The Dawgs will be back at home this week, as they get set to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday afternoon, for homecoming weekend! Ahead of this matchup, I talked to Brian Bennett of SB Nation's Penn State sister site Black Shoe Diaries to get the lowdown on this year's Nittany Lions squad!
Mark Schafer: This is year 1 for Matt Campbell in Happy Valley, who was seemingly linked to every single power conference opening until he ultimately got the Penn State job. It's been a rough year for the Nittany Lions, who sit at 4-4. What has gone wrong and how can Campbell turn it around?
Brian Bennett: There was a month stretch where just about everything that could go wrong, seemed to go wrong. Penn State used a really easy non-conference schedule to start out 3-0 and vibes seemed good with the meshing of some young, talented Nittany Lion holdovers and the top of Iowa State's depth chart. Penn State was ranked
overrated at No. 13 and up 17-0 against Wisconsin. Things just fell apart from there. There was a turnover, some bad defense, a long touchdown throw in the closing seconds, just all kinds of stuff. Things continued to go bad with some injuries, then a couple of close losses to USC and Michigan – two games that Penn State led in the second half. I don't know what turning it around really looks like with this group, but it would be nice to see the team get fully healthy for the first time all season to get a grasp of what that might have actually looked like.
MS: The offense, coordinated by Taylor Mouser, is led by Iowa State transfer Rocco Becht. Becht has been efficient, completing 63.5% of his passes for 1839 yards and 13 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. What do you like about him as a quarterback and what does the scheme look like?
BB: Most of Becht's success came in the non-conference portion of the schedule. He limited mistakes against Purdue and that's a big part of why Penn State won. But really, Penn State won because they found a ground game. Little used Cam Wallace came out of the blue to match his season carries and go for 130+ yards and a score. It's the ground game that Penn State hasn't had at all in conference play. It was also necessary because the Lions were down their top two wide receivers – Koby Howard, who hasn't played since the third week of the season, and Chase Sowell, who was coming off a monster performance in a loss at Michigan. So, I guess to answer your initial question, I like Becht when he's throwing to those two guys, his two tight ends, and not throwing it to the other team. His turnovers accounted for all 21 of Michigan's points in a 21-18 loss at the Big House.
MS: The defense is coordinated by former USC DC D'Anton Lynn. What is the scheme like and who are the major playmakers on defense, aside from linebacker Tony Rojas?
BB: The big difference with Lynn's scheme from past Penn State defenses is really rooted in personnel. The Lions have big, hard-to-move defensive tackles. In the past, Penn State has played more fast and aggressive. Now, let's not kid ourselves. You asked who the playmakers are on defense other than All-American candidate Tony Rojas. Well, there aren't any others in the front seven. Outside of Rojas, the linebacker play has been bad. The defensive ends can't get home on the pass rush. Meanwhile, those tackles can't move laterally. Northwestern really exploited Penn State with its running game. The group handled Purdue's offense last weekend, specifically the run game. But, I wouldn't count on that being a trend, especially since Washington has a mobile quarterback in Demond Williams. I would say that Penn State's secondary has some players who anyone would like to have. Corners Audavion Collins and Daryus Dixson are physical and will get caught being a little handsy, but they are good players. Meanwhile, Josiah Zayas is a freshman defensive back with a penchant for coming up with turnovers.
MS: Who is an underrated, fan favorite Nittany Lion that non fans might not know about?
BB: I'll throw out tight end Andrew Rappleyea for some consideration. He has battled injuries much of his career and he always seems to be in the shadow of other players. A couple of years ago, it looked like he was going to form a great duo with all-everything former Nittany Lion Tyler Warren. But, he got hurt. Even this year, Iowa State brought in two starting tight ends, but, in my opinion, Rappleyea has moved to the top of the depth chart. He's a talented blocker and he is good in the pass game with 28 catches and three touchdowns through eight games.
MS: What does the rest of the season look like for Penn State, and do you believe they can get into CFP contention within the next few years?
BB: I will reiterate some thoughts here that I shared on our site last week and also on our podcast (come on over, like and subscribe!). I think Penn State can win all of its remaining games, but I also think all of them can be losable too based on how the Lions have played at certain points. Big picture, I've been a Penn State fan for a long, long time and I've seen the ebbs and flows of the program. When I was a freshman at Penn State, the Lions were in the middle of a four losing seasons in five year stretch. Then, they won the Big Ten twice in four years. I won't mention the obvious worst time in program history, but Penn State came out of that and won a Big Ten title and had a long streak of consecutive seasons of being ranked in the Top 10. So, I guess my point is that this is a resilient program. There's certainly some questions about Matt Campbell now, but I do think he's recognizing that he can't do things the same way at Penn State that he did in Ames, Iowa. With that in mind, and since the CFP is expanding, I expect to see Penn State back in the bracket within the next couple years.
MS: It's time for a score prediction! What will the score be to this game in Husky Stadium, as the Huskies look for their first ever win against the Nittany Lions?
BB: I think the Huskies get it. I just don't trust the Penn State offense to score touchdowns in the red zone – it's what cost them against USC and Michigan. Washington scores enough and I think Becht turns in at least one bad turnover that haunts Penn State in the end.
Washington 23, Penn State 16
My thanks to Brian, and I wish Penn State good luck the rest of the way! For my answers to their questions, head on over to Black Shoe Diaries !
