The game we have all had our calendars circled for is finally here. To help get ready for this week we have done a Q&A exchange with our friend Brian from Penn State sister site at Black Shoe Diaries. Brian organized a Q&A exchange for last year’s Big Ten Championship game and had nothing but good things to say about interacting with Duck fans.
Find my answers to his questions will be posted on Black Shoe Diaries on Friday.
Q: I know in recent years Penn State fans have been frustrated that the Nittany
Lions biggest home games keep getting scheduled at noon. Can you even describe the excitement in the Penn State community to finally have a marquee night whiteout game for what feels like the first time in a couple of years?
Brian BSD: The Whiteout, which has really only been around for about 20 years, has become one of the great college football traditions and environments. It’s also a major recruiting weekend for Penn State. You have to go back to 2021 (Auburn) and for a conference game back to 2019 (Michigan) for the last time that the Whiteout had the appeal of a “big” opponent. From a showcase standpoint, last year was the nadir with the win against Washington being relegated to streaming only on Peacock.
Beyond that, there’s a real excitement about this game acting as the true opening of the 2025 season for a Penn State team with heavy expectations. To answer a question that you posed in your answers for our site, the Lions were supposed to play a home game against Virginia Tech this year as opposed to the three cupcakes they’ve faced. But, 2020’s game in Blacksburg was canceled when the Big Ten went to a conference only game and the Hokies canceled the return trip. All of that has meant that Penn State with three easy wins and a bye week has been off of the college football radar despite being ranked No. 2 in the country. With the expectations that Penn State has this year combined with the dull early season schedule, this is one of the most anticipated games at Beaver Stadium that I can ever recall.
Q: I have not sat down to watch a Penn State game this season but given that this game loomed large on the schedule I have been paying extra attention to Nittany Lions scores this September. It seems like the offence hasn’t found its rhythm yet. Why do you think that is?
Brian BSD: You’re right – it’s been fits and starts. I’ll give you the optimistic and pessimistic point of view.
Optimist: Penn State has had three chances to take the field with little pressure and work on things. In the opener, that was getting the ball to the new trio of wide receivers. In its third game, it seemed the passing game was vanilla and Penn State was more focused on getting star tailback Nicholas Singleton going a little bit. Again, aside from losing Tyler Warren, this is a group that is a year older at most positions and upgraded the receiver room with transfers. It should be a good unit and the first few weeks were about trying out some combinations and working on weaknesses rather than game planning to score a bunch of points against weaker teams.
Pessimist: Singleton hasn’t gotten going and Allar is showing the same inconsistencies that cost Penn State in big games last year – including the Big Ten Championship where he threw two critical interceptions against Oregon. Over the summer, a Penn State beat writer was asked on a podcast what might keep the Lions from truly being in the mix. The answer was “Allar doesn’t take the next step”. The former five-star recruit is in his third year as a starter and against FIU and Villanova, he looked inconsistent. There were happy feet and high throws, which haunted him last year. Those things can’t happen on Saturday.
Q: On the other hand, the defense has only given up 17 points in 3 games. Now the competition hasn’t been great but it’s difficult to give up less than 6 points per game. Who has stood out from a defensive perspective and who should Duck fans be aware of?
Brian BSD: They’ve played three bad teams…and three teams that seemed content to just run the ball, get a first down or two, bleed clock, and collect the paycheck. The secondary, which I think is a major strength, hasn’t been tested at all. Jim Knowles doesn’t have Caleb Downs, but he does have safety Zakee Wheatley. College football fans might remember him for getting interceptions against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl and Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl semifinal loss. He will be all over the field on Saturday night. Up front, Abdul Carter is gone, but Dani Dennis-Sutton is a high-level, first-round caliber defensive end. He, along with defensive tackle Zane Durant, will look to disrupt at the line of scrimmage.
Q: Penn State will win on Saturday if they are able to BLANK
Brian BSD: Control the line of scrimmage. James Franklin hyped up his offensive line in the offseason and it’s an experienced and talented group. The most surprising part of last year’s game against Oregon was how they played and Penn State was able to move the ball up and down the field. They need to play like it again on Saturday night. Meanwhile, I alluded to a couple of Penn State’s best defensive line players, but the depth behind them is talented, albeit young. They’ll need to hold the edge against a multi-faceted Oregon offense.
Q: Penn State will lose on Saturday if they are unable to BLANK
Brian BSD: They lose the third-down battle. Back to Penn State’s offense, one of their biggest weaknesses early this year has been keeping drives going and not stalling. At the same time, I like what Oregon has with a mobile quarterback, great tight end, and plenty of consistent running backs. Can the Lions get enough stops? Can the Lions not settle for field goals? Those are sort of obvious, but where I think the game is decided.
Q: Ultimately, what do you think will happen?
Brian BSD: Before I make the pick, I’ll say that interacting with your site last December was one of the year’s highlights. Looking forward to doing this again in the future.
As for the prediction, I picked Penn State to go 11-1 on our site with the lone loss to Ohio State. I’ll stick to my preseason guns and I think Penn State wins this one, narrowly. To be honest, coming into the season, I thought that Penn State would be a little cleaner and that Oregon’s reloading wouldn’t be as far along. So, my confidence in the pick has gone down. I think the environment gives Penn State the edge between two excellent football teams and two teams that could see each other again in Indianapolis or in the playoffs.
Penn State 27, Oregon 20
Thanks again Brian. It has been a pleasure interacting with you and the Penn State fans from Black Shoe Diaries. Looking forward to Saturday’s game and hoping your prediction doesn’t come true.
