Penn State vs Northwestern Tailgate Show

The Penn State Nittany Lions Football team faces off against the Northwestern Wildcats at 3:30, ready to turn the page on an 0-2 slide in Big Ten play. The Wildcats are also 3-2 and looking to spoil the Homecoming festivities for the Nittany Lions and send the team reeling. Today on the Penn State football Tailgate Show, we’ll discuss the upcoming matchup, the mood and tenor of the situation, plus break down the game.

Join the show live at 12:30 on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel, or if you’re tailgating, on 99.5 The Bus FM and 103.7 Bigfoot Country Legens FM. The Penn State Football Tailgate Show is produced in conjunction with Seven Mountains Media.

Penn State vs Penn State fans

Northwestern’s presence on the field may be a sideshow to the real battle this afternoon. After starting the season ranked second in the country, Penn State is now unranked in the AP Top 25. Fans are furious. Not for the first time, head coach James Franklin fielded questions this week about a hostile welcome to Beaver Stadium in front of the home crowd. We’ll discuss the organization’s temperature, fans’ feelings towards Franklin after a dozen years as the leader of the Blue and White, and what’s next for the program today.

Penn State vs Northwestern

From there, we’ll transition to talk about the game. What’s the key matchup that will decide the contest today? We’ll break down the ideal matchup between Penn State’s skill players and the Northwestern safeties. We’ll explain why that matchup is key to a big day for the Penn State offense and how the Lions can exploit that situation for a big day on the ground and through the air. From there, we’ll talk about the team’s offensive outlook for today.

Is this a big day for Kaytron Allen? Can the team finally feature him as the lead back, instead of splitting time with Nick Singleton?

Defensive issues creep into the picture for Jim Knowles

Finally, we’ll discuss the defensive issues that cropped up against UCLA last week. The Nittany Lions’ defense has struggled to get off the field for most of the season, allowing more yards than normal and more third-down conversions. So what’s going on? We’ll talk about the team’s defensive scheme, how it’s set up, and what the team can do to help out its struggling linebacker corps.

Finally, we’ll take a look around the Big Ten at the rest of the games going on this week, give you the updated availability report for the game, and our game predictions. Join the Penn State Football Tailgate Show today at 12:30!