Blue White Illustrated

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 179.0 YPG, 5.3 YPC // NORTHWESTERN RUN DEFENSE145.0 YPG, 3.8 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State is coming off its worst rushing performance of the season. With the lost yardage on sacks factored in, the Nittany Lions gained only 39 yards on 37 carries (1.1 ypc) against Indiana. Penn State now ranks seventh in the Big Ten in rushing offense despite averaging a robust 5.3 yards per carry. Saquon Barkley, who had 56 yards against the Hoosiers, is second in the Big Ten in rushing with 574 yards on 86 carries (6.7 ypc) and is aver- aging 114.8 yards per game. QB Trace McSorley is the Nittany Lions' second-leading rusher with 179 yards on 56 carries (3.2 ypc). Northwestern enters its game against Penn State ranked 11th in the Big Ten in rushing defense. The Wildcats' leading tackler is redshirt freshman MLB Paddy Fisher with 37 stops, while senior weakside OLB Brett Walsh has 27 tackles. Senior SS Kyle Quiero has 24 tackles and leads the team with 4.5 tackles for loss. Junior strongside OLB Nate Hall has 22 tackles and two tackles for loss. Through four games, Northwestern has totaled 26 tackles for loss as a team. // KEY MATCHUP Penn State guards Steven Gonzalez and Brendan Mahon will take on Fisher, while C Connor McGovern will do battle with senior DT Tyler Lancaster. Fisher, who stands 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, has been a very pleasant surprise for the Wildcats at middle linebacker. Even though he'll only be play- ing the fiCh game of his college career when Northwestern meets Penn State, he sets the tone against the run. Mahon and Gonzalez must get to the second level to contain him. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME 292.2 YPG, 13.0 YPC // NORTHWESTERN PASS DEFENSE 239.3 YPG, 11.5 YPC THE LOWDOWN The Nittany Lions rank second in the Big Ten in passing offense, and McSorley is the league's leading passer with an average of 270.4 yards per game. He has completed 105 of 160 attempts (65.6 percent) for 1,352 yards, with 12 TD passes and four interceptions. Barkley is the Lions' leading receiver with 27 catches for 386 yards and two touchdowns. WR DaeSean Hamilton is coming off a huge game against Indiana and is now the Lions' all-time leading receiver. For the season, he has 20 catches for 331 yards, with four touchdowns. TE Mike Gesicki also has 20 catches, for 167 yards, but his availability this week is in question aCer he was forced to leave the Indiana game with what ap- peared to be an injury to his torso. The Wildcats rank 10th in the Big Ten in pass defense. The leader of their secondary is senior FS Godwin Igwebuike, who is second on the team in tackles with 29 and has an interception. One of the rea- sons why the Wildcats have struggled is because of their inability to get to the QB. Through four games, they've totaled only six sacks. // KEY MATCHUP Hamilton and Juwan Johnson will face Northwestern cornerbacks Montre Hartage and Keith Watkins. Barkley will be looking to elude Walsh when he comes out of the backfield as a receiver, and Penn State RT Chasz Wright will need to keep DE Joe Gaziano away from McSorley. // EDGE Penn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. NORTH- WESTERN PASS DEFENSE NORTHWESTERN RUNNING GAME 127.4 YPG, 3.2 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE127.4 YPG, 3.2 YPC THE LOWDOWN The Wildcats had difficulty running the ball in their first four games, despite returning senior RB Justin Jackson, the league's top rusher last season. Heading in the Penn State game, Jackson has 273 yards on 64 carries (4.3 ypc), with four TDs. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards each of his first three seasons. Freshman Je- remy Larkin is the Wildcats' second-leading rusher with 102 yards on 23 carries (4.4 ypc) and one TD. In addition, Northwestern likes to use junior WR Jelani Roberts on jet sweeps; he has rushed for 54 yards on five carries this year. Penn State ranks sixth in the Big Ten in run defense. MLB Jason Cabinda is the Lions' leading tackler with 35 stops, including three tackles for loss. He's coming off a 14-tackle performance against Indiana. FS Marcus Allen is their second-leading tackler with 29 stops, including four tackles for loss. As a team, Penn State is second in the country with 44 tackles for loss. DE Shareef Miller leads the team with six TFL and a safety. // KEY MATCHUP Northwestern freshman RT Rashawn Slater will go up against Miller, while guards Blake Hance and Tommy Doles will be look- ing to neutralize Cabinda. It will be interesting to see whether Slater can control Miller, as the redshirt sophomore end is having a breakout season. // EDGE Penn State NORTH- WESTERN RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE NORTH- 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. NORTH- WESTERN RUN DEFENSE O C T O B E R 4 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 NORTHWESTERN PASSING GAME 278.8 YPG, 11.7 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE161.8 YPG, 9.6 YPC THE LOWDOWNComing off a sophomore season in which he threw for 3,182 yards, with 22 TDs and nine inter- ceptions, quarterback Clayton Thorson has been superb this year. Through four games, he's completed 91 of 142 passes (64.1 percent) for 1,061 yards, with seven TDs with five interceptions. Northwestern's pass offense ranks third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Penn State, and Thorson is second behind McSorley in yards per game at 265.3. Senior superback Garrett Dickerson is the Wildcats' leading receiver with 18 catches for 214

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