Ahead of their Big Ten opener, Penn State finds themselves undefeated and headed into their conference slate with tons of confidence. However, they could be doing so without their top offensive weapon. Koby Howard is questionable for Saturday's game against Wisconsin due to an injury he suffered in their Week 3 win over Buffalo. Coach Matt Campbell mentioned the injury occurred on Howard's 70 yard TD reception and that there is a little uncertainty surrounding his availabillty.
"We don't know exactly where he'll be by the end of the week," Campbell said of the injury . "[Howard] went through a couple things [Monday] and just trying to gauge exactly where he is." Should the Nittany Lions lose Howard, they will be faced with a conundrum in the receiving
room.Koby Howard is not only Penn State's leading receiver, but he also ranks fourth in the entire Big Ten in receiving yardage with 344. In fact, no other Penn State wide receiver ranks in the top 40. You would have to go all the way down to 41st to find Chase Sowell with 126.
This is also highly inopportune for a Penn State squad facing a surprisingly tough Wisconsin defense. While they only rank 61st against the pass, they only allow 193.5 passing yards per game. For a wide receiver room that has struggled to find its identity outside of Howard, it is worrying that their top receiving threat may be tight end Benjamin Brahmer.
One thing that could work in the Nittany Lions' is the new found depth of their rushing attack. Should Rocco Becht not be able to throw the ball as efficiently downfield as he could with Howard, look for OC Taylor Mouser to turn to the ground game, and give more carries to guys like James Peoples and Quinton Martin Jr. After a 295 yard day on the ground last week, the blue and white could implement a similar formula in their first Big Ten matchup of the season.
Still, the loss of Howard could potentially be damaging to the Nittany Lion's explosiveness downfield.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Koby Howard could miss Penn State's Big Ten opener
