The Penn State Football Show

I am not afraid of Wisconsin.

I am afraid of Camp Randall Stadium.

Penn State has a much better team than Wisconsin. They should be able to handle them on Saturday. Will they? I'm not so sure. Why? Because it's at Wisconsin and not at home. We all know of Penn State's struggles on the road. Penn State has not won there since 2002. In fact, try and think of the last time Penn State has beaten a solid opponent on the road. Even in 2005 when Penn State won the Big Ten with MRob, Wisconsin was at home, Ohio State was at home, and Michigan, the one loss, on the road. That win over Wisconsin in 02 was actually the last time PSU has beaten any one of those three teams on the road. That's pretty bad.

Why does Penn State struggle on the road? A lot of people blame the coaching by saying that Joe plays it much safer on the road. Almost playing not to lose instead of playing to win. I think this is a valid argument, and it is a great concern of mine heading into the weekend.

I hope that Penn State does not take this approach on Saturday. They need to be aggressive and takes shots down the field and try to put up points. The Nittany Lions have a team capable of blowing out Wisconsin, and that is exactly what they should try to do. If they try and battle it out with them in a typical low scoring match-up that PSU and Wisconsin have had so many times in the past, it may come back to bite them. While, they have played very well so far this season, I still am not sold on the defense. It is not the type of defense they've been spoiled with in recent years that can single-handedly win a game for the team, which is why they need to go into every game trying to score lots of points.

With that being said, as long as Penn State comes out with the right approach and plays aggressively, they will be fine. Everidge looks like a solid quarterback that can do a lot of things, but he is a first-year starter and can get rattled if he is pressured. I expect to see the d-line in his face all night, which will cause Wisconsin a lot of problems. Maurice Evans will come to play. Wisconsin always has a very good and very big O-line. If they can run the ball up the middle against Penn State and sustain some drives, keeping Clark and the offense off the field, they will have a shot to win. P.J. Hill is always tough and physical, but he is not there only great back. John Clay is a 240 pound bruiser that is averaging 6.7 yards per carry. I think the key match up will be Wisconsin's rushing game against Penn State's defense. If Penn State can jump to an early lead, Wisconsin will be forced to throw the ball, which is not their strength and will work in Penn State's favor.

A.J. Wallace has continued to play well and should start at corner. Josh Hull had the best game of his career last week, hopefully he continues to improve, he's got his toughest test this weekend against a good line and a good running team. I've said it many times before and I'll say it again: Drew Astorino is a player. I love the way the kid plays. He flies all over the field and he's playing as well as anyone on this defense right now as a redshirt freshman.

Onto the offensive side of the ball: Havinig Norwood back is a huge plus for Clark. Norwood is his favorite target, so that helps out the passing game. Both Quarless and Shuler are questionable for this game, which leave Szerba at tight end if both can't go. That could be a problem. Tight end has been a strength on this team, but they are pretty thin now with those injuries. I still think Penn State can move the ball well with or without those guys, but obviously it would be easier if they had them. I expect to see Clark run the ball a lot on Saturday, and hopefully take a couple deep shots down the field. I also think this game is a good time to bust out some trickeration, whether its a reverse, a half-back pass, or a fake punt or field goal. Maybe Chaz Powell could be in the mix. Wisconsin has a good defense, but PSU has too many weapons for the Badgers to stop.

In my opinion, it all comes down to how the coaches approach the game. If they let the offense be aggressive and call the right plays, I think Penn State wins in a blowout. If they play conservative, it could end up being a low scoring game like Wisconsin-Ohio State from last week, and that could go either way. Since it's on the road, I would give the edge to Wisconsin in that case.

Penn State has too good of an offense to not score though, I like them winning this thing 35-14