Joel Klatt examines if Penn State is a real contender in the Big Ten

Consider Joel Klatt impressed with the performance of the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2024 ahead of Week 6 of the season.

Following their win over Illinois last weekend, Klatt is wondering whether this is the season Penn State finally breaks through in the Big Ten. On the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, the FOX Sports analyst examined whether the Nittany Lions are true contenders, in the same vein of Ohio State and Oregon.

“We are starting to see some of the forest through the trees, if you will, in the Big Ten, and you’re starting to see it more clearly,” Klatt started. “Part of that is, that this question before the year, at least, at the top of the conference, for a lot of us was, ‘Is Penn State really going to take the next step? Are they really going to get over this hump and put a product on the field that could potentially challenge the top end of the conference?’ Because even though they’ve played right below Ohio State and Michigan the last couple of years, and the games were fairly competitive, you’re just like, ‘They didn’t win them,’ and it wasn’t — I guess like, Michigan and Ohio State respect Penn State, there’s no doubt, but they were never in a position where they felt like, ‘Oh man, we’ve got to go play Penn State.’ Now, it might be different, because what I saw on Saturday from the Nittany Lions was a really thorough beating of Illinois, and that’s an Illinois team that I was impressed with.

“Remember, Illinois came into State College on Saturday night with two ranked wins in their resume. They had beaten Kansas, which was ranked, which doesn’t look great now, but at the time, I thought it looked good. They beat Nebraska on the road in that hostile Friday night environment, and then now they go to Happy Valley, and I thought Penn State just kind of handled them. The score 21-7 was not indicative of the game.”

Evidently, Penn State’s beating of Illinois has Klatt convinced, as he rattled off some of their top performers, believing the Nittany Lions proved they can run with anyone with their drubbing of the Fighting Illini.

“I thought Penn State handled the line of scrimmage. Their run game was really good. Nick Singleton looks like the true freshman version of Nick Singleton. The defense was flying around, as you would expect them to fly around. Abdul Carter, he’s an absolute man-child, whether he’s rushing the quarterback, whether he’s in coverage. They got turnovers. They’re athletic. Like, Penn State, to me, looks like the team I’ve always hoped Penn State would be,” Klatt stated. “The offense is throwing the ball down the field. You start studying them on tape, and you’re like, ‘Okay, this is the Drew Allar that I was hoping to see last year.’

“The run game is more explosive. Andy Kotelnicki at offensive coordinator, it’s starting to work. In fact, if they were better in special teams, that game probably should have been like 30-7, not 21-7, somewhere around that, probably 30-7, because they missed two field goals, and then because their field goal struggles, they went for it on a fourth down when they should have kicked another field goal, so that’s three possessions that they march into scoring range, don’t get points, and they still win 21-7. And like I said, Illinois was a physical team, and a team that I thought was, you know, kind of up for the challenge, I thought, and I thought they played hard and well for a while, but just got overwhelmed by a very good team.

“So now all of a sudden, you’ve got Penn State up there, and you’re like, ‘Okay, well, Penn State is a team that I think can challenge.’ Now, they can challenge up there, and remember, they don’t have to play Oregon, they don’t have to play Michigan. They do have to play Ohio State, and that’s going to be a monster game. That one’s at home, by the way, Nov. 2. Defense has been outstanding.”

Over the next few weeks, Penn State will be looking to continue proving their supporters right, and turning their doubters into believers. The Nittany Lions hit the field in Week 6 against the UCLA Bruins, as the former Pac-12 team comes East for what should be a tremendous showdown.