Penn State Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Pitt Panthers
3. Penn State sacks Max Browne five times
In Pitt’s Week 1 game against Youngstown State, new starting quarterback Max Browne was sacked three times.
And in Week 2, Browne may not fare any better.
Browne, once the top-rated pro-style quarterback prospect in the nation coming out of high school, began his career at USC, but was unable to find consistent playing time while sharing a quarterback’s room with Cody Kessler and Sam Darnold.
After being benched in the third game of the 2016 season for the aforementioned Darnold, Browne decided to transfer to Pitt to play out his final year of college eligibility.
While Max Browne does bring a strong skill-set to replace departed starting quarterback Nate Peterman, he isn’t without his weakness — most notably his statuesque prescience in the pocket.
In 15 career games, Browne has rushed the ball 18 times for a total of -30 yards. While new offensive coordinator Shawn Watson isn’t particularly well-known for needing a mobile quarterback to run his offense, having one with such limited mobility is going to lead to a lot of sacks.
Especially if the Panthers find themselves in a shootout.
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If Pitt is going to have any chance of going shot for shot against James Franklin’s high-powered Nittany Lions offense, the team will need to put some serious points on the board, which means they will need to keep a clean pocket for long enough to set up deep passing routes for veteran receivers Jester Weah and Quadree Henderson.
While the Panthers typically predicate their offense off of the run, whether it be with Henderson’s signature jet sweep play, or power running plays with junior running back, and former ACC freshman of the year Quadree Ollison, if Pitt falls behind early they will need to air the ball out to the team’s speedy outside options if they want to have a chance.
But they’d better do it fast.
Penn State’s defense is absolutely stacks with defensive play-makers who could make Browne’s visit to Happy Valley a miserable experience.
Penn State’s defensive line is the lifeblood of the Nittany Lions’ pass rush. Whether it’s interior pass rushers like Parker Cothren and Curtis Cothran, who combined for 6.5 sacks in their college careers, or speedy outside rushers like Torrence Brown and rising star Shareef Miller, Pitt’s offensive line will be busy all afternoon.
In addition to the Nittany Lions’ defensive line, the team also has athletic playmakers in their back-seven, like linebackers Koa Farmer and Manny Bowman and superstar safety Marcus Allen who could all serve as effective blitzers if called upon. While defensive coordinator Brent Pry typically relies on his line to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks, he could selectively pepper in exotic blitzing packages in-order to disrupt the Panthers’ backfield.
If Penn State and Pitt’s Week 2 game turns into a shootout, it could spell disaster for Browne.