Trending
Last week's 27-9 win over Temple wasn't as impressive as the Penn State football team would have liked.
The run game had its issues, and the offensive line is still a question mark.
Here are five keys to a win Saturday in the last non-conference game with Buffalo.
1. Make it a 'get right' game: Saturday is the last opportunity to correct all the wrongs before getting into the Big Ten schedule. PSU opened as 40.5-point favorites against the Bulls, so it should be the perfect time to make it look better than last week.
First priority should be to get the run game going with the quartet of backs that are highly-touted. One of those backs in Quinton Martin Jr. did not record a carry last week, so it will be interesting to see what kind of action he gets today.
2. Limit mistakes: Everyone knows that the miscues made last week can't become the norm for the Lions. Placekicker Ryan Barker missed a 33-yard field goal. Quarterback Rocco Becht threw a pass over the line of scrimmage. The RBs were stuffed at the goal line three downs in a row. All of that happened just in the first quarter alone last week.
The miss from Barker was very uncharacteristic, so he gets a pass for now. Ditto for Becht, who has been a large positive so far. But none of the above can become a habit.
3. More Tony: It's no question that Tony Rojas is the leader of the defense this season. He was the leading tackler in both of the first two games, and also added an interception last week. It's becoming more apparent by the week how much he was missed last season after going down in the Oregon game.
4. More of the tight ends: Benjamin Brahmer had six touchdowns last season with Iowa State. He's already at three for this season. While Brahmer is already a key in the offense, there's also three other tight ends that are talented. Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said this week that Gabe Burkle is on a pitch count right now in his return from injury, but he will likely be more of a factor as the season goes on. Andrew Rappleyea and Finn Furmanek are great in the run blocking game. The sky is the limit for the whole group.
5. Get home: The Penn State defense sacked Marshall quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson twice in Week 1. They got to former PSU QB Jaxon Smolik once last week. It would be encouraging to see that number increase before getting into conference play. Rojas, Caleb Bacon, and Yvan Kemajou have the three sacks so far.
With Max Granville now out for the season, it would be great for the group if another edge rusher could step up and get in the sack column. Ikenna Ezeogu is the No. 1 candidate to get after the quarterback.