What ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit thinks of Penn State’s upset chances, no White Out, and more
Less than 24 hours before going live from Happy Valley, Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN’s “College GameDay” previewed Saturday night’s prime-time game between No. 18 Penn State and No. 3 Ohio State.
Herbstreit joined reporters on a Zoom conference call to discuss the Nittany Lions.
Here’s what he had to say about Penn State’s chances to pull an upset, the impact of no White Out, the Nittany Lions’ overtime loss to Indiana last week, redshirt sophomore defensive end Jayson Oweh and first-year offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s offense after one game:
What does Penn State need to do to keep in it with Ohio State or even beat Ohio State? What have you seen from both teams that Penn State has to overcome at this point in the season?
Kirk Herbstreit: I think they played really well last week, with the exception of the turnovers and the penalties. And I know they lost the game, but I think when they went back and looked at the film, I’m sure there was enough there to give them some confidence, even though they lost.
I think offensively, you got to avoid those miscues, obviously, and to me, it’s about creating some big plays. We were just talking with Coach (James) Franklin a little bit about that. Ohio State plays a certain style of defense — they’re gonna challenge you, they’re gonna put you in man-to-man situations, and it’s really going to come down to Penn State’s offense, especially with some new faces. Can they win man-to-man? Can they create some opportunities and make explosive (plays) and get separation? And the other thing that ties into that is: Do they give Sean Clifford enough time to be able to throw the football?
So I think it’s about explosives offensively, trying to take advantage of Ohio State playing a high-risk, high-reward type of defense. And then I think the other thing for Penn State’s defense is you’ve got to contain Justin Fields’ big-play ability and his creativity. (There are) so many things he can do to you, throwing the football and improvising. Penn State has such good defensive ends with (Jayson) Oweh and (Shaka) Toney that they’ve got to squeeze and not let him break contain and make a lot of big plays with his feet and his arm.
On Tuesday, Urban Meyer said that a Penn State White Out vs. no White Out would create a seven- to 10-point differential. How accurate of an assessment is that from Urban, in your opinion?
Kirk Herbstreit: It’s so subjective. It’s impossible to really know. We all brag every time I come to Penn State — we talk about the White Out, we talk about what an incredible atmosphere it is. The Penn State community really comes together. The players feed off of it; the team obviously is inspired by it. And if you eliminate that aspect of it ... It’s clearly a different game. ... We did the Minnesota-Michigan game up in Minneapolis last week and it was just family there. I mean, you score a big touchdown and it’s like (*softly claps*).
You know, you get a sack and a fumble, and usually the music’s going, and (now) it’s just nothing. So I don’t know who it favors — it’s just so different. Who can do a better job of showing maturity of generating emotion and energy and juice to get yourself ready to play a game? You take that kind of home field advantage away, it’s obviously going to have an impact on the game.
How will you personally miss the White Out atmosphere this year for such a big game at Beaver Stadium?
Kirk Herbstreit: I tweeted out a video of last year’s Penn State White Out just to kind of reflect on, “Man, we miss these atmospheres in a week like this.” But of course I’m gonna miss that energy. I love that stadium. I love that student section. I love when those two teams get together and I’m lucky enough to be in the booth calling the game. It’s one of my favorite games that I do all year, including national championships and the Rose Bowl and the semifinal — I do all these big games, but there’s something always I remember every year about the White Out.
So not being able to do that game this year, obviously, is something that’s not cool. But it is what it is, and I’m trying to stay in a very positive frame of mind and trying to reflect on (the fact that) we get to watch Shaka Toney pass rush Justin Fields. And we get to watch these two teams play each other, so I’m trying to stay in that lane.
Do you feel for Penn State fans after the way that last week (an OT loss at Indiana) ended?
Kirk Herbstreit: Yeah, I just feel for any fans, and especially players and coaches, when a game ends with a call like that. I was in our booth, and we’re literally a minute from going on air in Minneapolis and the game is in overtime. And we’ve got all these monitors up in our booth. And they put on other games. I’m like watching the game into the overtime, and then Indiana scored. We came on the air; we did our open. And then they scored. And then they’re reviewing it. And we went to our first break, and I’m watching and I’m looking at it … They had that angle, and it was like a super slow mo, and I kept seeing the ball hit the ground and then hit the pylon. And I’m like, “As far as I understand the rule, there’s no way that that’ll be good.” And they kept reviewing and kept reviewing, and then of course they said it was good, and I was like, “What? What in the heck?”
I was more perplexed, because I thought I knew the rule. And I thought you could clearly see the ball hit the ground. So I’m still kind of confused by the whole thing. I guess it was so close, it was one of those, ‘Whatever’s the call on the field, we’ll just stick with the call on the field.’ ... If I were a (Penn State) player, I would say, ‘Well, we turned it over three times, we had 10 penalties, we missed two field goals. We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position to begin with.’ That’s what I would say as a player. But as a fan, I’d be throwing something at my TV. Like anybody else, I’d be upset and frustrated — so I get it.
What have you seen from Jayson Oweh, particularly with him being a guy who only had a couple years of high school football before he got to Penn State?
Kirk Herbstreit: Last year, the coaches talked enough about him to enough people that it got us excited to see what he could do. And obviously, he had some great players ahead of him. And he played and he showed flashes of what he could be. And I think we forget he was a young player. And so now, he’s had (time), even in the midst of the COVID and the quarantine and everything going on.
Just talking with Coach (Brent) Pry, he was as dedicated as anybody on the defensive side of the ball and taking his game to a different level. And he personally, Coach Pry, was really excited from the results of that first game and how well he played and cannot wait to see how he plays Saturday and can’t wait to see how he plays the rest of the year. I think coaches always have a special place for guys that are not just talented but put in the work.
And so he’s got everything you’re looking for. I mean, I was just talking to Shaka (Toney), and Shaka’s like, ‘He’s legit 4.3 (in the 40-yard dash).’ I go, “Come on, Shaka?” He goes, ‘No. Defensive end, 4.3.’ I was like, “4.3?” He goes. ‘I’m telling you, when he goes to the combine, he’s gonna run a 4.3’ I was like, “I don’t doubt it.” Penn State sends guys to the combine, and I don’t know what they’re doing but they run 4.3s and 4.4s. But I’m excited to watch both Oweh and Toney, like I said earlier, against Fields and Fields’ creativity. Because (Oweh is) going to have to have a remarkable game in order to slow down what Justin Fields can do with his creativity.
It’s a small sample size, but what did you think of what you saw from the Penn State offense under OC Kirk Ciarrocca? And where do you kinda see it maybe evolving?
Kirk Herbstreit: I think we’re gonna have a better feel after this game. You know, I saw enough to like (what I saw). They moved the ball. I mean, if you go back and look at the game — and I’ve watched the game a couple times this week — they moved the ball. It was just the miscues, like we talked earlier. You know, we’re seeing that, by the way, as an epidemic around the country. Without having spring ball, being limited and restricted somewhat throughout camp. Some have been ahead of the curve, some have done a better job. … So let’s see how Penn State does in this game against a very athletic defense. Let’s see how the run pass option is blended in with what Penn State has normally done so well over the last few years with different offensive coordinators.
But I personally am gonna reserve judgment on kind of their identity and where they are and who they are until we see them play a little bit more. And I think this game against Ohio State will really tell us a lot more. But they’ve got to obviously take away the miscues and they can’t start first-and-15. They can’t turn the ball over against good teams and win games, and that’s true for any scheme.
