It's Penn State-Bowling Green week: Time, TV channel, early storylines, weather, more

Penn State is 1-0 after securing its first road victory of the season last Saturday at West Virginia. Now, head coach James Franklin’s team starts a four-game, five-week homestand that starts with Bowling Green. The Falcons also started the year with a win and now come to State College for just the third time overall and first since 1998.

“We’re gonna be at home for a couple of weeks,” Franklin said. “That’s probably also not a positive. You prefer not to have four straight home games. I think for some fan bases, that would be an issue. It’s not for ours. The support that we get in Beaver Stadium and in State College, in the state of Pennsylvania, in the region, is phenomenal. We’ll be able to handle that. They’ll be asking for a fifth one after the fourth one.”

Get ready for this week’s game with our early look ahead to the contest below.

Time and TV info

Kickoff is set for Noon ET. Big Ten Network will air the game. A broadcast crew is not yet out as of early Monday morning.

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What is the Penn State-Bowling Green spread?

As expected, the Nittany Lions are a massive favorite for the second of three non-conference games and first of two against a Mid-American Conference opponent. FanDuel was first to market with a number on Sunday. It makes Penn State a 32.5-point favorite. The over/under betting total is 49.5.

Game week schedule for the Lions

It might be a holiday week for much of America, but the schedule for Penn State will not change. On Monday, head coach James Franklin will hold his first news conference of the week around lunchtime. He will also speak after Wednesday’s practice and during the second half hour of the Penn State Coaches Show on Thursday, which runs from 6-7 p.m. ET. Select players will be made available to reporters on ZOOM or after practice in person Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. And, an assistant coach will chat with the media Thursday morning.

What’s up with Bowling Green?

Bowling Green won its opener. But, it is not likely to have many more victories this fall. The Falcons are No. 104 in Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings out of 134 teams. The Falcons are coached by Scot Loeffler, who is in his sixth season with the program. In a 41-17 triumph over Fordham to start the year, running back Terion Stewart was the start of the show. He ran for three touchdowns and 161 yards. Quarterback Connor Bazelak is a dual threat who was not asked to do much in the Week 1 win. Tight end Harold Fannin is the top target in the passing game and is a first-team preseason All-MAC pick by Phil Steele.

This begins a tough three week stretch for BGSU. After playing PSU, it has a bye and then goes to Texas A&M Sept. 21.

Weather report

The latest weather report calls for what appears to be a cooler and possibly rainy day. It reads: “Overcast with rain showers at times. High around 70F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.”

Early Penn State-Bowling Green storylines

–How many Penn State players will see time in this game, and when will the first wave of backups get in? With no disrespect intended toward the Falcons, this is going to be a blowout, and is unlikely to be competitive at halftime.

–What will the Lions do at kicker? Sander Sahaydak made all his extra points at West Virginia but missed his lone field goal try. If Penn State has to kick one, will he get the first call, or will Ryan Barker get a shot to try a placement boot in a game?

–Will more than two receivers catch a pass? Trey Wallace and Omari Evans were the only ones to do so at WVU. It did not matter in the end, as the Lions rolled anyway. But, getting some other guys involved this week will behoove the offense down the road.