Penn State was given a favorable early-season schedule, but things have gotten a bit more complicated at the start of Big Ten play. After playing their latest game of the season against Wisconsin (a 5 p.m. ET. start time), the Nittany Lions have to travel to play Northwestern on Friday night.
It’s an incredibly quick turnaround for a team with most of its players getting their first experience with a Big Ten schedule. And it becomes even more chaotic now that the team is scrambling after an unexpected loss.
It was the toughest game the Nittany Lions have played so far, and now they face an even tougher challenge against a Wildcats team that just took the Indiana Hoosiers down to the wire. It was a wild week for the Blue and White, with injuries,
a hectic travel schedule, and a heartbreaking loss, but they must remain focused.
Here are five major storylines to keep an eye on as Penn State prepares to play under the Friday night lights.
Get well soon, Koby
Penn State was blindsided by wide receiver Koby Howard’s injury after his 115-yard outburst against the Buffalo Bulls. He was well on his way to establishing himself as one of the best up-and-coming pass catchers in the nation, but now he’ll be on the shelf for the foreseeable future.
The Nittany Lions’ offense struggled mightily without their No. 1 receiver, posting their lowest point and yardage totals of the season in Week 4. There’s no way an offensive-minded head coach like Matt Campbell will let that kind of sluggishness continue, but he’ll need to get creative.
The wide receiver room didn’t produce much on Saturday and neither did the tight ends. Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser will be hard at work this week scheming up ways to get the offensive moving along without Howard.
Rocco Becht
Quarterback Rocco Becht will need to do some serious soul-searching this week as he tries to bounce back from one of the worst games of his career. There’s no way around it — he was a big reason why Penn State lost to Wisconsin — but now the most experienced quarterback in college football needs to rely on that wealth of knowledge to get himself back on track.
He has been inaccurate, he’s running into sacks, and he looked entirely unsure of himself in the heat of battle against the Badgers. Becht will be under a microscope this week as everyone will be looking at him to turn the tide for this team.
Be aggressive
Campbell and Mouser set the tone in the first game of the season by going for it on fourth downs and continuing to pile on teams no matter how much Penn State was winning by. They decided to deviate from that mindset against the Badgers for some reason, and it wasn’t very effective.
Instead of pulling away and ensuring a victory, they opted to approach the end of the game conservatively, and it cost the team dearly. The Nittany Lions have forged an identity as an aggressive team that goes for the kill, so they need to get back to that philosophy as they face tougher competition.
Blood pressure
Make sure you take your blood pressure medicine because there are going to be way more nail biters like that coming up. Hopefully the ones later in the season don’t end as badly as this last game against Wisconsin, but close games that go down to the wire are impossible to avoid.
The Nittany Lions didn’t show much composure during their first real test, so hopefully they’ll be better the next time they’re put in a tricky situation.
Matt Campbell
Penn State hired Campbell with the intention of changing their fortunes, and while it’s only one loss, he hasn’t done that so far. The school moved on from James Franklin, in part, for losing games just like the one it lost against Wisconsin.
Campbell still has more than enough time to prove that games like this last one won’t be a trend, but he isn’t off to a good start. He’ll need to have a terrific finish to the season to regain the optimism and belief in the fanbase that this team can reach greater heights than ever before.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: 5 key Penn State storylines to follow after stunning loss to Wisconsin
