Following a dominating win over Marshall, the Penn State Nittany Lions move on to game 2 against the Temple Owls on the road. How does the staff see this one playing out?
Chris
Penn State went on the road and had to battle some (mostly self-inflicted) demons to grind out a 27-9 win. That sort of game is as good a wake up call as you can get, wherein you end up winning comfortably but with a lot of tape to review and improve upon. Buffalo appears to be the weakest of the three non-conference games, and I
expect that the Lions will use this game to iron out the last of the kinks, particularly in the run game.
Carson Hansen and James Peoples finally start to figure out the blocking scheme, and both of them score a rushing touchdown on the day. Rocco Becht continues his early season ways, and Penn State puts the finishing touches on its product before conference play begins.
Penn State 42, Buffalo 7
Lando
Penn State should close out the non-conference smoothly. Expect a big day for the running backs (please more/any Quinton Martin!), and another couple Rocco TD throws.
Penn State 38, Buffalo3
Colin
Penn State sprang some leaks last week, most notably the run game, run defense, and red zone execution. How they respond will be very telling as to which direction the season goes. This week is a chance to make some adjustments before conference play starts. I would like to see something different from the running back rotation. We have yet to see Quinton Martin play first half snaps!
Buffalo wide receiver Chance Morrow could be a test for a Penn State secondary that has given up very little through the air in the first two games. He has five touchdowns in the Bulls’ first two games. Otherwise, this should be a very smooth finale to the non-conference slate.
Penn State 45, Buffalo 10
Patrick
Heading into the season, Buffalo was viewed as the easiest of Penn State’s out-of-conference games. Through two games against Albany (a 21-17 win) and FIU (a 33-20 loss), that stays true. There’s really no reason this shouldn’t be a blowout for Penn State, and a game to iron out some of the kinks we’ve seen with the lack of explosive plays in the running game.
Penn State 52, Buffalo 7
Tim
The only Chance for Buffalo to keep this one competitive is to continually get the ball in the hands of their wide receiver Morrow, who is currently averaging 9 catches, 109 yards, and 2.5 touchdowns across two games. Look for the Nittany Lions to clean up their red zone scoring issues and get a little more production in the run game after last week. I’m also predicting the defense will force three or more turnovers and Zay Robinson will take a kickoff or punt return to the house.
Penn State 56, Buffalo 7
Eli
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Penn State 56, Buffalo 17
Jared
(First appearing in the Game Preview)
The non-conference portion of the schedule should come to an uneventful close with another win by the Nittany Lions. Buffalo is likely the worst team Penn State will play this season, and I don’t expect them to put up much of a fight – especially with a backup quarterback facing this defense in front of the Beaver Stadium crowd.
Penn State made just enough mistakes against Temple for the coaching staff to work on cleaning up things this week – most notably, some pesky missed coverages and tackles, as well as trying to find something more explosive in the running game. Overall, I’m expecting another week of ferocious defense, Rocco Becht regularly hooking up with several targets, and a heavy rotation of players seeing the field to prepare for bigger things ahead. And most importantly, an overwhelming victory for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State 42, Buffalo 6
