of the doubt. PENN STATE 31, NORTHWESTERN 30 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 3-2 If PSU can control the ball and keep Northwestern's spread of- fense off the field, it will cele- brate homecoming weekend with a 4-2 record. PENN STATE 33, NORTHWESTERN 24 MATT HERB RECORD 4-1 PSU's kicking woes definitely give pause this week. The Lions can't afford to waste opportuni- ties in what figures to be a back- and-forth game. But given a chance to make a statement with a win over a ranked opponent, I think they'll do just that. PENN STATE 31, NORTHWESTERN 27 TIM OWEN RECORD 3-2 Northwestern hasn't been 6-0 for 50 years. After Saturday's nail- biter at Beaver Stadium, that drought ages to 51. PENN STATE 28, NORTHWESTERN 24 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 4-1 PSU's defense will be Northwest- ern's first tough test of the sea- son. Look for Michael Mauti and Co. to keep Kain Colter and the offense in check. PENN STATE 28, NORTHWESTERN 20 ERIC THOMAS RECORD 3-2 A shootout in which the last team with the ball wins. NORTHWESTERN 33, PENN STATE 30 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M