Most people remember Penn State football’s Oct. 5 win over UCLA as fairly smooth but one ESPN analyst doesn’t.
When comparing the resumes of No. 4 Penn State (9-1) and No. 5 Indiana (10-0), ESPN analyst Booger McFarland claimed that Indiana took care of UCLA while Penn State “struggled.”
“They have a comparable opponent in UCLA,” McFarland said. “Penn State struggled, Indiana dominated.”
Well, he’s right about the first part.
Indiana did indeed crush UCLA Sept. 14, rolling 42-13 in the Rose Bowl. But to say Penn State “struggled” in its matchup Oct. 5 at Beaver Stadium seems puzzling. It is true that Penn State didn’t get off to a blazing start. Thus, the game was scoreless going into the second quarter.
But overall, it’s hard to say a team that was ahead 27-3 with 16 seconds left “struggled” to beat their opponent.
A meaningless UCLA touchdown and two-point conversion made the score look closer than the game was.
SOMETHING ELSE BOOGER FAILED TO MENTION
FOXBOROUGH, MA – OCTOBER 24: ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown’s Booger McFarland before a game between the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears on October 24, 2022, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.McFarland mentioned UCLA as a common opponent of Indiana and Penn State but failed to do the same with Washington. Indiana played Washington Oct. 26 and had a fairly easy 31-17 win. Penn State played Washington two weeks later and had an even easier 35-6 win. So even if PSU did “struggle against UCLA,” it would be negated by PSU looking better against Washington than Indiana did.
WE’LL KNOW MORE ABOUT IU AFTER SATURDAY
CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 11: Indiana RB/RS Jaylin Lucas (12) during a college football game between the Indiana Hoosiers and Illinois Fighting Illini on November 11, 2023 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire)
Indiana has a chance to assert itself Saturday by beating No. 2 Ohio State or, at the very least, proves it belongs by playing a close game.
PSU, on the other hand, is at 6-4 Minnesota.
PSU-Minnesota is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 on CBS.
