Coming off a White Out whitewashing of Iowa, the 6th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are now preparing to hit the road for a conference clash with 2-2 Northwestern. Coming off a thrilling come from behind overtime victory over Minnesota, the Wildcats will be looking to keep the momentum rolling. As is often the case for road games in Evanston, the Nittany Lions will also be battle the sleepy atmosphere that comes with an 11am kick at Ryan Field.
Before the Nittany Lions travel to Evanston we caught with Louie Vaccher from Wildcat Report of the Rivals network. Let's dive into this week's behind enemy lines to get Louie's take on the matchup.
Q: All things considered, David Braun appears to be holding things together pretty well in Evanston. How have the players responded to him taking over as interim head coach?
LV: Braun has done a remarkable job in an impossible situation. Think about it. He is taking over for a beloved program icon in Pat Fitzgerald. There’s a hazing scandal swirling around the program, with former players filing lawsuits against the program. This is his first head coaching job at any level. He’s never coached in the Power Five before. Oh, and he just arrived at Northwestern in January.
Yet Braun has already managed to win more games through four weeks than the Wildcats did all of last season. The players love him, and he seems to really have a gift in connecting with players. Coco Azema talked emotionally last week about the support that Braun gave him after his 23-year-old brother was shot to death in August. “I want to go fight for somebody like that,” he said. It seems like all of the players feel like that. Last week, they faced a 31-10 deficit in the fourth quarter and somehow pulled off a comeback for the ages to win in overtime. Saturday could get ugly, but I can tell you one thing: the Wildcats won’t quit.
No one knows what the future holds or what will happen at the end of the season, but Braun has already proved that he should be considered for the permanent head coaching job.
Q: In the fourth quarter against Minnesota the Northwestern offense, especially the passing attack, seemed to start to find something sparking their big comeback. What worked well? Can that translate into the entire game this week?
LV: What happened was quarterback Ben Bryant went off. Trailing by three touchdowns, Northwestern had no choice but to throw it all over the yard. The offensive line was able to give Bryant some time to throw, and he was magnificent. On one drive, Bryant hit Bryce Kirtz – who had 10 catches for 215 yards – three straight times for all 69 yards and the TD. On the final TD drive in regulation, he threw for all 80 yards, completing passes to six different receivers. Then, in overtime, he hit a wide-open Charlie Mangieri for a 25-yard touchdown on NU’s first play to win the game.
Northwestern isn’t going to have much success running the ball against Penn State’s front. At least they know now that Bryant and the passing attack can get it done through the air, if necessary. The question is whether the line will be able to protect Bryant against the Nittany Lions’ withering pass rush. Pass blocking has been a concern all season and Bryant isn’t the most mobile QB.
Q: Northwestern’s defense has really seemed to struggle, especially in stopping explosive plays. What has gone wrong thus far defensively? Are there any players on the defense Penn State fans should keep an eye on Saturday afternoon?
LV: Northwestern’s defense has had its share of struggles, but they’ve been better this year than they have the last two seasons. Braun, who doubles as the defensive coordinator, has them playing much better fundamentally after two years under Jim O’Neil, who was fired after last season. The biggest problem for the Wildcats is stopping the run; they are the worst team in the Big Ten and 112th in the nation in rushing defense.
Middle linebacker and captain Bryce Gallagher is the leader of the defense and ranks second in the Big Ten with 44 tackles. Outside linebacker Xander Mueller leads the team in tackles for loss with 4.0. Azema is an athletic safety who can do it all and led the Wildcats with 10 tackles against Minnesota last week
Q: What are your keys to the game for Northwestern? Do you see anyway they can pull the upset?
LV: Northwestern will face an uphill battle several times this season, but Penn State represents Mt. Everest. Defensively, they will try to contain the run, keep everything in front of them and make Penn State go 10-plus plays if they want to score. The problem is, the Lions showed they can do just that in last week’s demolition of Iowa, which runs a very similar defensive system.
I think offense will be an even bigger challenge for the Cats. Hopefully, offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian learned last week that airing it out might be their best option. Northwestern has its best receiving corps in years. Kirtz, who is finally healthy and showed last week he can be a weapon, and Michigan transfer AJ Henning give the Wildcats some speed to stretch a defense. Then they have Vanderbilt/Arizona State transfer Cam Johnson, a possession guy, and a host of tight ends.
All that said, I can’t see Northwestern pulling an upset unless they are at +4 or so in turnover margin. And, as we know, the Lions have yet to turn it over once all year.
Q: Score prediction?
LV: Penn State might suffer a letdown after last week’s White Out, and kicking off at 11 a.m. local time in the usually library-like atmosphere at Ryan Field presents its own unique challenge. The Wildcats might hang around for a little while, but eventually Penn State’s superior talent, speed and depth just squeezes the life out of them. I’ll call it Penn State 38, Northwestern 13.
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