In the spirit of "Kent St, Kent St, Kent St"

[stormingnorm]

This is going to be an interesting matchup (if not overly competitive... I hope)


Their new HC was with Dino Babers for most of his career (which should give you some idea of what he likes to do)…. Much like what Syracuse has done the last couple years, their offense can take a team like PSU away from what they would like to do:


Spread, No Huddle, Multiple Formations, Various Tempos (sometimes they run at "PSU speed", other times they can ramp it up to "Oregon under Chip Kelly speed")
The biggest challenge may be getting positioned and lined up correctly (FWIW, they made the Illinois defense look completely lost on several occasions... and should have won that game)
.
They also are very tactically intelligent and aggressive (including using all four downs a LOT.... something that they will most certainly do against a PSU team that has such a talent advantage).

Talent wise - of course - they don't match up (some nice quick little guys on O.... don't match up at all on D).


Kind of game were I would hate to be the D Coordinator.
They can give you a 4th Degree headache just trying to manage the sideline and keep up.

 

[doofis]

Kent State has done surprisingly well, defensively, against Penn State.

In 2016, Barkley was 22 carries for 105 yards. Longest was 28 yards.

I often read, pre-game, that Kent's smaller line will be pushed around by Penn State - and then it doesn't happen.

2016 ended 33-13... It was 16-13 at halftime.

Not predicting it will be even that close on Saturday. But Coach Lewis - a late hire - brought some good talent to the team on very short notice. The program has a whole new attitude.

 

[doofis]

Glen Mason was a great head coach for KSU. So was Doug Martin. And Darrell Hazell (he had Kent ranked #17 AP). This coach, Sean Lewis, might be the best since Don James.

 

[LafayetteBear]

Another blockbuster OOC opponent. (The conference schedule isn't too shabby, however. and the money is good.)

 

[diggerpup]

Yeah ... Kent should have beaten Illinois, on the road. Kent can play a little bit.


PSU will win comfortably, but the Vegas line of (-35) is a little jokey.

 

[ClarkstonMark]

55-10

 

[clubeb]

Looks like it will be another wet game.

 

[AWS1022]

Looks like it will be another wet game.

We love the mud, eat the mud. Our mudders were mudders.

 

[CaryPSU]

Wasn’t there a string of like a ton of games, where it didn’t rain?
The past 5-6 years have been the antithesis of that!
I drive up from N.C. for 2-3 games a year, and it always seems as if there’s a chance of rain!

 

[clubeb]

Me love the mud, eat the mud. Our mudders were mudders.

Just as long as it doesn't turn into Citrus bowl against LSU.