The Penn State Nittany Lions (7-1) suffered the first taste of adversity this season, falling once again to Ohio State on Saturday, and now have an opportunity to bounce back a week later. That desire will have to come against the Washington Huskies (5-4) on White Out night in Happy Valley.
Prior to Saturday night's clash in Beaver Stadium between the Nittany Lions and Huskies, Happy Valley Insider takes a first look at Washington.
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Game/Broadcast Details:
Where: University Park, Pennsylvania
Stadium: Beaver Stadium (Official capacity of 106,572)
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Television: Peacock - Noah Eagle (PxP), Todd Blackledge (Color), Kathryn Tappen (Sidelines)
Odds: Penn State opened as a 13.5-point favorite, over/under is 46 points.
A retooling year...
On the heels of a National Championship Game appearance last season, Washington lost its head coach and much of its roster to either the NFL or the transfer portal, forcing new head coach Jedd Fisch to retool in 2024.
The Huskies have taken a step back this season, but have still found success despite all of the transition in Seattle over the off-season. Washington started the season 4-2, but have hit a tough part of its schedule, with Iowa, Indiana, USC, and now Penn State in a four-game span. That has resulted in two losses in the last three games, as Washington fell to Iowa and Indiana by two or more scores in each game.
A win against USC snapped the two-game skid this weekend, but now the Huskies have the Nittany Lions and No. 1 Oregon still left on the schedule, with UCLA sandwiched in between. They have to win one of their final three games to reach a bowl game for a third straight year.
Key Washington stats and notes to know...
Passing attack alive and well in Seattle:
It's not the potent aerial attack of Michael Penix, but Will Rogers has been one of the better quarterbacks in the conference with the Huskies, maintaining a strong presence of the passing game. Rogers is fourth in passing yards (2,284) and completion percentage (71.1), while throwing 13 touchdowns to just four interceptions this season.
Rogers has a talented receiving corps as well, with Giles Jackson and Denzel Boston combining for north of 1,200 of those yards and 11 touchdowns for the Huskies. Jackson and Boston make up the second-highest duo in terms of receiving yards in the conference this season.
Third down troubles:
Washington has been one of the worst teams in the conference at sustaining drives on third down, with a conversion percentage of just 37.7%, which is better than only Northwestern and Purdue, who are the worst overall offenses in the Big Ten.
Penn State has been stout in that area, holding teams to just 34.6% on third downs this season, creating yet another area the Nittany Lions can exploit on Saturday night.
Hanging their hat on pass defense:
While the 19.0 points per game allowed by the Huskies is good for seventh in the conference, their pass defense has been elite this season. Washington is surrendering just 142 yards per game through the air, which paces the Big Ten and is second in the country behind only Texas.
That includes Miller Moss of USC throwing for 293 yards over the weekend, which is the most allowed in any game this year. Outside of Moss, only one team has thrown for more than 130 yards in a game, which was Washington State's mark of 245 in the Apple Cup.
Series history:
It has been a very brief history between Penn State and Washington, playing just three times dating back to 1921, in three different states. The Nittany Lions have won all three of those previous matchups, in Seattle (1921), Hawai'i (1983) and Arizona (2017).
The most recent matchup came in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl, when the Nittany Lions won 35-28 against then head coach Chris Peterson and the Huskies. That game featured Trace McSorely accounting for over 400 yards of total offense, while Saquon Barkley rushed for 137 yards and two scores in Glendale.
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