Penn State Football: 3 keys to victory in 2019 Cotton Bowl vs. Memphis

1. Penn State needs to be ready to go from the start

Memphis is making their first ever appearance in a New Year’s Six Bowl. While they will be without their head coach Mike Norvell, who is now the coach at Florida State, the Tigers will be highly motivated in this one to knock off a top 10 team from the Power Five. Penn State must match the same intensity from the opening kickoff.

James Franklin and Penn State can say they are happy to be in the Cotton Bowl, which is a prestigious bowl with a storied history. However the Lions have to be somewhat disappointed in not getting to the Rose Bowl and also with facing a Group of Five opponent.

If Penn State comes out with that mentality, Memphis’ high scoring offense will take advantage and look to bury the Lions early. In Penn State’s two losses against Minnesota and Ohio State, the Lions got behind early and had to play catch-up the rest of the way.

Penn State must show up and prove they want to be there. The Penn State offense tended to fall asleep at times this year, having many stalled drives. With Ricky Rahne’s departure as now head coach at Old Dominion, what will interim offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen’s offense look like? Bowen may be auditioning for the full time job so expect some motivation on his part to have the Lions offense clicking.

Penn State has the overall talent advantage over Memphis. They just need to show up and perform to the best of their abilities. No falling asleep at the wheel and taking multiple offensive drives off.