10/13/2023 football Edit

Staff Predictions for Penn State Football versus UMass

Happy Valley Insider

PennState.Rivals.com

It's almost game day for Penn State Football and after a bye week where the team was able to get some guys back to full health, the program will welcome UMass to town for Homecoming weekend.

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

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DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY - SENIOR WRITER (Penn State: 58 || UMass: 7)

“Not going to go too in depth here. Penn State should roll in this one, the rain could possibly slow down the scoring a bit but at the end of the day I expect the Nittany Lions to win big in this one. Very similar to the game against Delaware, the goals here for Penn State are to work out some kinks, especially offensively, stay healthy, and start getting ready for Ohio State."

MARTY LEAP - STAFF WRITER (Penn State: 52 || UMass: 7)

"Similar to the Northwestern game, more than anything you want to see Penn State get out of this game healthy. You also want to see the Nittany Lion offense be explosive, especially against a defensive scheme that is susceptible to big plays and one where there is a huge talent gap. Do those things and it’s full steam ahead to the Buckeyes."

RICHIE SCHNYDERITE - PUBLISHER (Penn State: 56 || UMass: 10)

“I'm going to keep this one short and sweet, just like this game is going to go for Penn State on Saturday. Penn State is going to do their thing with a dominant run game complimented by a pretty solid passing game and get out of this one quickly and healthy.

Expect Drew Allar, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen to get their numbers throughout the first two quarters before handing off the reigns to the backups where they will continue to pour it on.

Now don't count out UMass to score a garbage time touchdown as they do have some transfer portal guys who were super talented coming out of high school, but end of the day Penn State's talent gap will be just too much.

JUSTIN MORGANSTEIN - CONTRIBUTOR (Penn State: 52 || UMass: 3)

"This is essentially a tune up game for Penn State as it comes out of the idle week as a six touchdown favorite against 1-6 UMass. The Minute Men have lost six straight games following their season-opening win against New Mexico State and have given up 30+ points in all but one game this year. The Nittany Lions will look to stay healthy and get key players limited reps as they prepare for Ohio State the following week."

ZACH SEYKO - CONTRIBUTOR / LOCKED ON (Penn State: 38 || UMass: 14)

"An ugly, rain filled afternoon, along with a significant look ahead spot, allows UMass to cover an inflated spread. Penn State has bigger things to worry about at Ohio State next week. Nittany Lions starters will be pulled early and the game plan will be vanilla like extract from the grocery store. Mind you, UMass is a bottom five team in the FBS."

ZANE BRANCEFIELD - CONTRIBUTOR / LOCKED ON (Penn State: 59 || UMass: 6)

"The Penn State offense is going to start out slow again but will score at least two touchdowns by halftime. Drew Allar and Beau Pribula are both going to get a lot of playing time and will each have at least two touchdowns. The Penn State defense will also show why it is the best in the nation and will have at least three turnovers. UMass will only score seven points if the Penn State defense falls apart late in the game. They may not even score at all."

ANTHONY HAZAN - Penn State 365 Podcast (Penn State: 52 || UMass: 10)

"The rain might affect this a little bit, but barring something catastrophic, the Nittany Lions should still run away with this one, rain or shine. The biggest thing you want to see is keeping everyone healthy, getting the backups quality reps, and maybe hitting some explosive plays along the way. This could be a great opportunity to build Nicholas Singleton’s confidence back up, as UMass has one of the worst run defenses in the FBS. Either way, do what you need to do in this one, and then it’s all-in on Ohio State."

CLAY SAUERTIEG - GUEST PICKER (Penn State: 51 || UMass: 6)

"This one is tough. The weather looks awful, but should still be better than UMass’ play this season. Penn State should be able to name its score in this one, but with perhaps the Nittany Lions’ biggest game of the year next week I expect starters out fairly either and a somewhat closed up play book. Ultimately the gap in talent, particularly up front on both sides, leads to an extremely lopsided outcome"