Penn State comes out of the bye week at 5-0 on the year looking to pick up one final out of conference win before heading to Columbus for the first season defining game of the year. The Nittany Lions are in for a soggy afternoon but are hoping to make quick work of a Minutemen team capable of moving the ball but struggling to find wins behind a surprisingly porous defense. Here are five storylines to follow.
Getting Chunky: UMass might have a good record but the Minutemen have managed to pick up chunk plays just about better than everyone this season. While that hasn’t translated to much in the way of wins, a team that can confidently move the ball at 10-20 yards a clip is one that can potentially cause some issues for Penn State more than Iowa or Northwestern could. It’s reasonable to say that Penn State’s defense is the best UMass has seen and UMass is maybe the best offense the Nittany Lions have seen but the safe bet is Penn State winning out that dynamic. All the same if the Nittany Lions can avoid giving up big plays, especially to extend drives, that’ll go a long way towards a quick afternoon. Pressure on the quarterback is key, the good news for Penn State is that this defense line its finding itself as of late.
On, Off and Forward: The perpetual potential for upset alerts aside, this is a game Penn State will be well served to just get over and done with as quickly as possible. The longer this goes the less Penn State has to gain. If nothing else the longer it goes the more likely it is – especially in bad weather – that the Nittany Lions pick up an injury they really can’t afford to have the back half of the year. Fact of the matter is the quicker this game goes the better off both teams will be. The Nittany Lions will have more of a say than UMass in how fast that clock moves – and how big the margin gets. Penn State enters the game around a 40 point favorite for the second time this year.
Weather: The metrological term for Saturday’s forecast is “80% chance of being pretty crappy out” and that plays into every aspect of Saturday’s game from injury prevention to getting things over and done with. Nobody wants to sit in, play in or even really contemplate rain. Penn State still doesn’t have an offensive turnover this season and while it stands to reason that streak will be broken eventually, practicing good ball security in the elements is almost always a good skill to have later in the year. Then again the perpetually bad weather that comes with Michigan State games later in the season won’t be an issue this year with that game happening indoors. One thing at a time though.
Welcome Back: While not officially official, it seems likely that receiver Trey Wallace is going to make his return after picking up an injury in Week 2. The rain might limit how explosive Penn State tries to be but Wallace being back in the offensive equation should be a big boost for every aspect of that side of the ball. It might not much matter on Saturday but it could matter a whole bunch come next weekend’s clash in Columbus. Getting Wallace some touches could be a good and lower stakes way to get him back into the flow before that big meeting.
A Reason To Believe: While not a very scientific approach to sports, Penn State could use a boost of good vibes coming out of this game and going into Ohio State. The defense is playing great but Penn State’s offense appears to be suffering from a sickness known as “we are scoring 30 points but it isn’t any fun” and if the Nittany Lions want to beat the Buckeyes next weekend they’ll need to accumulate as much swagger as they can on both sides of the ball. They might believe they can win that game, but adding a little more belief to the tank probably wouldn’t hurt any either. This comes down to sex appeal, does Penn State have some on Saturday? Sometimes you just need to see the ball go through the hoop to get your shot back, or in this case, explosive plays.
