ESPN color commentator Kirk Herbstreit has Penn State football in the national championship game.
Herbstreit said late in Monday’s game between North Carolina and TCU that, as of now, his national title game pick is Penn State and LSU.
No. 9 LSU’s stock is high after an upset win at No. 4 Clemson Saturday night.
No. 2 Penn State’s stock has been high all season. The team came within a whisker of playing for the national championship game last season and returns most key players from that squad, including QB Drew Allar, RBs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton.
ALLAR VS NUSSMEIER
A Penn State-LSU title game would feature a matchup between two of the best quarterbacks in the country. Penn State has Allar, a three-year starter with 24 college wins under his belt. LSU has Garrett Nussmeier, who is entering just his second season but just put together an impressive performance against one of the best defenses in the country. In LSU’s 17-10 win at Clemson this past Saturday night, Nussmeier went 28-for-38 for 230 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He led an 11-play, 73-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter that proved to be the winner.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.For Penn State to win the national championship, Allar needs to be better than he was in the Orange Bowl/College Football Playoff Semifinal against Notre Dame. That night in Miami, he 12/23 for 135 yards, no touchdowns and an interception that set up the winning score and end of Penn State’s season.
A big reason Allar came back was to win a national title, and Herbstreit thinks he’ll get his shot.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State and LSU have played just twice before, with both matchups being in the postseason and both being won by Penn State. The first one took place at the end of the 1973 season, when Penn State capped off an unbeaten campaign led by Heisman winner John Cappeletti with a 16-9 win. It took more than three decades for the next meeting, which also ended up being a bowl game in Florida. This time, it was the capital one bowl, and again, Penn State won it, with Colin Wagner’s 21-yard field goal in the final minute being the difference.
Penn State takes on FIU Saturday, Sept. 6 at noon. The game will be broadcast from Beaver Stadium on the Big Ten Network.
