Photos from the East Coast

Beating brings W-B man 21-42 months

First Posted: 10/4/2012 This has been a shootout each of the past two seasons. I t would have been in 2009 as well had Mike Kafka not gotten hurt in the first half.
Well, both Penn State and Northwestern are as healthy as they're going to get for the middle of the season. So there's little to suggest that this will turn into a defensive struggle.
After facing off in four straight seasons, the Nittany Lions and Wildcats will rotate off of each other's schedules for awhile. So enjoy what should be another back-and-forth matchup.
--derek
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<div style="text-align: center">NORTHWESTERN vs. PENN STATE</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">QUARTERBACK</div>
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Only on the first position and we have to deal with a technicality. Matt McGloin is the best passer who will suit up for this game, but it's basically a toss-up whether he or Kain Colter will have a bigger impact on the outcome. Penn State needs to figure out quickly where Colter will be lining up to keep in the game. To win the game, the Lions need to also anticipate what the new wrinkle for him in the offense will be. Though last week was the first time this season Colter played receiver, he did it plenty last year against Penn State in Evanston. Sophomore Trevor Siemian has shown he's very capable of stepping in under center for drives at a time to allow Colter to move around. McGloin, meanwhile, has had as much success against the Wildcats as anyone -- "He's killed us," NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said this week -- throwing six touchdowns and no picks in a pair of wins. All of the ingredients are there for a third straight solid performance.&amp;nbsp;EDGE: PSU
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<div style="text-align: center;">RUNNING BACK</div>
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Yes, Northwestern has not beaten Penn State since 2004. But the dynamic looks much different for the Wildcats on offense this time around. While the scheme remains the same, NU is doing far more damage on the ground, as the Cats -- believe it or not -- bring the country's ninth-rated rushing attack into Beaver Stadium. Some of that credit goes to Kain Colter, sure, but for the first time since Tyrell Sutton (when he was able to stay healthy), the Cats have a legitimate feature back. That would be diminutive speedster Venric Mark, who averages better than 100 yards per game himself. Penn State is coming off of its finest rushing day of the season, pounding Illinois into submission with sophomore Zach Zwinak. It was tough to see coming even in camp, but Zwinak likely will keep the same role now after two successful weeks, providing a helpful change of pace to Bill Belton. One imagines those two will get more time as the season goes along, with Derek Day and Curtis Dukes ceding carries.&amp;nbsp;EDGE: NU
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<div style="text-align: center;">RECEIVER</div>
<img style="float: right;" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" alt="" width="150" height="113" />As expected, Allen Robinson faced plenty of extra attention to open Big Ten play, finishing with his quietest day of the season out at Illinois. Hard to imagine that continues this week. Northwestern does not appear to match up well at all with the Lions' talented sophomore, who could be poised for a big game -- particularly if this one indeed ends up at 50 or 60 total points. The Lions would like to develop one more consistent threat at wideout, though they have no problem with getting the big plays from tight ends like Kyle Carter and Matt Lehman, who have three touchdowns between them. Carter showed off the versatility of the F-TE spot in O'Brien's offense. Twice he lined up at fullback last week and Illinois simply ignored him as a receiving option, leading to a pair of big gains. With a bigger emphasis on the run game, Northwestern's numbers aren't as impressive here as usual, though the Cats will still spread the defense out with four and occasionally five receivers. Demetrius Fields is a veteran talent. Still looking to make an impact is much-hyped USC transfer Kyle Prater, who has just five short catches on the year. EDGE: PSU
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OFFENSIVE LINE
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Two new coaches can be most credited for the improvement up front for the Lions this year. Obviously new line coach Mac McWhorter -- coaching the entire unit instead of having it split up between tackles and interior guys as in past years -- is right at the top of the list. But don't discount the role of strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald, as the Lions have looked to be in better shape than their opponents outside of a sluggish second half in the opening loss to Ohio. Combine that with a larger rotation of guys being used, and the difference is noticeable. Illinois' defensive front was the unit's first big test, and there were some struggles in pass protection, namely three sacks. But a few could have been helped by a quicker release by McGloin. The run blocking was obviously much better. Northwestern's group looks to better than the Cats usually have and it hasn't been thrown off by a surprising run-pass ratio that's approaching 65/35. That does mean, however, that the 10 sacks they've allowed is a concern, given the decreased number of dropbacks.&amp;nbsp;EDGE: PSU
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DEFENSIVE LINE
