Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/85914
P E N N S TAT E V S . N O RT HWE S T E R N | B Y E R I C T H O M A S KEY MATcHuPS W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L NORTHWESTERN RUN DEFENSE PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. NORTHWESTERN PASS DEFENSE PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 133.8 YPG, 3.6 YPC NORTHWESTERN RUN DEFENSE 90.0 YPG, 3.3 YPC THE LOWDOWN Bill Belton's return lifted a unit that is still trying to find itself. Penn State has gone five games without a run of 20-plus yards, and while it's hard to imagine that streak ending against the league's best run defense, the blend of Zach Zwinak, Belton and others could wear down the Wild- cats' front seven. Penn State has the worst red zone offense in the Big Ten, and the running game needs to come through for that statistic to change. PSU's offensive line must beware of Chi Chi Ariguzo, Tyler Scott and Brian Arnfelt, who have combined for 12.5 tackles for loss. EDGEEven PENN STATE PASSING GAME 245.8 YPG, 11.9 YPC NORTHWESTERN PASS DEFENSE 289.0 YPG, 11.6 YPC THE LOWDOWN The best thing that could have happened to Penn State's passing attack was for someone other than Allen Robinson to lead the team in receiving. That's what happened at Illinois, as tight end Matt Lehman was the top pass-catcher. Matt McGloin has had a terrific season to date, but he's still missing some throws and forgoing some opportunities. That has to change. Don't think for one second that McGloin and company haven't noticed that Northwestern safety Ibraheim Campbell was shaken up in the victory over Indiana. Might they test him early? EDGE Penn State 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 NORTHWESTERN RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE NORTHWESTERN PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE NORTHWESTERN RUNNING GAME 255.8 YPG, 5.0 YPC PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE 129.8 YPG, 3.6 YPC THE LOWDOWN Tailback Venric Mark and quarterback Kain Colter are the primary ball carriers. Think they might test the Penn State defense much? Northwestern's offense is built around a spread rush- ing attack. The Wildcats station players all over the field in order to open up running lanes. Mark av- erages 107.6 yards a game and is one of the best all-around players in the Big Ten. It's hard to imagine the Wildcats pounding the ball between the tackles, so it's on the outside where Penn State will have to remain sharp. EDGE Even NORTHWESTERN PASSING GAME 210.8 YPG, 10.1 YPC PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE 227.8 YPG, 10.4 YPC THE LOWDOWNColter plays a variety of positions on Northwestern's offense, so when he's not at quarter- back, Trevor Siemian is the signal caller. A redshirt sophomore, Seimian's 84 pass attempts are 16 more than Colter has thrown, but Siemian is at the bottom of the Big Ten's passing statistics. The key stat? He's been intercepted only once in five games. Demetrius Fields is the team's leading re- ceiver with 21 grabs. Mark contributes, too. So that tells you who they like to feature. Penn State is plus-seven in turnover margin and will be looking to force a few takeaways on Saturday. EDGEEven O T H E R M A T C H U P S SPECIAL TEAMS THE LOWDOWN PSU's place-kicking clearly is going to be an issue all season. The return game is far from great, but it's gotten better. Mark is the leading return man for the Wildcats. In other words, they want the ball in his hands whenever, however, because of his playmaking ability. Plus, Northwest- ern's Jeff Budzien is 11 for 11 on field goals and has not missed an extra point. EDGENorthwestern THIS 'N' THAT THE LOWDOWN Penn State is looking to maintain the momentum it's seized during the past three weeks. It's amazing how much looser this team looks and feels now that the raw emotion of the first few weeks has faded. Northwestern needs one victory to become bowl eligible, and even though Penn State isn't bowl bound, this would be a marquee win for Pat Fitzgerald's Wildcats. EDGEEven COACHING STAFF THE LOWDOWN What does Bill O'Brien's game plan offense have in store? Can Ted Roof's defense figure out how to slow Northwestern's balanced spread attack? None of that may matter, because the call here is that this game will come down to a kick. That means whichever coach operates his two- minute offense better will be in position to win. EDGEEven O C T O B E R 3 , 2 0 1 2 3 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M