The eight-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions will play their home opener on Saturday against the Bowling Green Falcons. This game starts a stretch of four straight at Beaver Stadium. Bowling Green is the first of two MAC teams that Penn State plays in a row. Kent State will visit Happy Valley on September 21st, after Penn State’s first bye of the season next week. Following an emphatic 34-12 victory against Power Five opponent West Virginia in Week One, head coach James Franklin and his Nittany Lions will look to keep the momentum going. Facing what should be easier opponents over the next two weeks, the key will be tightening up execution before starting the Big Ten schedule against Illinois at the end of the month. Below is a preview of Penn State vs. Bowling Green, as a primer for their matchup.
Penn State vs. Bowling Green Preview: Penn State
Bowling Green (1-0) at #8 Penn State (1-0) Preview
When & Where: Saturday, September 7th, Noon ET, at Penn State
Last Week’s Results: Penn State won on the road, defeating West Virginia 34-12. Bowling Green beat Fordham at home, 41-17.
Last Season’s Results: Penn State finished ranked #13 after a 10-3 season that ended with a Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss. Bowling Green finished with a 7-6 record, losing to Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl. Of note, they had an early season victory over Georgia Tech and won five of their last six games.
Series History: This will be only the third time these programs face-off, with Penn State winning both previous games. The last time they met, Penn State won 48-3 in 1998.
Nittany Lions to Watch
Running Back Kaytron Allen
Kaytron Allen scored the second touchdown of the season for Penn State, on a 20-yard reception from Drew Allar. However, backfield mate Nick Singleton stole the show. Singleton finished with 114 yards on 13 carries, including a 40-yard touchdown. Allen, on the other hand, finished with only 20 yards rushing on 10 carries. He did not look as comfortable running the ball as he did last year, in particular on inside runs. In reviewing Allen’s performance against West Virginia, Franklin simply said, “Stats can be deceiving.” He reiterated his confidence in Allen’s abilities. Franklin also noted that given how plays and blocking unfolded, Singleton had more opportunities to create explosive plays.
Last season, Singleton and Allen would effectively alternate the feature-back duties. It remains to be seen if that will be the case under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who has arguably the best running-back tandem in the nation with Allen and Singleton. Allen’s abilities in running the ball, pass blocking, and receiving, are unquestioned. As the team’s 2023 rushing leader with 902 yards, Allen should continue to get opportunities and will look to prove he hasn’t lost a step in the matchup with Bowling Green.
If Penn State builds a big lead in this game, and if so how quickly, it may not be a huge statistical one for either Allen or Singleton. Absent injuries, if backup Cam Wallace takes the majority of late snaps, that would be just fine for Penn State. It would likely mean the game is not in doubt, with younger players gaining valuable playing experience.
Defensive End Abdul Carter
Abdul Carter, the preseason All-American, is switching from linebacker to primarily defensive end. Carter had an iffy start to the season. His aggressiveness was on display, without question. However, as it usually does, unchecked aggressiveness can lead to penalties. Carter was flagged four times. Three of the penalties were offside calls, as Carter was trying to time his attack perfectly. Ironically, there could have been a few more offside calls as well, that were not called by the officials. The other flag against Carter was a personal foul, resulting from a late hit out of bounds.
Other than the penalties, Carter was a no-show on the stat sheet, generating just one tackle. While new defensive coordinator Tom Allen rotated his defensive ends, including Carter, producing four penalties and one tackle is not representative of Carter’s talent. Carter may be the biggest puzzle facing Allen as the season unfolds. His talent, and potential, are undeniable, and he can be a major contributor to the defense’s success this season. However, he’ll need to keep the penalties down to maximize his impact.
Franklin defended Carter’s performance against West Virginia, saying, “Overall, I thought his first game as a full-time defensive end was very disruptive. I think he will get better each week.” The head coach credited Carter with doing things that don’t end up in the stat sheet, including taking on multiple blockers. Penn State will need him more and more as the Big Ten portion of the schedule kicks off in a few weeks.
Defensive Back Jaylen Reed
If Carter was a disappointment in his season debut, Jaylen Reed was very much the opposite. He was the best player on the defensive side of the ball for Penn State. This is not a total surprise, as Reed and fellow safety KJ Winston were expected to lead the defense. Against West Virginia, that is exactly what they did. Allen’s confidence in them, and corresponding praise, seems to be well-placed after the first game.
While Winston had a slightly better statistical tackling performance (12 tackles to Reed’s nine), and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors, Reed was all over the field. He had one tackle for loss and broke up two passes. His role is going to be critical to Allen’s defense. The coordinator utilizes a 4-2-5 scheme, which includes a hybrid safety/linebacker role that Reed is filling. This gives him a chance to impact games the way he did against West Virginia. Not only did he break up deep throws, but he also disrupted screen passes. The Bowling Green matchup will be a good opportunity for Reed to have the game continue to slow down for him in his hybrid role.
Kicker Sander Sahaydak (or Chase Meyer or Ryan Barker)
Following an overwhelmingly positive game for Penn State, the penalties on Carter and the kicking situation are questions moving forward. Sander Sahaydak was a feel-good story at the beginning of the West Virginia game. After winning the kicking competition heading into 2023, as profiled in last week’s preview, he had a disastrous first game against West Virginia last year. After missing his first two field goal attempts, he lost the job to Alex Felkins for the rest of the year. Sahaydak kept working and earned the trust of his team and coaches through the offseason.
Fast forward to 2024, and it seemed like deja vu. Sahaydak seemingly won this year’s kicking competition, getting the first crack at producing, this time on the road in Morgantown against the same West Virginia Mountaineers. He delivered on all four extra point attempts but missed his only field goal try, of 47 yards. Consequently, the kicking competition is probably still on, presenting a big decision for Franklin and new special teams coordinator Justin Lustig. That gives hope to experienced Tulsa transfer Chase Meyer and walk-on Ryan Barker. However, Franklin seems to still be in Sahaydak’s corner, saying he has a “Ton of confidence in him, based on what he did in training camp and spring ball.” The coach also expressed confidence that Sahaydak would make the next one.
