Big Ten Redemption This Weekend? Week 3 Vegas Big Ten Predictions Here.
Saturday Blitz Big Ten Predictions Week 3
Game of the Week
Penn State Nittany Lions at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Line: Penn State by 3
With these two teams playing in the same conference, this game is now like taking a step back in time. Pennsylvania is one of the earliest places where the sport of football was played, Rutgers is the birthplace of college football, and the Big Ten is the oldest conference in college football. With these two teams now in the same division, it’s a rivalry made in heaven. If Rutgers can ever get on Penn State’s level as far as winning goes, that is.
Penn State is coming into this game riding very high. After a 2-0 start, a coach everybody believes in, and in great position in the Big Ten East, the Nittany Lions have now had their sanctions lifted and can compete for Big Ten championships this year. With Christian Hackenberg at quarterback, that’s more possible than you think. This team has a great offense and a pretty good defense, despite being incredibly young, that just needs to limit mistakes. Rutgers isn’t a great team defensively, having surrendered more than 500 passing yards against Washington State and 200 rushing yards against Howard, so Penn State can beat them either way if it utilizes its personnel. Right now, that appears to be Hackenberg, who has shown an incredible killer instinct and has lots of talent if he just stays consistent. The defense, meanwhile, could have a hard time with a very good Rutgers offense.
Tha Scarlet Knights have put up and 38 points respectively thanks to a very balanced offense with Kyle Flood at the helm. Senior Gary Nova is highly efficient at quarterback, and Paul James leads a very good running game. Together, they’ll be looking to exploit a Penn State defense that played pretty good against Akron but had some trouble against UCF. If they can force turnovers and mistakes on the defensive side of the ball, this becomes a very interesting and very winnable game for the Scarlet Knights. As they continue to try to prove they belong in the Big Ten, this is a great opportunity to show that, but a lot of things will have to go right against a Penn State team that is much better than people think.
Prediction
Hackenberg and Penn State will have a few early mistakes on the road against a very good Rutgers team, but it won’t matter as the game drags on. This team is simply too good, and the offense will get in a rhythm that the Rutgers defense has shown an inability to stop so far this season. This game will cement Penn State as firmly among the best teams in the Big Ten and the Big Ten East, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t hope to win that division this year.
Penn State: 28 Rutgers: 20