Northwestern football is slated to take on a newly-unranked Penn State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Despite the Nittany Lions’ shocking loss to UCLA, which the ‘Cats previously beat, Inside NU doesn’t think the transitive win will translate into reality.
Miguel Muñoz: Penn State 34, Northwestern 10
Northwestern and Penn State are two teams trending in opposite directions. Luckily for the ‘Cats, they’re on the right side of the eight ball right now, having won three of their last four and looking
stronger offensively with every week. For the Nittany Lions, a devastating home loss to No. 6 Oregon was followed by arguably the worst performance by this team in the James Franklin era, as they lost to 0-4 UCLA, 42-35. As tempted as I am to say NU will keep this close, I just can’t see Penn State looking so bad two weeks in a row. Add to that the raucous environment at Happy Valley, and I think PSU gets back on the right track while the ‘Cats fall back down to earth.
Charlie Jacobs: Penn State 45, Northwestern 27
Northwestern’s offense is starting to roll more and more. The ground game has been solid, led by Caleb Komolafe. Preston Stone had his best game yet as a passer for the ‘Cats against ULM. On the other hand, Penn State just dropped out of the rankings with back-to-back losses. First it was to Oregon (now ranked at No. 3), then it was winless UCLA. Northwestern beat UCLA the week prior. Does this mean the ‘Cats have a shot on the road in Happy Valley? Maybe. But Penn State is in a spot for a get-right game if this season has any chance of being saved.
Ascher Levin: Penn State 28, Northwestern 20
After dominating ULM, Northwestern heads into one of the toughest environments in college football to face a reeling Penn State team looking to rebound from its loss to UCLA. Northwestern enters as the underdog, but if the Wildcats execute well, they have a real chance to stay competitive. The run game will be key, with Caleb Komolafe, Joe Himon II and Dashun Reeder giving NU a balanced and productive backfield. Quarterback Preston Stone must continue to protect the ball after his strong, turnover-free performances the last few weeks. Composure will also be crucial in Beaver Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 100,000 and can create major noise and momentum swings. If Northwestern runs efficiently, limits mistakes and stays disciplined, the upset is within reach, though I think Penn State will probably win.
Yanyan Li: Penn State 28, Northwestern 14
Yes, Northwestern has that “transitive” win over Penn State because it beat UCLA two weeks ago. However, it’s just tough to see the Nitanny Lions falling three weeks in a row, especially at Beaver Stadium. After facing scrutiny from college football media all week over its loss to UCLA, Penn State will for sure be out to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Don’t get me wrong, Penn State’s downward momentum and Northwestern’s upward momentum (like Miguel mentioned) have me thinking the result will be closer than I thought before last week, but ultimately an upset still feels unrealistic.
Pierson Strandquist: Penn State 27, Northwestern 14
While I’ve written two articles this week about how Northwestern could pull off a win, at the end of the day I am NOT delusional. Teams like the Wildcats may thrive on optimism, but that’s not enough for me to predict an upset this week. Penn State dropping three straight, let alone one to NU, feels highly unlikely regardless of a game to forget in Pasadena. If the ‘Cats can put together an above-average game script and end up outside the win column in the same way they did against Oregon, that would be a perfectly acceptable result. Who doesn’t love some garbage time points? I don’t think the Nittany Lions will cover the spread, but that’s probably the best kind of win Northwestern fans can hope for here.
Drew Christmann: Penn State 28, Northwestern 10
The Wildcats are catching Penn State on Saturday in one of the biggest slumps in recent CFB history. The Nittany Lions drop from no. 7 to unranked is the second biggest drop since the poll’s introduction 99 years prior, when the 1959 Sooners lost their home opener to your very own Northwestern Wildcats. Despite the criticism and the fact that the ‘Cats had just beaten UCLA the week before last, this game will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination. I believe Komolafe and the running offense will do well Saturday, which secured 246 rushing yards against ULM, especially with Penn State missing LB Tony Rojas. But in order for that to happen, the ‘Cats must limit mistakes in the air. If Preston Stone can do that, the Wildcats could walk away with the win, but I fear it might be too big an ask, especially when visiting the rowdy Beaver Stadium.
Calvin Kaplan: Penn State 37, Northwestern 10
Regardless of last week, Penn State still has one of the toughest road environments in the entire country. The Nittany Lions will have a chip on their shoulder after a shocking loss to UCLA, and while I do think the ‘Cats could step up and keep this game close for a while, it feels far more likely that Penn State capitalizes on an early miscue to run away with this one. Preston Stone has been improving, but can he improve enough to stick with one of the best teams in the Big Ten away from Evanston? I don’t think so, but it’ll be interesting to find out.
Bryan Boanoh: Penn State 31 Northwestern 7
Listen, it was really fun all week to pretend the Wildcats actually have a chance to win this game. It is true that Northwestern beat UCLA, and UCLA beat the Nittany Lions, and all the transitive property jokes were really funny. But football is not a game of rock paper scissors, matchups matter a lot. This week, the matchup that stands out the most is Penn State’s run game against Northwestern’s defensive line. In the first quarter of last week’s game, ULM was churning out chunk yards on the ground with relative ease. If ULM was able to get yards on the ground against this Northwestern front, imagine what Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton will be able to do. It won’t be quite the same as the whiteout from two weeks ago, but Beaver Stadium will be anxious to see its Nittany Lions get their first power four win of the season, and I think they’ll do it in resounding fashion this week.
Season standings:
5-0: Charlie Jacobs, Calvin Kaplan
4-1: Yanyan Li, Miguel Munoz, Ascher Levin
3-0: Sai Trivedi
2-0: Adam Sutro, Pierson Strandquist, Patrick Winograd
1-1: Matt Campbell
1-0: Adam Sutro
