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PSU Playbook - Northwestern Preview
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PSU Playbook
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Nov 07, 2003 20:30 PST
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Dear Lion Faithful,
ND: Well, it’s time for the Lions to square off
against the team that my cousin refers to as
“Northworsten”. But, seeing as how the Wildcats have
two more wins in the Big Ten, maybe they aren’t the
worst. We know that this team is going to throw that
crazy misdirection offense at the Lions and we know
that they are going to be hungry for a win. The Lions
are coming off of a tough, tough loss against the
Buckeyes. Whether they are hungry or feeling sorry for
themselves will be seen on Saturday.
MH: The Lions are hungry for a win as well. This team
has been focused on a lot of positives coming out of
the Ohio State win. They know they can play with
anyone and have the ability to win. Hopefully that
focus that Zack Mills, Sean McHugh and David Kimball
have been talking about finds its way to Northwestern
with the Lion squad.
Dirty Details:
What: Penn State (2-7, 0-5) at Northwestern (4-5, 2-3)
When: Saturday November 8 at 12:00pm ET and 9:00am PT
Where: Ryan Field (47,130)
TV: ESPN2 with Pam Ward and Chris Spielman
Series: Penn State leads 7-1
Line: Penn State favored by 5pts.
Other Games to Watch:
ND: There are a couple of great games this weekend
that I will be watching. First off, I think the
Iowa/Purdue game is going to be a real dandy. Both
teams are solid defensively and have a ball-control
offense. The winner of this game will have a real shot
at a January 1 Bowl. Because the game is in West
Lafayette, I think Purdue is going to pull it off. The
other game that could be interesting is the Texas and
OK State games. Texas seems to play really well except
when they play teams from the state of Oklahoma. Lots
of people talk about Larry Fitzgerald, but there are
two great WRs in this game – Williams and Woods for
Texas and OSU respectively. I think the difference in
this game is the running of Texas’ Vince Young and
Cedric Benson.
MH: Who would have thought Purdue and Iowa would be a
formidable matchup, but both of these squads have been
playing solid ball this year. I think Iowa walks away
with a win from Purdue. The Iowa staff will have them
focused on wreaking havoc on that Purdue balanced
attack. Should be a good game.
Offense:
ND: Mark, the offense did some things really well last
week, but there is still plenty of room to improve.
First off, the Lions need to establish the run. Here’s
the scariest stat…MRob has the longest run of the
season with a 54 yard run. After that, Austin Scott
has the longest run at only 24 yards. The offensive
line must open up big holes and get downfield to block
the LBs and the safeties. Doing so, will allow guys
like Austin Scott and Tony Hunt drop the hammer and
bust off some long runs. The Wildcats are the first
team in the Big 10 that the Lions will have faced that
actually have a reputation of surrendering some yards
on the ground. They are giving up almost 180yds per
game on the ground. Luis Castillo is a big DT, but he
really doesn’t a whole heck of a lot to scare anyone.
He only has 47 tackles this season and 4.5 TFL this
season, which is not a lot for a DT. I think the Lions
to can run right at this team, which will take some of
the pressure off of the pass blocking and Zack Mills.
I think we were all thrilled to see Zack throw the
ball well and to see guys like Mo Humphries, Mike
Lukac, and Terrence Phillips make some nice plays in
the passing game. With a solid running game, I think
these guys can have an even greater impact. But, I
think the safeties of Northwestern are actually quite
good. Stuckey and Price make up for a very short
secondary. Mark, there is only 1 CB on the entire
roster that is even 6 feet tall and we probably won’t
see him at all on Saturday. I would love to see the
Lions go with a double TE, 2 WR, and a single back
lineup to get Kranchick matched up against one of
these smaller guys. Look for more play-action passing
in this game as I suspect the Wildcats will want to
stop the run and force the Lions to throw to win.
MH: You said it. The run is essential to this team’s
success. And that starts with the offensive line.
Austin Scott and Tony Hunt have the skills to get the
ground game going, but they need lanes and holes to
open up, even briefly. Northwestern does struggle on
the run, so don’t be surprised to see them stick eight
in the box and plug up those holes early. PSU’s staff
has a tendency to abandon the run if it isn’t
effective early. The Wildcats are banking on them to
go to the air. If that happens they feel that their
secondary is capable of defending the pass. Although
the Lions had great success in the air against OSU
they need to get a balanced attack going. Mills will
have to read the blitzing schemes well and get Matt
Kranchick, Mike Lukac and Sean McHugh involved in the
flat. Short passes and thus sustained drives are key
in this one. If they can wear down the Wildcat D they
can find consistent success. Nirav, don’t excite me
with the speculation of a two tight end set. I would
love it, but don’t think the PSU staff will go for it.
I would love to see a split back set with McHugh
paving the way for Scott. The single back sets won’t
work unless the offensive line has reinvented itself
this week. Place your bets on that! I certainly hope
we see more play-action and less option in this game.
