No. 13 Penn State vs. Buffalo: Game Preview

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The Nittany Lions return home to close out the non-conference slate.

Penn State (2-0) vs. Buffalo (1-1)

Kickoff: Noon, Beaver Stadium, State College, PA

The Betting Line: Penn State –40.5 (Fanduel)

TV: BTN, Noon, Chris Vosters (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analyst), Caroline Hendershot (sideline)

Weather: A pleasant day with a high of 70, with a small chance of rain in the afternoon.

COACHES:

Matt Campbell:

PENN STATE RECORD: 2-0, 1st Year

OVERALL RECORD: 109-70, 15th Year

VS. BUFFALO: 2-0

Pete Lembo:

BUFFALO RECORD: 15-12, 3rd Year

OVERALL RECORD: 127-77, 18th Year

VS. PENN STATE: 0-0

FUN FACTS

Penn State is 3-1 against Buffalo and 33-3 against MAC opponents…Rocco Becht has seven TD passes through the first two games, the most to start the season since Tony Sacca in 1991…Penn State is currently first in the Big Ten in scoring defense, passing defense, and explosive play % defense…nationally, Penn State is first in scoring defense and fourth in passing defense.

BUFFALO OFFENSE VS. PENN STATE DEFENSE

Buffalo may be without starting quarterback Elijah Holmes, who missed the second half against Florida International with a knee injury. Sophomore Jason Wright filled in but struggled, completing 13-of-27 pass attempts with two touchdowns and an interception. Wright will have the advantage of Chance Morrow though, a senior receiver with NFL potential. The 6-4 target already has five touchdown catches on the season, and his 18 receptions are three times more than the second-leading receivers, tight end Clint Walker and receiver Jaylen Andrews.

The Bulls have a two-man rushing attack split evenly between Terrance Shelton Jr. and Messiah Burch. Shelton is a bigger back that can get tough yards between the tackles, while Burch is the more explosive play threat.

Penn State’s starting defense has only allowed three points through the first two games. They have left little room for error thus far outside of a handful of missed assignments and tackles – which has mostly been due to many inexperienced players rotating in. Tony Rojas leads the team in tackles despite playing limited downs. He will likely be on a pitch count on Saturday before playing more regularly when Big Ten play begins.

Transfer defensive tackles Siale Taupaki and Keanu Williams have also emerged as difference-makers in the trenches. It’s clear that the addition of big, speace-eating defensive tackles is helping everyone else on the field make plays.

PENN STATE OFFENSE VS. BUFFALO DEFENSE

Rocco Becht has looked every bit the nation’s most experienced quarterback through two games. He’s completed 76% of pass attempts with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s also done an admirable job of spreading the wealth and getting many targets involved in the passing game, making it more difficult for defenses to key on specific players.

The running game has not been as effective as the aerial attack thus far. While it’s been serviceable, the lack of big plays on the ground has been quite noticeable against Marshall and Temple. Carson Hansen seems set as the primary back for now, with twice as many carries (30) as James Peoples (15). Surprisingly, Quinton Martin Jr. did not see the field against Temple after impressive performances in his previous two games, going back to the Pinstripe Bowl where he had 105 rushing yards against Clemson. At this point, the running game has been steady and mostly reliable, but not explsosive by any means.

Buffalo’s defense held Albany to 17 points in week one, but allowed 33 to Florida International in a week two loss. Buffalo has two standouts at linebacker in SaVeon Brown and Stevie Bracey. Brown is a standout in coverage while Bracey is used more to get after the quarterback on passing downs. Christopher Climes in a rising star at defensive tackle that can cause headaches for the interior of the line.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Ryan Barker had a rare miss on Saturday, which was his first missed attempt under 40 yards of his career. However, he bounced back and made his next two field goals. Punter Nathan Tiyce is off to a great start to his Penn State career. While his average of 41.6 yards per punt isn’t eye-popping, Tiyce has shown excellent control and the ability to regularly pin the ball inside the five.

Buffalo kicker Oliver Hautanen has made both attempts on the season, including a 51-yard field goal.

PREDICTION

Penn State-42, Buffalo-6

The non-conference portion of the schedule should come to an uneventful close with another win by the Nittany Lions. Buffalo is likely the worst team Penn State will play this season, and I don’t expect them to put up much of a fight – especially with a backup quarterback facing this defense in front of the Beaver Stadium crowd.

Penn State made just enough mistakes against Temple for the coaching staff to work on cleaning up things this week – most notably, some pesky missed coverages and tackles, as well as trying to find something more explosive in the running game. Overall, I’m expecting another week of ferocious defense, Rocco Becht regularly hooking up with several targets, and a heavy rotation of players seeing the field to prepare for bigger things ahead. And most importantly, an overwhelming victory for the Nittany Lions.

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