Penn State Monday Musings: Outback Bowl intrigue, hoops thoughts and more

Penn State football is heading to the Outback Bowl, the coaching carousel is in full swing, and Big Ten play is underway for Nittany Lion hoops.

That means there’s plenty to talk about in this week’s edition of Monday Musings.

Let’s dive right into it.

1. Something new and a unique challenge for Penn State in the Outback Bowl

Penn State and Arkansas will meet for the very first time their long, proud histories when they do battle in the Outback Bowl.

It’s an interesting clash of styles as well. The Razorbacks run the ball nearly two-thirds of the time, while Penn State relies heavily on its passing game.

Interestingly, the game provides the Nittany Lions the opportunity to do something they’ve never done.

Penn State has never defeated two SEC schools in the same season.

With a win over Auburn already secured, the Nittany Lions can change that against the Razorbacks.

2. A clash of two elite wideouts…maybe

Penn State and Arkansas both rostered truly special wide receivers this season.

We know how great Jahan Dotson is on the Nittany Lion side of things. He finished the regular season with 1,182 receiving yards and 12 scores.

The Razorbacks’ Treylon Burks was just as productive. In 12 games, he caught 67 passes for 1,123 yards and 11 touchdowns while also picking up 112 yards and a score on the ground.

Roughly 40 percent of Arkansas’s passing production went his way in the regular season.

Now we wait to see if Burks and Dotson play.

Burks is a junior who seems likely to be a first or second-round pick in this spring’s NFL Draft. Dotson, a senior, is in a similar boat.

If they do play, we could have quite the entertaining wide receiver duel on our hands. But that seems far from guaranteed at this point.

3. Micah Shrewsberry’s mission

Penn State basketball is going to require some rebuilding. That much was clear when Micah Shrewsberry took the job this March, and it’s clear now as the Nittany Lions sit at 4-4 following Sunday’s loss to Ohio State.

You won’t find Shrewsberry saying that, though. He hasn’t spent much time asking for patience. If anything, he’s frequently emphasized his desire to win now, even if it might not seem realistic on the outside.

Devaluing the 2021-22 season and dismissing it as only a starting point would be unfair to his roster full of veterans, some of them in their final season of collegiate eligibility.

A fired-up Shrewsberry explained that he’ll do whatever he can to win right now for those players, specifically fifth-year senior John Harrar, who returned after testing the waters in the transfer portal.

“I’m going to fit tooth and nail, whether I gotta get my old ass out there and play too,” he said. “I’m going to fight tooth and nail for that dude to have a good season.

“We are going to fight every night, no questions asked. When you lay it all out there like that, you can live with the results.”

4. Nittany Lions turnover problems

Penn State basketball has a turnover problem — on both ends of the court.

According to KenPom.com, the Nittany Lions turn the ball over on 20.4 percent of their possessions. That. obviously, is not very good. It ranks 204th in the country.

It is an even bigger problem when compared to what the Nittany Lions are doing on the defensive end of the court.

Penn State is forcing turnovers on only 13.1 percent of its defensive possessions. That is 355th out of 358 Division I basketball teams, and the worst mark among power conference programs.

The Nittany Lions were always going to stop selling out for steals on defense. That was part of Shrewsberry’s plan and part of the defensive identity he wants to instill.

But, combined with Penn State’s struggles with ball security on the other end, the extra shots the Nittany Lions are giving away are too much to overcome at the moment.

Penn State needs to be getting extra possessions, not giving them up.

5.) A corner turned for Penn State hockey

It’s been a very up-and-down season for Penn State hockey as the Nittany Lions approach their halfway point.

They sit at 2-6 in the Big Ten following a home split against Michigan State over the weekend.

But it’s difficult not to feel good about the way the Nittany Lions played.

They sent 53 shots at the Spartan net in a 4-3 defeat Saturday that saw Michigan State somehow fight off some immense pressure from Penn State, especially in the third period.

To my eye, it was the best game Penn State has played this season, and it ended in a loss.

Penn State sits 24th in the Pairwise ratings — a mathematical formula that is used to pick the NCAA Tournament field. The Nittany Lions will need to climb about 10 spots in those ratings between now and the end of the season to make the field.

If they play as they did this weekend, with maybe a few more bounces, it can be done.