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Penn State

BWI Live: Penn State vs. Northwestern preview, practice recap

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby: Thomas Frank Carr09/28/23ThomasFrankCarr
Penn State Football On3
The PenN State defensive secondary faces the best pure passer in Northwestern QB Ben Bryant, according to head coach James Franklin. Find out how that matchup will go on the BWI Live Show. (Dan Rainville, Matthew O'Haren USA Today)

The Penn State Nittany Lions football team faces Northwestern on Saturday in Evanston for its second Big Ten road game of the 2023 season. The team held practice on Wednesday night in preparation for the game, and Blue White Illustrated was there. 

Join the BWI Live Show today as we preview the upcoming game between Penn Stae and Northwestern at 10 a.m. on YouTube. We’ll also give an account of Wednesday’s practice and discuss what expert insiders Nate Bauer and Sean Fitz saw and heard. We’ll also take your questions through the BWI Mailbag and live on air! 

Never miss a show by subscribing to the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel. 

Open practice review

The Penn State football team is doing its best to prepare for a sleepy atmosphere at Northwestern, which is, historically, a challenge for teams who play in front of large, energetic crowds. Head coach James Franklin addressed that after practice on Wednesday. 

“Well, I think just being honest. Just being very honest about what it’s going to be like. These guys are 2-0 win at home. You look at Northwestern; they’ve typically had good home records. Why? Because it can be challenging to play there. They’re used to the environment. Other people may not be. It’s going to be very different than what we played in last week. So, just being transparent and honest. Are we internally motivated? Are we externally motivated? But, for me to act like it’s not a factor, it is; you got to get prepared for it,” he said.  

Bauer and Fitz will discuss what they saw from the offense and defense in the team’s preparation for the road battle with Northwestern. They’ll also discuss their major takeaways from Franklin’s comments about the Penn State football team heading into the game. 

Penn State vs. Northwestern game preview

Next, the show will focus on the upcoming game. What will the Nittany Lions do once they step foot on the field? And after a rocky 2-2 start, what sort of team is Northwestern? Fitz and Bauer will give their thoughts about how the team is faring after the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald before the season. 

They’ll also give their score predictions for the upcoming game. 

BWI Mailbag

Finally, we’ll open up the BWI Mailbag and answer your questions and comments about the Penn State football team! The Nittany Lions are 4-0 heading into the soft part of their schedule, so what’s on your mind as the team turns toward October? We’ll take questions from the BWI Mailbag submission thread on the message board and select questions from the live chat. Join us and get your thoughts heard! 

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