Penn State comes into Saturday night’s game against Washington having to do something it hasn’t done yet: avenge a loss.
After winning its first seven games and rising to No. 3 in the nation, Penn State’s biggest test came last Saturday against No. 4 Ohio State.
As Penn State fans have come to expect, PSU fell short against the Buckeyes. That moved the team’s record against Ohio State to 1-10 in the James Franklin.
The good news is that, thanks to the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams starting in 2024, Penn State is still in good shape to get in. PSU debuted at No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings, which were unveiled Tuesday night.
WHITE OUT… FOR REAL THIS TIME
Penn State announced their second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history with 110,830.
Until last Saturday night, we didn’t know if Penn State’s annual White Out game would be at night. The Washington kick was either going to be at 3:30 or 8. It ended up being the latter. Although plenty of Penn State fans are justifiably annoyed that this annual spectacle is going to be on Peacock, a streaming service, many did fear that the White Out wouldn’t be a night game, which is part of the reason coach James Franklin called for White Out… energy ahead of the Sept. 28 game against Illinois.
Penn State won that game. But tonight is the real thing.
WASHINGTON= NO FLY ZONE
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Drew Allar
Washington ranks second in the country in pass defense, and for QB Drew Allar, this is among the biggest challenges the Penn State passing game has faced this season.
I mean, they’re definitely up there, for sure,” Allar told reporters via Zoom Wednesday. “We’ve seen a lot of talented DB rooms in general, and they’re definitely up there. If not the best, they’re one of the best.
So what sticks out to Allar about Washington’s secondary.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“They’re always contesting the catch,” he said. “No matter if it’s zone coverage, man coverage, they’re always around the ball, trying to make plays on the ball, and their linebackers do a good job of that as well, dropping underneath coverage and making the windows tighter. So we’re gonna have to be on our Ps and Qs this week when it comes to the pass game on ball location, route depth and timing and those things.
Allar also credited the boys up front.
“The other thing that probably helps them is their D-line,” he said. “I don’t know how many batted passes they have this year, but they have a lot of batted passes. If they know they’re not getting a great rush on a play, they’re going to try to bat the ball down, so that’s something we’re gonna have to be aware of this week. But yeah, they just stick to guys in coverage, so we’re gonna have to make contested catches throughout the whole four quarters this weekend.”
HOW TO WATCH
For those who won’t be among the 100,000+ in Beaver Stadium this Saturday, here’s more information on how to watch and listen to the game.
Kickoff: 8
TV: Peacock
TV announcers: Paul Burmeister (PXP), Colt McCoy (color), Zora Stephenson (sidelie)
Radio: Penn State Radio Affiliates
Radio announcers: Steve Jones (PXP) Jack Ham (color) Brian Tripp (sideline)
SiriusXM: 196/388/958/978