Defense:
ND: Well, as I said, Northwestern is going to throw
some of that misdirection, hurry-up offense at the
Lions. They are going to run Jason Wright and they are
going to run QB Basanez. I have to admit that the
Northwestern offense is fun to watch when it is
actually working. Jason Wright is a great little
running back. He has 845yds and 14 TDs this year. He’s
small and shifty, so the Lions have to square up their
shoulders and wrap-up their tackles. The Wildcats love
to run that QB Decide where Basanez reads the defense
and decides whether to give it to Wright or to run it
himself. I think the key for the Lions is to force
Basanez to run the ball himself; he’s nowhere near as
dangerous as Wright. Look for Chisley to see more time
in this game because of his speed and long arms, which
will help him chase down Wright or Basanez. Basanez
isn’t that great of passer and his job is in jeopardy
as a result. Basanez is completing 54.7% of his
passes, which is good, but his TD/INT ratio is 0.33!
In other words, he has thrown only 3 TDs, but has
thrown 9 INTs. One thing that I am sure you loved Mark
was that the corners were playing more press coverage
last week, so look for Gardner and Zemaitis to be
right up on the line of scrimmage to force Basanez to
have to squeeze the ball into a tight spot. The two
main WRs for Northwestern are Jordan and Patrick. Both
are over 6 feet and have big play potential. The guy
that the Lions must account for is Jason Wright coming
out of the backfield. As a former WR, he has great
hands and could torch the Lions if they try to cover
him with Capone or even Wake. Look for Toles or Lowry
to matchup with him. The key to stopping this Wildcat
offense is to be patient and keep collapsing the
pocket. If that happens, I think the Lions should be
able to force some easy turnovers.
MH: Northwestern loves playing ‘fast-break’ offense.
The key to PSU is containment. If you can keep Jason
Wright contained you have a shot. The key is the
initial surge of the front seven. They need to get
pressure on the pocket, but be aware of Basanez as he
is dangerous on a roll out or scramble. He is
excellent on reads and has a daredevil attitude on
runs. The defensive ends have to play the angles on
him in order to run him down. The corners are going to
have to keep an eye on the rollouts and have solid
reads on the QB. I loved the press coverage by the
corners. Aggressive play is the key to disrupting the
pass. If we can get the Cats to doubt the run and go
to the air, Zemaitis, Gardner and company have the
opportunity to make a turnover or two. The linebackers
have to be on. Capone has to step up and make reads
and calls consistently. Toles and Wake will be key on
the wings, but that sped should be a solid advantage
for the Nitts.
Special Teams:
ND: Mark, this is going to sound absolutely crazy, but
I really hope that Joe puts MRob back returning punts
again. We obviously need him healthy in case Zack goes
down, but I think MRob is exactly the boost the Lions
need. Or, let’s put the burner Ernie Terrell back
there. The return game needs a punch in the arm and
these two guys can do it. Some good news is that the
Wildcats are pathetic at kicking the ball and
returning kicks. The FG kickers are a combined 3 for 8
with a long of 39 yards. The bend but don’t break
defense should work like a charm against the Wildcats.
MH: The bottom line is we need a return game. Lowry is
a solid player, but he just hasn’t shown the fortitude
to get consistent runs it. He has even struggled on
when to fair catch the ball. I personally do not think
that MRob is the guy. I would like to see Austin Scott
or Maurice Humphrey get a shot on returns. Kimball has
been practicing first team this week, so we should
have a solid field goal game coming into this one.
Matchup to Kickback and Enjoy:
ND: I think the matchup between Toles and Jason Wright
should be great to watch. Wright is quick on the
corner and Toles can close faster than any Lion. It
should be fun to see who gets to the line of scrimmage
first.
MH: I think that will fun one too. Another great one
will be Basanez against Toles and Wake. This QB can
run and make decisions on the fly. He will want to
break free from the pocket, in which case Toles and
Wake will have the tall order of containing him on his
scrambles.
Keys to the Game:
ND: Turnovers – plain and simple. If the Lions don’t
lose the turnover battle, they are going to win this
game. They have too much talent and too much ability
to lose. But, if the Lions play stupidly, the game
might be closer than expected.
MH: Balanced Attack – If the Nitts can get those long,
sustained drives going they will wear down the
Northwestern defense and build up some momentum. Three
and outs will kill the PSU offense in this one. You
can’t give the Wildcats an opportunity or they will
capitalize.
Predictions:
ND: Like I said, I think Penn State is going to play
solid football and is going to beat Northwestern
pretty easily, even though the score may not reflect
it.
PSU: 27 NU: 14
MH: I am not quite that confident. It depends how this
team reacts to a great OSU performance that resulted
in a loss. I think they come out swinging and win a
hard fought battle.
PSU: 24 NU: 10
Until next time,
GO STATE, BEAT WILDCATS!!
Nirav and Mark
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