5 things to watch in Saturday night’s Penn State-Buffalo college football game
The No. 15 Penn State Nittany Lions will take on the MAC’s Buffalo Bulls in Happy Valley at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (FOX) in a Week 2 matchup. Here are five things you should keep an eye on:
Will QB Sean Clifford start fast and flash more?
Clifford’s first career start is in the books — and he didn’t impress everyone. Most notably, Clfford acknowledged afterward he was nervous for the first two drives, and that showed in a big way. He overthrew his tight end for a long gain, he wasn’t setting his feet, and he wasn’t coming across calm and poised like he usually is.
The redshirt sophomore bounced back after that and played fine. But Saturday is another opportunity to prove those nerves were just first-time jitters. Clifford will be playing under the lights so, if he starts off fast, that’s a good sign the butterflies are behind him — and there’s a better chance the big-game atmosphere of a Michigan or Ohio State won’t intimidate him.
Clifford didn’t need to do much last week in leading Penn State to a win. And, to be frank, he might not need to do much Saturday. But he’s shown in practice he’s capable of big throws, and one or two of those against Buffalo would be a big step in the right direction.
Special-teams improvements
Quick note to Penn State fans: You might want to stay in your seats on kickoffs and other special-teams plays this season. The Nittany Lions are much more fun to watch in 2019.
Jordan Stout, who transferred from Virginia Tech, has already shown himself to be one of the strongest-legged kickers in PSU history. Seriously; we can already say that after Week 1. He nailed a 53-yard field goal last week, and only three Nittany Lions have ever gone farther. He could break that record later this season; his 13 touchbacks were also a record, since at least 2011 when kickoffs moved to the 35-yard line.
But it’s not just Stout who’s worth watching. Kick/punt returner KJ Hamler is an electric playmaker, and he wasn’t given much of an opportunity last week to take one to the house. That could very well change in Week 2. Hamler is dangerous, and the Bulls won’t see speed like Hamler’s very often.
This is a more aggressive, more focused group under the new leadership of first-year coordinator Joe Lorig. And that should be evident again Saturday night.
Third-down offense
Third downs plagued the Nittany Lions’ offense last season, as they finished No. 86 nationally with a 37.1 percent conversion rate. Surprisingly, against Idaho, third downs remained an issue — Penn State finished 1-for-8 on third downs.
James Franklin wasn’t pleased with that department.
“We weren’t as good on third down as we need to be,” he said. “Obviously, that will be an emphasis as we continue moving forward.”
Was Idaho just an anomaly, something that shouldn’t be a concern with all those explosive plays? Or will last season’s issue bleed into the 2019 campaign? Saturday night should provide another glimpse; if Penn State struggles against Buffalo, that’s not good news moving forward.
Penn State DL vs. Buffalo OL
Let’s be honest: The Nittany Lions’ first two games are snoozefests. The matchups are lopsided, the scores shouldn’t be close, and the backups should get plenty of playing time. But there is still one mild test ahead of the Nittany Lions on Saturday night.
The Bulls’ offensive line is a good one. They return four starters from last season, and they can probably compare to a lower-tier Big Ten team there. Penetrating Idaho’s offensive line was about as difficult as punching through a wet paper bag; Buffalo shouldn’t be a pushover.
Left tackle Evin Ksiezarczyk is one of the MAC’s best offensive linemen. And RT Kayode Awosika and LG Paul Nosworthy are both good players. This won’t be the best offensive line Penn State plays — not by a long-shot — but it won’t be the worst, either.
Watch how Yetur Gross-Matos handles Ksiezarczyk. If he dominates the tackle, that bodes well for the B1G — and bigger — matchups.
RBBC: What running back impresses this time?
The Nittany Lions’ running-back-by-committee approach is one Happy Valley isn’t used to, but it worked pretty well last week. Ideally, Franklin and RB coach Ja’Juan Seider would like to spread the carries among four backs — Ricky Slade, Journey Brown, Noah Cain and Devyn Ford. If someone has a hot hand, Franklin and Co. would stick with him — rather than pulling a vintage 2015 Rutgers and rotating no matter what, momentum be damned.
Seider has done this before. In 2016, with West Virginia, his four top backs all finished with between 49 and 163 carries on the season. In Week 1, Penn State’s top four backs all finished with between five and nine carries apiece.
Slade and Brown currently appear to be 1-2, but the true freshman tandem of Cain-Ford can’t be ignored. Ford was last week’s standout with 107 yards on six carries, including an 81-yard TD, and Slade lagged behind with nine yards on five carries. Will Slade bounce back, and/or will Ford continue to impress?
Penn State’s running backs are among the team’s most mysterious position group. Slade (45) and Brown (8) combined for 53 carries last season, and fans didn’t see Ford run in a Penn State uniform until last Saturday. We’ll know a bit more after the Buffalo game.
This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 7:34 PM.