Penn St. will have their first test of the season when it meets up with Oregon St. at 3:30 on Saturday in Happy Valley. Last week Penn St. had a warm-up game against Coastal Carolina in which they racked up 594 yards in total offense Рthe most in 13 seasons. The Nittany Lions should be able to move the ball consistently on the ground given that Stanford, not known for their ground game, rushed for 210 yards on the Beavers last week. Four Penn State ball carriers gained at least 60 yards last week which led to a team total of 334 rushing yards.
Oregon St., coming off of a 36-28 defeat against Stanford, will come in hoping to run the ball effectively and not have to put the ball in the air 50+ times. The Beavers are led by Junior QB Lyle Moevao, who was 34 of 54 for 404 yards while throwing 3 TDs and 2 INTs against Stanford. Moevao was forced to throw the ball 30 times in the 4th quarter as the Beavers were trying to mount a comeback.
Look for Penn State to grab control of this game early by pounding the ball inside the tackles and pressuring Moevao into hurried throws. The crowd of 107,000+ will have an effect on Oregon St. seeing as how they have never played in front of that big mass of humanity. Penn State 31-14
Notes
-This will be their first ever meeting between the two schools
-Penn St. will be without three players: DL Maurice Evans, DL Abe Koroma and TE Andrew Quarless, who were suspended for off-the-field issues
-Oregon St. will welcome the run-stopping ability of S Al Afalava who was suspended for the opening game
