The Good
On paper, this is yet another game we should not only win, but dominate. We're also playing at home, which usually bodes well for PSU. Then again, we were supposed to beat Temple so what do any of us know? The Buffalo Bulls are a perennial MAC bottom-feeder with no real superstars to speak of. But they do have a new head coach, Lance Leipold, who transitioned from Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater. And no, I'm not being sarcastic when I say "powerhouse;" Leipold's record while coaching there was an astounding 109-6, including 6 National Championships. That's right, he had the same number of losses as National Titles! Talk about impressive! Still, new coaches are always at a disadvantage as they try to install their systems and get players to buy in.
We didn't learn much from their stomping of Albany last week. Now we see how they handle a real opponent. As for their roster, the defense was pretty bad last year despite bringing back loads of experience. This year they have the opposite problem with a very young and inexperienced defense that has yet to prove themselves. CB Boise Ross and LB Okezie Alozie are both from Bethlehem, PA and might be the only real threats, although, with our offense, every defense is apparently a threat.
The Bad
John Donovan is still the offensive coordinator, the starters on the offensive line don't appear to have changed, and Nyeem Wartman-White is still out for the season. The few "answers" we got at practice this week didn't exactly inspire confidence that the necessary adjustments had been made to put a fully functioning offense on the field. We can only hope that we don't see a repeat of last week. The basic gist from the staff was, "we didn't play well, we're still young, we have to solve these problems, James Franklin is going to get more involved" At least they're acknowledging they have problems, I guess. Still no word on who will start at middle LB in place of Wartman-White. Gary Wooten filled in last week, with spotty results. Unfortunately, behind him are a whole bunch of freshmen who aren't nearly ready to be the vocal leader of a defense. I have a lot of trust in DC Bob Shoop, but he doesn't exactly have a lot of bodies to plug in yet as the effects of the sanctions continue to linger. Oh, and to top it off, between the Temple loss and the fact that it's a noon kick off, the atmosphere in Happy Valley may prove to be somewhat sleepy.
Buffalo's strength is on offense where they bring in 5th year senior gunslinger, Joe Licata, who has started 29 games already in his career and will probably graduate with every conceivable school passing record. He's a fairly underrated QB who makes up for his lack of physical gifts with a firm grasp on the mental aspects of the game. He might give our defensive backfield everything they can handle. There is no standout WR on the Bull's roster, but Licata is great at distributing the ball, connecting on passes to 8 different players last week. Too be fair, that was an FCS team.
The Story
Hmmm, stories, stories... not much in the way of stories for this game. Penn State has only squared off against Buffalo twice before, and one of those games was all the way back in 1900. Realistically, I think the fans just want to see the offense, and particularly the offensive line, play better than they did against Temple. As long as we don't see another complete meltdown, this should be a relatively quiet weekend with an easy win before we open up conference play against Rutgers next week in prime time. There will be plenty of storylines in that game, trust me.
The Prediction
No matter what I say here I'm going to be horribly wrong, but I also don't think anyone will care. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Nittany Lions bounce back in a big way this week. The offensive line takes advantage of a weak defense and starts to show some signs of cohesion. With time in the pocket Hackenberg throws for 250 yds and 2 TDs with no INTs. Daesean Hamilton and Chris Godwin receive the bulk of those passes and score a TD each. Akeel Lynch has a nice day with 100+ yds rushing and a TD of his own. And of course, Joey "Big Toe" Julius puts at least one FG through the uprights. On defense, things are shaky at times as the middle LB situation works itself out. Brandon Bell gets an interception, and Anthony Zettel forces a fumble. They let up some yardage and points, but mostly through the air as they completely shut down Buffalo's running game. Penn State starts their string of 5 consecutive home games with their first W of the season and John Donovan survives another week on the hot seat. Final score: 27-10
Check back either Sunday or Monday (whenever I get time) for the weekly Wrap Up post. Head on over to my Facebook page for all the latest news and notes on all things Penn State. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!
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