9/29/2023 football Edit

Staff Predictions for Penn State Football versus Northwestern

Happy Valley Insider

PennState.Rivals.com

It's almost game day for Penn State Football as they are all set to hit the road once again this weekend to take on Northwestern out in the Midwest on Saturday afternoon.

With that being said, our staff offers their predictions for the game between the Nittany Lions and Wildcats.

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DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY - EDITOR (Penn State: 38 || Northwestern: 6)

“Going to keep this one short and sweet. Penn State should dominate this game from start to finish. Will they? If I had guessed, they may get out to a slow start with an 11:00 a.m. kick in front of a very quiet Ryan Field crowd. That being said, even if Penn State brings their C game on Saturday, they're going to win by multiple scores. I don't expect the Nittany Lions to do anything special, ground and pound offensively mixed in with an efficient performance from Drew Allar. Defensively, I wouldn't be surprised if it's just as dominant of a performance as last week, though I do believe Northwestern is probably going to get beyond Iowa's 76 yards."

MARTY LEAP - STAFF WRITER (Penn State: 41 || Northwestern: 6)

"11am locks time kick off in front of a snoozy crowd has slow start written all over it. Penn State’s offense will likely start slow, but they have too much speed and athleticism for Northwestern to hold them down. It may close through halftime, but Penn State will pull away for an easy win. It should be another game where Beau Pribula is able to get the majority of the 4th quarter reps. Look for this to be the week that Nicholas Singleton finally gets the explosive running game going. Drew Allar hits a big pass play or two as well."

RICHIE SCHNYDERITE - PUBLISHER (Penn State: 38 || Northwestern: 7)

“Despite Northwestern pulling some magic out of their hat last weekend to defeat the Minnesota Fighting PJ Flecks, this week they won't be so lucky as I expect Penn State to treat this one as they treated the Illinois game. Get an early lead and ride into the sunset through a strong run game while getting the backup guys / youngsters some reps.

Look for PSU to have a big game on the ground as NW struggles to stop the run as they gave up 244 rushing yards last week to Minnesota, expect Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen and even Trey Potts to have a field day against his former team."

JUSTIN MORGANSTEIN - CONTRIBUTOR (Penn State: 41 || Northwestern: 10)

"Penn State comes into this game firing on all cylinders following its 31-0 beatdown of Iowa at home last weekend. While Northwestern was also able to pick up a key win last Saturday, they’ve given up just under 1,000 yards of total offense over its past two games against offenses inferior to that of the Nittany Lions. Drew Allar and co. should have no trouble scoring early and often in what should be a relatively easy road win for James Franklin’s group."

ZACH SEYKO - CONTRIBUTOR / LOCKED ON (Penn State: 42 || Northwestern: 10)

"Run Nicholas run! Northwestern's run defense is BAD. The Nittany Lions can keep it simple. They will be able to ground and pound their way to victory. I expect Singleton to have a huge day with at least two 50+ yard rushing touchdowns."

ZANE BRANCEFIELD - CONTRIBUTOR / LOCKED ON (Penn State: 45 || Northwestern: 7)

"The Penn State offense has been cooking teams after the first quarter. They also do not mind getting the kicking game going early on. Penn State’s offense is averaging 40.5 points per game and I do not see them slowing down anytime soon. The defense has also been unstoppable. For a Northwestern team that only scored 14 points on a 21-ranked Duke, I see them having a very difficult time against the impressive Penn State defense. I expect Penn State to force at least two turnovers and two sacks. Northwestern is going up against one of the best football teams this year and Penn State’s only disadvantage is how quiet the stadium will be."

ANTHONY HAZAN - PSU 365 PODCAST (Penn State: 38 || Northwestern: 7)

“It’s just the type of game where I don’t think they’ll be motivated to go out and drop 50. They’ll get to 31-7 or something and then pull the starters."

CLAY SAUERTIEG - GUEST PICKER (Penn State: 41|| Northwestern: 7)

"Everything about this screams “let down spot” for PSU. But I really don’t think matters. Despite a pair for event wins, Northwestern is still brutally bad and it’s harder to have a let down game when your strengths are on both lines. Think this is the game Nick Singleton finally breaks a big one (or two) and Dante Cephas has a break out game. Add a special teams score in there and this one is over by the 4th."