Opponent View: Penn State

Meet Purdue and Penn State, two teams hungry for success.

Both teams enter this game following a much-needed bye week. The last time we saw the Boilermakers (3-4 overall; 2-2 Big Ten), they were suffering a dispiriting 38-26 loss to Washington, quelling the mojo of back-to-back win. The Nittany Lions (3-4; 0-4)? Their misery is worse, having dropped all four Big Ten games. Last time out, Penn State got sat on 21-18 at Michigan.

Penn State leads the series, 17-3-1, taking the last 11 meetings. Purdue’s only wins vs. the Nits in Big Ten play came In 2003 and 2004–ancient history.

Kickoff on Saturday in State College, Pa., is 4:15 p.m. ET (BTN).

GoldandBlack.com spoke to the voice of Penn State, Steve Jones, to learn more about the Nittany Lions.

Q: What can fans expect from the Penn State offense when this game kicks off at 4:15 p.m. ET on Saturday?

A: Let’s start with Rocco Becht. He’ll be the quarterback. This is going to be one of those games where, the first time something goes wrong, the fans aren’t going to be thrilled with him. He’s somebody the offense really revolves around.

He’s a good thrower of the football and can run, too. Chase Sowell has been his No. 1 target, and he has really come on. He’s played really well. They’ve got three tight ends, two in particular who are important in the passing game: Andrew Rappleyea and Ben Brahmer.

The running game hasn’t been able to help Becht out as much. I feel like Carson Hansen has been running the ball better lately for Penn State. He’s the No. 1 option at running back. They’re doing a little more counter with him, and I think that’s helped.

They’ve moved Becht back in the pocket a little bit. I don’t mean full rollouts, but they’ll use a semi-roll here and there to clear passing lanes for him.

I feel like the offensive line has done a good job in pass protection, but they need to do a much better job running the football. They’ve had only one 100-yard rushing performance by a player all season. They need to balance the offense and present a threat of balance. Right now, they haven’t been able to do that enough.

Q: Defensively, what can people expect from the Nittany Lions?

A: Let’s start with what I think is one of the more intriguing parts of this game. Ryan Browne is a terrific quarterback, and Purdue’s passing game is outstanding.

Now let’s flip it over. Penn State’s secondary is really good. Audavian Collins and Daryus Dixon at cornerback are excellent. Zion Tracy has been a three-year player who’s made so many big plays in his career.

Linebacker Tony Rojas also has a couple of interceptions this year and plays the pass really well. In my opinion, Rojas deserves strong consideration as one of the top linebackers in the entire conference. He’s great in run pursuit, in the passing game–everything. He’s played really well.

Penn State, though, hasn’t been able to generate as much of a pass rush as it would like. It hasn’t gotten as much pressure off the edge and has had to blitz a little more than it wanted to.

I think that’s going to be important in a game like this: Getting Ryan Browne to throw the ball before he wants to. When he has time and can operate in the passing game, he’s outstanding.

Now, let’s get to the running game. The Michigan game was a microcosm of what Penn State has seen this season. Michigan ran 53 plays, and Penn State stopped 45 of them for an average of 2.2 yards per play. The other eight plays went for 185 yards.

Penn State has given up some big plays in the running game this season. Northwestern had a great night against them. Penn State did a better job against USC and was doing a better job against Michigan until a couple of runs broke loose.

They have to be much stouter against the run in every game, regardless of the opponent.

Q: How do you see this game unfolding?

A: I think a game like this comes down to the basics. Can you take care of the football?

Penn State lost at Michigan because it lost the turnover battle. If Penn State wins the turnover battle, it wins that game because Michigan scored all 21 of its points off takeaways. Two of the touchdown drives totaled just 56 yards.

I think the giveaway-takeaway battle is going to be really important. Can Penn State gain some control? You can’t stop the Purdue passing game completely, but can you get some control over it?

And can Rocco Becht, Chase Sowell and the tight ends make plays in the passing game against Purdue? People have been able to move the ball against Purdue, but I’ve also noticed that Purdue has seven interceptions as a team so far this season.

I think this is going to be one of those fun games. It’s appropriate for Halloween, so we can have some fun with it. We’ll find out which team gets the tricks and which team gets the treats.