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Six different PSU players teamed up for three sacks last week, and the Lions thought they probably should have had more, given that Illinois was forced to pass almost 50 times while playing from behind all afternoon. Credit the mobility of the Illini's Nathan Scheelhaase there. It will be a similar challenge if Kain Colter is the one taking most of the snaps on Saturday, and that could be reason enough for Northwestern to limit snaps for Trevor Siemian. Neither team has had a truly dominant pass rusher through five games, with NU's Tyler Scott leading the way with three sacks. Northwestern's run defense has been a particular bright spot, however, and it starts with some good work up front with ends Scott and Quintin Williams and tackles Brian Arnfelt and Sean McEvilly. Their numbers -- just 90 rushing yards allowed per game -- are a bit skewed as opponents are typically playing catch-up against the Cats and throwing often against a subpar secondary. EDGE: PSU 
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<div style="text-align: center">LINEBACKER</div>
<img style="float: right;" src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm187/dlevarse/Penn_State-1.gif" alt="" width="150" height="113" />Northwestern's improved linebacker play is as big a reason as any for the team's strong start. Inconsistent last season to the point where Pat Fitzgerald was benching starters, the trio this year -- Damien Proby in between Chi Chi Ariguzo and David Nwabuisi has spent a lot of time already in opposing backfields. Strong performances against Vanderbilt and Boston College helped the Cats hold both teams to just 13 points apiece. What the Wildcats lack, however, is a gamebreaker in the mold of Mauti, who was well-deserving of national and Big Ten defensive player of the week honors. Few defenders in the country were in on as many big plays in September. Mauti has backed up some big talk from the summer both on the field and in the locker room by being the Lions' main emotional spark. And that's not to forget about Hodges, who turned in perhaps his best game in a Penn State uniform last October in Evanston, coming up with a key interception early in the second half to finally break the Cats' rhythm. EDGE: PSU
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<div style="text-align: center;">SECONDARY</div>
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Wrote plenty above about how Northwestern has done more damage rushing this year, but that doesn't mean the Lions' defensive backfield will have a light day as it did against, say, Navy. No, Northwestern will test the Lions' tackling ability out on the perimeter with plenty of bubble screens and short tosses. The good news for Penn State is that guys like senior corner Stephon Morris have been pretty reliable tacklers. Morris is definitely at the top of that list. The third-down defense has also improved because of the development of true freshman Da'Quan Davis, allowing Adrian Amos to slide back to safety on obvious passing downs. Northwestern is fortunate to have top defensive back Ibraheim Campbell healthy and ready to go. The numbers have not been kind to Northwestern in the secondary, which comes into the game ranked 106th in the country. Again, take into consideration that opponents have been forced to pass often against Northwestern because of early deficits. But this still represents Penn State's best opportunity to win the game.&amp;nbsp;EDGE: PSU
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<div style="text-align: center;">SPECIAL TEAMS</div>
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This is about as lopsided as it gets. All of the things that Penn State does very poorly, Northwestern is stellar at. On field goals, Sam Ficken is just 2-for-8. Northwestern's Jeff Budzien hasn't missed a kick yet this year. Punter Alex Butterworth has been getting better, but the Cats' Brandon Williams is in the top 25 in net punting so far. Most importantly, while Penn State has done little in the return game outside of a pair of 20-something-yard punt returns, Northwestern is happy to put tailback Venric Mark back on kickoffs and punts, where he is extremely dangerous. The bright spot for the Lions is that the coverage units have been very dependable. They did a good job bottling up a similarly statured return man in Temple's Matt Brown. But one missed tackle on Saturday against Mark could turn this game completely around.&amp;nbsp;EDGE: NU
 
<div style="text-align: center;">OUTLOOK</div>
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Going down the columns here certainly paints a rosy picture for the Nittany Lions. But this is how it usually is for Northwestern -- outclassed on paper and in top-to-bottom talent, but not on the field. The Wildcats are well-coached and they have been particularly strong in the first half. They have rarely had to play from behind. At the start of the week, I had Northwestern in mind as the pick in this one. I was most concerned that not having Tom Bradley around to again shut down the Cats in the second half (76-0 after halftime in the last four meetings) would be a considerable problem. To that end, I'd expect Northwestern to break a few streaks -- ending that second-half misery while also becoming the first team this season to score on the Lions in the first quarter. But I'm also not sold on a Wildcats secondary that's giving up 289 yards per game. I think they'll struggle to stop Allen Robinson and Kyle Carter. And while I don't think this will have quite so dramatic a finish as the 2005 game did, this should easily be the most entertaining game of the year to watch as both offenses try to one-up the other with creativity.&amp;nbsp;EDGE: PSU
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PREDICTION: PENN&amp;nbsp;STATE 35, NORTHWESTERN 31

NITTANY NOTES: Lions-Wildcats Breakdown