Ahead of the big matchup on WPXI between Penn State and Oregon, the Channel 11 sports team talked with Nicole Auerbach, the lead college football insider for NBC Sports and a contributor to Big Ten College Countdown.
On the biggest storyline for Saturday night’s game:
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“To me, the biggest storyline of this game is Penn State. It’s whether or not all the guys that decided to come back to chase a national championship are going to be able to do that. They have to win big games, like a home game against Oregon, like a road trip to Ohio State, to show that they’re capable of beating the sports elite teams, and this is the first big opportunity for them. And obviously, everyone knows James Franklin’s record against top five and top 10 teams, and this is the first chance to try to change that narrative.
Could PSU be seeking revenge for losing to Oregon in the 2024 Big 10 Championship game:
“I think there’s definitely a chance that Penn State would love to get revenge after losing to Oregon, and it was a really fun and exciting, exhilarating, Big 10 Championship game last year. I think you’ve also got a little bit of a revenge factor for Oregon, looking at Jim Knowles as the defensive coordinator for Penn State, because he was the one that was part of that awful loss in the Rose Bowl when Ohio State just completely torched Oregon in the national quarter finals last year. So there’s a lot of a familiarity between these two teams, but a lot of different story lines with within that familiarity of trying to get revenge for something that was a little tough to swallow a year ago.”
On PSU’s & Oregon’s explosive offensive and solid defense:
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“Well, Penn State and Oregon both have incredible defensive players. They both have great edge guys, and then obviously Penn State’s got dudes at all three levels of the defense, and Oregon’s got great linebackers that are really smart players. But the headliners are the offensive players on both these teams, right? Because Penn State brought back, Drew Allen, brought back, Kytron Allen and Nick Singleton, and so you’re expecting them to be able to run the ball, to set up the pass, and that they’ve upgraded at the receiver position. This is where it’s really going to be tested in a game of this magnitude. The flip side of that is Oregon’s awesome. Dante Moore might be better than Dylan Gabriel was last year. He is hitting all of his receivers in stride. He can make every single pass, and he’s really comfortable in this offense, because he sat in that room last year backing up Dylan Gabriel. And then you’ve got a lot of different weapons out there. So you’ve got to Dakorien Moore, who’s an awesome freshman receiver. He’s going to be a huge star in the sport of college football. And then you’ve got Kenyan Sadiq, who is a little bit of everything tight end for them. So if we call him a pass catcher, we can group him in there, because I think the passing game for Oregon is going to be a huge challenge for Penn State, and they’ve been so explosive so far, but Kenyan Sadiq has been so great. I talked to offensive coordinator Will Stein earlier this week. He said, I’ve never coached a tight end like him.
Pressures for Penn State to win the big game during a whiteout:
“I think the whiteout can only help Penn State in this big game atmosphere. I mean, it’s something that Oregon has to prepare and plan for. And Dan Lanning has never been to a white out game, and it’s going to be a shock to the system. It always is for people who have never experienced it. I’m sure the Penn State fans will count the false starts and all of the different things that they use to measure their impact on a game, but that’s got to be a huge boost for Penn State in this big game environment. They are going to try to make it tougher on their opponent. James Franklin asked the fans to do that, and so that could certainly be a huge help for Penn State, as they’re trying to kind of break through and prove that they can win the big
Added pressure for Oregon since they won’t face Ohio State this year:
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“They have USC, who could also be decent this year. But yeah, this is the crown jewel of Oregon schedule, for sure. It’s the one that everyone’s been circling. You know, there’s, there’s potentially some interesting matchups. Now, with Indiana, and then USC looks a lot better this year, both are still on the schedule. But with them avoiding Ohio State, this is kind of their marquee opportunity to say, ‘Hey, we saw how last season ended. We know we were the number one seed heading into the college football playoff, and we didn’t even make it to the semifinals. This year is going to be different.’ We’re going to be able to take this step, kind of the same step Penn State’s talking about taking, but this is an opportunity for Oregon to make that statement as well, in a really tough environment, in the whiteout.
On if she believes the players will come out tight in a huge atmosphere until the primetime lights:
“I think the players come out a little bit tight. I think it’s going to be overwhelming to start, even when you’re prepared, even when you’re a Penn State player, it’s the whiteout. You’re so amped and you’re so excited. That’s why I think, you know, both teams have talked about this, but it’s really important for them to establish the run and kind of settle into the game, see how the defensive coordinators are trying to prepare and push them, and then adapt from there. So I think it is going to be a huge storyline about like, settling into the game, settling into the environment, and then try to figure out if you can dictate play the way you want.”
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