The Penn State Football Show

If Penn State has a "trap game" on it's schedule, this is it. The game is on the road and has an early start, and Penn State has struggled with both of these factors in the past. Beyond that, it would be easy for players to be looking ahead to Wisconsin, Michigan and OSU. Finally, Purdue is a good offensive team coming off of a disappointing loss to Notre Dame, and is determined to prove they are a better football team than they showed last weekend.

With that being said, I believe this year's squad has the leadership to prevent the team from falling into this trap. Darryl Clark, Derrick Williams, Sean Lee, Anthony Scirrotto and Josh Gaines will not allow for a let-up this weekend. As long as the Lions take care of the football and don't commit costly turnovers, they should not have a hard time putting up points on Saturday. I expect Evan Royster to have a big day on the ground for Penn State. Watch for Quarless to once again be a large part of the offensive game-plan. Defensively, I think A.J. Wallace will continue to see more time at corner, and will make the most of it. Look for the secondary to force one or more interceptions.

Curtis Painter is a solid pro-style quarterback and Joe Tiller always provides defensive coordinators with a difficult task of stopping his spread attack. Don't be surprised to see Purdue score some points this weekend. With the defense looking for the pass, I think Sheets may break off a few nice runs as well.

Penn State may get off to a slow start, but should wake up some time before the half. Turnovers will be the key, and as long as Penn State takes care of the ball, they should be able to handle this under-rated Purdue team. However, a sluggish performance on the road by Penn State would not shock me, and I have included Purdue on my list of upset teams for this weekend.