PSU hopes to defeat Knights and move past its Michigan loss.
AP STATE COLLEGE — The Penn State players still have a lot to play for in the last few weeks of the season, even though their main objective is out of reach.
The No. 12 Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) aim to top their record, give victories to their seniors before they graduate, and strengthen their resumes for the future.
Penn State plays its final home game of the season on Saturday against Rutgers, a team the Nittany Lions have dominated since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten in 2014. The Nittany Lions are coming off a disappointing loss to No. 2 Michigan last week.
Since 2015, Penn State has won every game in the series by a margin of double digits, going 8-0 overall. For the last four times it has played at Beaver Stadium, Rutgers (6-4, 3-4) has failed to score a touchdown.
Safety Keaton Ellis stated, “That’s my motivation, personally.” “I want to go out there and get better, put good things on film, put good things on tape, and help my team accomplish as much as we can still accomplish. I know the season is not over as I have been saying.”
The Nittany Lions’ defence has been excellent all season long, matching up with Nos. 3 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan; however, the offence was far from strong enough to overcome the Big Ten East heavyweights.
Penny
Franklin stated, “As for what I’m looking for offensively, it comes back to that: Someone who will put us in the best position to play our best football against the best competition and when it matters most.”
Coach Ty Howle for tight ends and coach Ja’Juan Seider for running backs have been assigned by him to create the game plan and call plays on Saturday. They’ll attempt to breach a considerably stronger Rutgers defence.
With three Big Ten victories this season, the Scarlet Knights have already matched a programme record and boast the 13th-ranked defence in the country.
But Rutgers lost its next two games to Iowa an
d No. 3 Ohio State after winning against Indiana, which qualified them for the bowl. Happy Valley will present them with yet another stingy defence.
Greg Schiano, the coach of Rutgers, stated, “They are among the Top 15 teams in America.” “They are currently competing at that level. The main thing, in my opinion, is that they have improved throughout the season and are performing at a high level.
IMPROVED RHYTHM
Yurcich lost his job and the Nittany Lions lost a chance to defeat the Wolverines due to their lack of offensive rhythm.
Passes to the sideline and behind the line of scrimmage followed big first-down runs. On several passing plays, there was no chemistry because quarterback Drew Allar and the receivers were not in sync.
With Howle and Seider in charge of the offence this week, Franklin claimed to have observed a more cooperative process. He’s hoping that Allar will pick up speed with their tweaks.
“We’ll see,” stated Franklin. Naturally, on Saturday, we’ll learn the truth for sure. However, I’ve been happy with the procedure, the coaches’ approach to it over the course of the week, and the opinions that everyone in the room has voiced.
SPRINT AND WIN
Rutgers has employed a ball-control strategy when its offensive output has been strong this season. To spread the ball around, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt uses a run-pass option in addition to running the ball himself, Kyle Monangai.
In the 22-0 loss to Iowa last week, it was ineffective. Wimsatt was a pitiful 7 of 18 for 93 yards, and Monangai was only able to gain 39 yards rushing. Rutgers had 127 yards in the end.
What was even more confusing was that Wimsatt wasn’t a runner. He gained minus two yards on three carries. He gives the offence another dimension when he runs.
NOT ONLY THE CRIME
The Rutgers defence and special teams possess the ability to influence results. Max Melton had just last week intercepted a pass close to his own end zone and had
