Game of the Week
The Nittany Lions travel to Plains of Auburn in a battle between 2 storied programs.
PSU last week...
PSU hosted the Bobcats of Ohio. Penn St. lead by 14 going into the second quarter and the game was never in doubt from there on. The home team put up over 500 yards and held the Bobcats to less than half of their output.
Auburn last week…
San Jose St. put a scare into the Tigers Saturday night. SJSU lead going into the half 10-7. Auburn never trailed again after a 1 yard touchdown early in the third quarter but San Jose wouldn’t go away.
Offense
Penn St. has leaned more pass heavy this season then some of the past James Franklin teams. The Nittany Lions are averaging around 350 yards. PSU averaged almost 7 yards per carry on Saturday to bolster the run game. Penn St. wants to wear you down with the run and can push the ball down the field when needed. With only 1 offensive turnover, the offense protects the ball.
Auburn is currently scoring 33 points per game. Auburn has a run first mentality and you will see that more on Saturday. Turnovers have been a serious issue for the Tigers so far. With 4 INTs, they will need to cut down and protect the ball.
Defense
Auburn’s defense has been sound in the run game. They held Mercer to less than 2.5 yards per carry. Somehow they improved on that number Saturday only giving up 1.9 yards per carry. The Tigers have been unable to cause any turnovers through 2 games. That will have to change if the SEC team wants to take a victory over the B1G.
Purdue put up 426 yards on PSU at home while on gaining 61 on the ground. Purdue could only muster 2.8 yards per rush. During the Ohio game, the PSU defense held the air attack to only 4.1 yards per pass. Forcing turnovers has been limited to only one so far this season.
Prediction
This game is really close and could easily go either way. On a neutral site PSU probably wins this game. We are taking the underdog home team to cover and win straight up in a nail biter.
Auburn 21 – 20